I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E387 - A warrior in the Fade

"Is this... Elsweyr?" Wolf looked at the strange sandy landscape around him. "No, it's too cold for Elsweyr," he decided. "What is this place?" He saw dunes with tall, dead trees lining the paths, like a strange but cultured garden.

He walked down a path and came to a clearing with several magical portals and a sundial.

"Hello!" Someone greeted him from behind the trees. "Are you new here?"

"I am new here, yes," Wolf walked towards the sound of the voice. A man of about his age was walking towards him. He wore mage's robes but had no staff.

"I am Niall," he introduced himself. "I've been stuck here... well... for a while now. But you... you don't look like a mage."

"I am not a mage," Wolf shook his head. "Name's Wolf. What is this place?"

"It's the Fade," Niall gave Wolf a long look. "Then you met the demon in Mundus..."

"We've been fighting demons in the mages' tower, yes," Wolf nodded. "How did I get here?"

"It's the Sloth Demon," Niall explained. "Like many others, he entered Mundus through the tear in the Veil. Did he offer you rest? And you accepted? There's no shame in this, you could not refuse even if you had tried..."

"We are trapped then," Wolf sighed.

"We? You and I, you mean? Afraid so."

"I meant my companions... Are they here as well?"

"You weren't alone? Yes, they are likely here too," Niall nodded.

"How do we get out?" Wolf looked around, but didn't see an exit.

"Get out?" Niall gave a short laugh. "You don't. Well, I couldn't. You don't have much time - the demon is feeding off your soul, weakening it every minute you stay here... It does not take long, and there isn't enough of it left to return to Mundus. Then you die."

"Then I have to hurry," Wolf decided. "You said there was a way out. What do I do?"

"Nothing dampens your spirit, does it?" Niall smiled. "Alright, here's what I learned - this will save you some time. This domain has islands, they are linked and they reinforce each other. Each island has a lesser demon guarding it. You have to defeat all five lesser demons to unlock the central island where you will presumably face the Sloth Demon himself. I didn't get that far, don't know..." Niall paused, and Wolf noticed peculiar paleness in his face. Was that because he'd been in the Fade for too long? "But there are obstacles along the way. Different types of doors and passages, portals and stairs. There are other dreamers here too, and enemies - so many enemies. You are not meant to go looking for an exit, you see. The Sloth Demon makes you comfortable, so that you just relax and let him devour your soul without resistance..."

"How do I get through those various doors?" Wolf was listening intently, he promised himself not to relax.

"The other dreamers, some of them have learned to take on other shapes that let you pass through those doors. You'd have to collect several in order to reach each of the lesser demons, or to find your companions. And you have to hurry..." Niall smiled, he was looking very weak.

"I must try," Wolf checked his sword. "I shall be back, I hope. Will you still be here?"

"I'll be here," Niall nodded. "I have no strength left to go anywhere else." He sat down on a bench and smiled at Wolf. "Those sundials are actually Fade Pedestals," he pointed. "Portals of sorts. You can move from island to island through them, but you have to unlock the islands first. Good luck, Wolf."

Wolf nodded and approached the pedestal. As he touched it, runes appeared before him, a plan of the domain. One island was highlighted - the island he was on, he realised. He would have to start by exploring it and see if anything changed.

...

"Portal to portal, down the path, turn left, fight a demon... or may be just a spirit, who knows... down another path, through the portal... How do I get back to Niall?" Wolf started feeling discouraged. "Alright, alright! Keep going... May be something'll come up..."

...

"Hey! Hey!!!" A very high pitched voice sounded from somewhere below the ground. "Over here!!!" No, not below the ground - on the ground, in the bushes. What? A mouse?

"Now I know I'm dreaming - it's a talking mouse," Wolf said loudly.

"There's no need to be rude!" Said the mouse. "I am not a mouse. Well, I am now... I'm stuck in this form! I was so afraid of all the spirits, I got transformed... not sure how it happened, but hey, it's the Fade. And now I'm stuck!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Wolf crouched in front of the mouse. "That's tough."

"It has its perks though," the mouse walked over to a mouse hole. "See these? They connect sections of this island. I can go places where you cannot."

"Ah, that's what Niall was talking about!" Wolf realised that it was one of those special doors. You needed a special form to get through, in this case a mouse. "I want to learn your form. How did you do it?"

"I said I don't know," the mouse replied in a hurt voice. "I was afraid - then it happened. Do you want me to scare you so that you can transform too?"

"Err... I am not sure that would work," Wolf rubbed his chin.

"Oh, you think you're so big and strong and cannot be scared by a mouse?" The mouse replied defiantly. "Well, even huge elephants are afraid of us mice, I'll have you know!"

"Hmm." Wolf got up. "You'll have to do better than that. I'm not scared yet."

The mouse turned around and disappeared into a mouse hole nearby.

"Oh great," Wolf swore. "Now he's gone and I can't follow." He stared at the little hill of a mouse hole with a narrow passage going into the earth. "I want to get through." He crouched before it. "If I can't learn the mouse form, I won't be able to leave." He imagined getting paler and paler, like Nial. He would lose his strength and would not be able to lift his sword... he would just sit there and let the Sloth Demon feed off his soul, sucking it dry like a coconut through a straw... then discarding his empty shell... his physical body would die and be raised as a walking corpse in service of the demon in all eternity... "Whoa!!!" Wolf jumped up. That was a scary prospect. Suddenly the earth moved towards him and the tiny passage of the mouse hole grew in size, and now he could enter and walk in it freely. Or crawl... no, walk, run... on all fours... He was now a mouse.

"I see it worked after all," the mouse greeted him on the other side of the passage. "See you around, mouse!" He ran off, and Wolf proceded exploring this new part of the island.

...

It took some practice, but after a while Wolf learned to transform into the mouse form and back into a man at will. This was just the first step, but he felt it was important to master it, and then other forms would come easier. He wanted to believe it, anyway. He went through several mouse holes and portals and somehow found himself in the clearing where Niall was still sitting on a bench.

"Something happened," Niall greeted him. "I felt vibrations. What did you find?"

"I learned the mouse form," Wolf smiled and transformed back and forth to demonstrate. "I explored the rest of this island and defeated something... it wasn't a demon, I think, but it seemed different from the rest."

"It's your first key," Niall nodded. "I managed that too. Now you know how it goes."

Wolf stepped to the Fade Pedestal and saw several runes light up - he could now enter a few other islands. He picked one.

...

Each island presented new challenges and took time to go through. There were still many doors that Wolf could not open, and he realised that the mouse form was only the beginning of a long and arduous journey, a journey meant to seep his strength. He started looking for shortcuts, building a map of the domain in his mind. Yes, it could be done, each island could be mapped out, divided into sections, subdivided into rooms, with doors that he could or could not open, yet. But did he have enough time to do it? He could not tell.

From time to time he returned to Niall - he had figured out how to find him. There was nothing new that Niall could tell him, but Wolf found it comforting to talk to someone who had attempted the same journey. They discussed Wolf's progress, and Niall tried not to sound discouraging.

Finally Wolf had learned enough forms to get to the first lesser demon. They fought, Wolf won. It was hard, but nothing that Wolf could not handle. He felt a little of his strength and determination return to him, perhaps that was the key. The second lesser demon wasn't that hard either, and it opened a way to a new island. As Wolf stepped through the portal, he found Morrigan argueing with her mother.

"You are not my mother - begone, demon!" Morrigan was having none of it.

"Impertinent, as always!" Flemeth replied and slapped Morrigan across the face. "You should know your place, girl!"

"Ah, that's more like it, but that's too little, too late, demon!" Morrigan laughed in her face. "You are nothing like my mother!" She attacked the demon and soon it was defeated.

"Interesting," Morrigan turned to Wolf. "I've been attacking her since I got here, but it is only now that I could defeat her... Why is it I wonder?"

Wolf was about to say something, but Morrigan dissolved into thin air before she could even finish her sentence.

"Does that mean she is free?" He wondered. There was nothing else to do on that island, so he pressed on.

The next lesser demon was significantly harder to defeat than the first two. It was a powerful spirit, and Wolf's sword wasn't having much of an effect.

"You do not die outright in this domain," the spirit told him when he lay on the ground, defeated. "The Sloth is in no rush. There is no escape and resistance is futile, mortal."

After a while Wolf was able to get up, but he felt weaker than before. Perhaps that demon was too strong for him. He went away and tried another island, learning another form - that of a spirit.

"Why don't you use your new forms in battle?" Niall suggested when Wolf told him of his defeat. "What have you got? A burning man, a golem, a spirit... perhaps they are not just for opening doors."

"How far did you come, Niall?" Wolf was wondering whether he had enough strength to do it all.

"I defeated four lesser demons, learned all the forms... but I took too long trying to figure it out, and the Sloth had seeped too much of my strength by then. I could not continue." He smiled with sadness. "I was just getting defeated by every spirit I met."

"That's too bad, I am sorry," Wolf shook his head.

"Go. You are not done yet," Niall urged him on.

Speed was the key. Wolf was making steady progress, with ample use of the mouse form to find shortcuts and to scout the area before engaging angry spirits. He could not avoid the fights altogether, but stealth gave him an edge. He was switching from form to form depending on the enemy, and felt himself quite the mage for doing so. Wolf Asgarsen - a mage? He never pictured himself as one. Back in Tamriel he learned a little magic, just healing and shielding, but wasn't good at it and preferred to rely on potions instead. But here, these transformations were something else.

Finally the central rune on the map lit up, that final island must house the Sloth Demon. Wolf took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Sep 12 2024, 08:17 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E387 - Demons

The Sloth Demon was far stronger than the lesser demons that Wolf fought previously. He lost the battle so quickly, that the demon just laughed.

"Come back if you want to try again, mortal," the demon smirked. "If that's what makes you happy, I'll oblige."

Morrigan appeared out of nowhere - she wasn't free yet, she was being held on another island with nothing to do.

"Not even a demon to bother me, can you imagine?!" She ran up to Wolf, helping him up. "So, what happened to the others?"

"I haven't found them yet, I went straight here," Wolf confessed, realising that it was a mistake. "Can you come with me? It'll be easier going together."

Morrigan tried to follow, but when Wolf stepped through a portal, she wasn't with him on the other side.

"Got to do it myself then," he sighed.

Releasing Wynn and Sten wasn't hard, now that he had learned all the forms. They too vanished when their respective demons were defeated, and Wolf hoped to find them all on the central island. Perhaps together they could overcome the Sloth Demon.

...

"That was one hell of a battle," Wolf got up after yet another knock-out. "Did we get him this time?"

"We did, finally," Wynn nodded, still casting healing magic at everyone. "It's a good thing you don't die in battle in this domain! We would have been dead long ago."

"We can still find ourselves dead," Wolf objected. "The Sloth Demon lies defeated, but we are still in the Fade. How do we get out? We should go back to Niall, may be he has an idea."

Niall was amazed to see them all.

"Wow, you've really done it!" He turned to Wolf. "I felt it - the earth shook! Did you defeat the Sloth Demon?"

"We did, eventually," Wolf nodded. "But now what? We're still here, trapped as before."

"Yes, that is a problem," Niall nodded. "Demons are immortal, of course... You defeated it, but he isn't dead. His realm still holds, even without his presence or that of the lesser demons. It's just a bit safer here for now, that's all. But..."

"Wait... So what are you saying?" Wolf shook his head in disbelief. "That there's no way out, no matter what we do?!"

"That's... that's what the Sloth would like you to believe..." Niall smiled. "I've been thinking about that while you were gone. What would happen if you were to defeat the Sloth? Apparently nothing. But I believe it is an illusion."

"So there must be a way out after all," Wynn nodded. "But it is masked. The locks are gone but the door is hidden..."

"We are in the Fade," Morrigan joined in. "A realm of spirits. Our bodies are of course still back in Mundus... We have to return our spirits into our bodies, and now that the Sloth lies defeated, he cannot hold us. We should not wait too long though, for he will rise again."

"Alright, so what do we do?" Wolf looked at the three mages in turn. "Stop talking in riddles, I am no mage, I don't understand how to return my spirit into my body!"

"You just have to will it," Niall said quietly. "Now that the locks are gone, that's all that it takes. You have to want to leave."

"I certainly want to leave!" Sten said loudly, having spoken for the first time. "We quanari are not permitted to enter the Fade! We burn incense by the bed to prevent it happening during sleep... Of course I was forced into it this time, but I am keen to correct this as soon as I can! So I am going!" He finished with emphasis, there was a puff of smoke and Sten disappeared.

"See - his will was strong," Niall nodded. "So go. There are still demons to fight in the tower."

"And you? Aren't you coming with us?" Wolf looked into his face but the answer was clear - Niall was too weak.

"I'd love to, believe me," he smiled. "But the Sloth had already seeped too much of my strength. Even if I did manage to leave now, I would die in Mundus - my body has withered along with my spirit. I prefer to stay here and dissolve in time, and perhaps help someone else, who knows..."

"I am so sorry, Niall..."

There wasn't anything else they could do or say, except may be one last thing.

"When you are back in Mundus, find my body," Niall suddenly said with renewed strength. "It should be in the same hall... the Sloth does not move much. There's a scroll in my pocket - it disrupts blood magic, when the mage is trying to turn another mage into an abomination to fight for him... Oh yes, I know what is going on. I was going to confront Uldred, but by the time I found that scroll in the library, the tower was already overrun... and my companions dead... But you - you can do it!"

"You found the Litany of Andrala?" Wynn looked up in surprise. "But that was lost to the ages, believed destroyed..."

"Well, it wasn't," Niall smiled. "But it took a long time to find. Too long. Take it and use it - good luck to you!"

...

"Niall gave his life to find the one thing that will stop this horror," Wynn picked up the scroll from Niall's body. "We must not waste this chance."

"Niall had companions," Wolf corrected her. "They too gave their lives for this. It's time to end it."

They didn't have far to go - there was just one floor left to explore, the very top of the tower, which had a single hall. Uldred had to be there.

He was. Surrounded by demons and abominations, Uldred was in the process of converting senior mages to his side. He'd summon a demon, subdue a mage with the help of the other demons, and allow the newly arrived demon to possess the mage, thus turning him into an abomination. He believed the abominations to be his servants... but even Wolf could see that it was only an illusion.

"Loghain will have the strongest army the world had ever seen!" He cried, madness shining in his eyes. "An army of demons! All at my command!"

"You cannot control the demons, fool!" An old mage replied defiantly. He was kneeling, his hands tied behind his back. "The demons are controlling you every step of the way!"

"You do not believe me, First Enchanter! But you will! I'm keeping you for last! But you too will join my army!"

It was then that Uldred noticed Wolf and his party entering the room.

"And who do we have here?" He cried in surprise. "Two warriors and two mages - have you come to stop me? I recognise you, Wynn, but who are your companions?" He laughed with derision. "But actually, I don't care! Join the queue! You too can be useful in Loghain's demon army!"

There was no talking to Uldred, and Wolf attacked.

"Remember the Litany of Andrala!" Wynn called out to him, trying to shout over the noise of the magical explosions. "Use it when you notice a mage being raised into the air to be made into an abomination! Use it, even if it kills that mage!"

"Use it - how?" Wolf tried to ask, but the battle was too intense for conversations. Had Wynn forgotten he was no mage? Why did he have the Litany while they had two mages in the group? Why didn't Wynn keep the Litany and used it at the right time?

But there was no more time for questions. Wolf had to watch the battlefield, as well as fight the demons, the abominations, the walking corpses and even some darkspawn that appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly he saw a luminous circle forming around one of the senior mages who was kneeling against the wall with his hands tied up, just like the First Enchanter. "That's one of the victims," Wolf decided. "And Uldred is now trying to convert him into an abomination. Use the Litany to stop him... Err... Use - how?" But with every moment he was hesitating, the mage was being lifted higher and higher into the air, and there - he already started the transformation into a grotesque fleshy corpse that was the shape of Uldred's abominations in Mundus.

"Use the Litany!!!" Wynn shouted. "Now!!!"

"Alright! It's a scroll... and what do you do with scrolls? You read them!" Wolf decided to try the most obvious thing. He backed against the wall, away from battle, sheathed his sword and unrolled the scroll. The words were in some old, foreign language, but the script was familiar, so he just read them out as best he could, without understanding any of it. The luminous circle around the mage faded and vanished, and the mage fell to the ground, dead. He had gone too far in his transformation - his body had already withered. "Next time I have to do it sooner!" Wolf thought with regret. From that point on he watched the battle closer, fought less and focused on reading the Litany in time.

The battle was ferocious. Uldred may not have controlled the demons in the room, but they were keen on fighting anyway, so it looked like he controlled them. It encouraged him beyond measure. He turned into a huge ogre and did great damage to Wolf's party. Fortunately, he had to turn back into a man when he wanted to make another mage into an abomination, and during that time Wolf's companions had a chance to attack Uldred without the danger of being crushed, while Wolf had to watch his actions carefully and read the Litany just in time to save the victim... And since the demons, corpses and darkspawn in the room did not stop their assault during that time, chaos was complete.

Yet eventually Uldred lay defeated. With his death there was no further danger of seeing captive mages being turned into abominations, and Wolf could rejoin the battle. Demons and corpses continued the fight, and it was painfully obvious that they didn't care in the slightest whether Uldred was dead or alive.

Sten was the first to fall. Although he was the strongest of them all by far, fighting demons required more than strength - it required magic. His mighty battleaxe was only doing small damage to them, distracting them more than anything. It took a while for Sten to realise and accept it, and once he focused on the corpses and darkspawn instead, he started making much more of a difference. However, the demons realised it too. They focused their attack on him, and soon knocked him out.

Wolf did better, partly because he "missed" the first half of the battle trying to keep out and watching Uldred. He was more agile than Sten, and managed to avoid most of the demons' spells. His experience in the Fade was now helping him navigate that battle of spirits. Yet he too became overpowered and knocked out. Fortunately by then the corpses and darkspawn were largely defeated, and Wynn and Morrigan just had the demons to contend with. "Just" the demons...

"You need healing!" Wynn shouted, seeing Morrigan bleed. "Wait - I'll help you!"

"Don't waste your magic on me!" Morrigan shouted back, casting a complex spell. "I'll take life from the dead... You can lecture me on the evil of necromancy later!!" A vortex opened around her, siphoning life energy from the many corpses in the hall, as well as from Wolf and Sten who were not actually dead.

"You'll kill them with your spells, witch!" Wynn noticed it and shouted in anger. "Necromancy makes no distinction between dead and unconscious!"

"They can take it!" Morrigan retorted. "Or else I'll bring them back afterwards! Watch out for that Sloth!!"

A demon greatly resembling the Sloth Demon that they had fought not long ago, rose from the floor, appearing out of nowhere. Was this invasion ever going to end? With the Veil torn, was there anything to stop an endless flood of demons coming through?

"Untie me!" The First Enchanter called to them. "I'll close the tear in the Veil while you battle the demons!"

With Uldred dead, his magical ties on the First Enchanter and the remaining senior mages were broken, and only physical ties remained. Wynn quickly cut his ties and he helped the other mages on their feet, and together they mustered enough power to close the tear in the Veil while Wynn and Morrigan battled the remaining demons.

Yet it wasn't done in a blink of an eye, closing the tear took time, and Wynn got overwhelmed and fell, knocked out. "That's what happens when you focus on restoration only!" Morrigan swore. "You need offensive spells too! Like this one!" A huge blast of fire erupted around her. With all her companions knocked out and the First Enchanter standing out of the way, she could finally use her area spells. They took a lot of magicka, true, but were also very effective. "Aha!" She laughed, seeing the demons cringe. "You didn't like that, did you?"

"Use your anger!!!" A glowing red Rage Demon rose from the floor before her - it was immune to fire and took the place of the others. Besides, it was feeding off the anger of its opponents, recovering some of its strength with each angry hit.

"Ugh!!" Morrigan prepared an ice spell. "I've got something for you!" The spell hit and the Rage Demon shrank at first, but then recovered, glowing brighter than before.

"Calm your anger!" The First Enchanter noticed it and shouted to Morrigan. "It's a Rage Demon!"

"I know it's a Rage Demon!" Morrigan retorted angrily, then bit her lip. A Rage Demon. Quite. "How am I supposed to fight it without getting angry?" She muttered to herself but made an effort to calm down. "Right. I am just going to unleash winter onto this hall..." An iced area spell centered on herself rather than the demon did the trick. It caught the demon in its circle, but there wasn't enough anger in the room to restore it, and it shriveled like a mushroom in a drought.

The remaining spirits were easily dispatched. The battle was over. The Veil had been restored, and no new demons were getting through. Wolf, Sten and Wynn eventually got up from their knock-outs.

"And this is what blood magic can do, and this is why we forbid it," the First Enchanter turned to Wolf. "I know that Grey Wardens do not put restrictions on their mages - the same as many other countries, in fact - but here in Ferelden we have strict rules. Blood magic is absolutely forbidden."

"I see," Wolf nodded, looking around at all the corpses and the bleeding fleshy growth decorating the walls. "And that is why you were so easily overthrown when a small group of mages decided to disagree."

"That... is also true," the First Enchanter gave Wolf a long, penetrating look. "And that is why... ah... but you are not a mage. Keep my papers to yourself, and all will be well."

"Your papers?"

"You have gone through my office, no doubt..."

The First Enchanter winked, and Wolf realised that some of the papers mentioning blood magic might have been more important than he had thought.

"You are a Grey Warden, and therefore you are here to ask us mages for help against the Blight, is it not so?" The First Enchanter assumed a business-like tone. "Yes, I am aware of the treaties. Of course the mages will help. As will the templars, leave it to me. With the Tower of Magi back under our control, things will soon return to normal... with the exception of all those who fell in the fighting, of course..." He sighed with regret.

They were walking through the halls of the tower where the fleshy sacks of demonic growth already started to shrink, but the dead bodies of mages and templars remained unchanged. Yet there were also survivors. Wounded and left for dead, or just lucky to somehow have been overlooked by the demons, some mages and templars were still alive. When our party reached the entrance hall, the Knight Commander froze in disbelief.

"I am not a demon, it's the real me, Gregor," the First Enchanter addressed him and touched his hand. "Feel it."

The Knight Commander took a moment, but then sighed a sigh of relief.

"Indeed, Irving, welcome back! Is it all over?"

"The Veil has been repaired," the First Enchanter nodded. "We have many wounded and even more dead... but the survivors are our first priority."

The Knight Commander didn't need to be asked twice. He was already dispatching his templars into the tower in search of survivors.

"So the Rite of Annulment..?" Wolf had to make sure.

"Is annulled," the Knight Commander smiled, tearing up an official looking scroll with a large red seal of the King of Ferelden. "The mages and the templars will not join Loghain." He smirked, noticing Wolf's surprise. "Oh yes, I read the papers... I do know what that rebellion was really about. We will not turn on Grey Wardens, that I promise you."

With the matters thus settled, Wolf was almost ready to leave. One more request still remained.

"I would like to ask your aid to free a young boy from possession, First Enchanter," he said politely. "Arl Eamon's son at Castle Redcliffe is possessed by a demon..."

"And you wish to save the boy?" The First Enchanter interrupted, fire in his eyes. "Of course... yes... a mage can go into the Fade and fight the demon there... yes... We may not be in the best shape just now, but we can do this... We'll depart as soon as we can!"

"Thank you..." Wolf started but Wynn interrupted him.

"I wish to ask leave to follow the Grey Wardens, First Enchanter," she said firmly. "They need my help."

"Err..." Wolf turned to her in surprise.

"You need my help of a healer, you have no healer in the party," she cut him off. "I may not be a spring chicken any longer, but I am not dead yet either. I am coming with you."

"Is anyone ever going to ask us first before declaring they are coming along?" Alistair joined them. "Another mage?" He shot a glance at Wolf but remembered their conversation earlier and didn't continue.

"Well, what say you, Grey Warden?" The First Enchanter turned to Wolf. "Wynn has never been one to sit in the tower when there was adventure to be had elsewhere..."

"We should be honoured to have her along, of course," Wolf smiled formally and politely, making sure that everyone understood his position. "It is true, we do need a healer. We have a long road ahead..."

And with that he said his goodbyes and the party crossed the lake to their camp, everyone being in need of rest and patching up before tackling the next demon.

[Renee]

Lucien & Lena, planning to get married in six weeks. "Besides, your friends would like to offer their moral support on the day you pledge yourself to the terrible Lucien Lachance" -- that's a great line.

In the next chapter Lena mentions spending 27,000 septims on paperwork. Which lends a clue as to how much money she's got. Always find these things sort of interesting, I do.

Eh, she says she's broke, but she'll earn it back somehow. Always easy to earn in these games, for adventurers, anyway.

http://chorrol.com/forums/index.php?s=&...st&p=340284

[Lena Wolf]

Lucien & Lena, planning to get married in six weeks. "Besides, your friends would like to offer their moral support on the day you pledge yourself to the terrible Lucien Lachance" -- that's a great line.

I think they are not too different in that respect though. Lena just looks younger.

In the next chapter Lena mentions spending 27,000 septims on paperwork. Which lends a clue as to how much money she's got. Always find these things sort of interesting, I do.

I remember when I was writing that chapter! We've been having troubles with a building application here in real life! With fees and all! So I took it out on the story! Well, it fitted.

[Lena Wolf]

First Seed, 3E387 - Blood and magic

When Wolf and his party finally got to their camp after their ordeal at the Tower of Magi, everyone was much too tired to talk, let alone to go through the stuff they picked up along the way. It was therefore decided that the following day would be spent resting, for no one was in any shape to battle more demons just then.

As Wolf was sorting bits and pieces that they found in the tower, he made sure to set aside and out of sight any papers that he had collected. Some would have come from the First Enchanter's office, others from random places in the tower. Although Wolf wasn't a mage, he felt that most of it was about politics rather than magic, so decided to go through it himself, not even involving Alistair, who had proven himself to be very biased when it came to mages.

Perhaps the most remarkable discovery turned out to be that of Flemeth's Grimoir.

"Morrigan would like to see this, I am certain," Wolf thought leafing through the pages. It wasn't about magic as such, it explained how Flemeth stayed alive for so long - several thousands of years, if the Grimoir was to be believed. According to the text, whenever she felt that her body was becoming old and withered, she would take an orphan girl and raise her as her daughter. Then, when the girl became a woman, Flemeth would take over her body, thus renewing herself. What happened to the girl's soul, the Grimoir did not clarify. "The soul was either possessed or devoured," Wolf reasoned. "Flemeth didn't seem like she had an army of souls under her possession - and it would have been many, according to this - so then, she devoured them. Hmm..."

"Wolf wasn't sure whether he believed it, exactly. He was also not sure why this Grimoir was lying around in the First Enchanter's office, not hidden and not locked away. Surely, a secret of this magnitude would not be left unprotected. He decided to give it to Morrigan and see what she would do.

Morrigan nearly jumped for joy, as uncharacteristic as it looked. She grabbed the book eagerly and immediately started studying it. Wolf left her alone. Their next task - that of freeing Arl Eamon's son from possession - required a mage, and Morrigan had been eager to do it, but she was also going to make a deal with the demon for her own benefit, and Wolf wasn't so sure it was a good idea. He'd had his fill of demons for the time being. "Perhaps Morrigan will be too distracted reading her mother's Grimoir and skip this trip," he thought and smiled to himself.

But whom should he send into the Fade then? It had to be a mage, so either Wynn ("NO!!") or... ah. He could not explain why he didn't want to ask Wynn to do it, but something about her put him on edge. She was too correct, too righteous, too rigid somehow. As if she had sinned and was now intent on redeeming herself... Wolf thought it very odd, but at the same time they did need a healer, so he figured things would clear up in time. For the moment, however, he was unsure how to proceed with the ritual for the boy.

"Whom would you send into the Fade, Alistair?" He asked, taking Alistair completely by surprise. "To fight the demon that possesses Arl Eamon's son," he smiled, explaining. "Remember? We need a mage for that."

"Oh, yes, that's a good one," Alistair looked puzzled. "It is by far the best solution, no doubt... but yeah, a mage would have to do it... which is to say... err..."

"You don't trust any of them," Wolf finished Alistair's sentence for him. "I am at a loss as well."

"The First Enchanter is bringing several mages with him though, isn't he?" Alistair was pondering the question. "Perhaps one of them could do it?"

They could not solve it sitting in camp, and decided to go to Castle Redcliffe the following day and hope for some fresh ideas on the ground.

...

"We brought lyrium and we have several mages with us ready to start the ritual," the First Enchanter greeted Wolf. "Whom do you wish to send into the Fade? It can be anyone, as long as it is a mage... And, well, you have to trust them."

Wolf looked at the people in the hall. The First Enchanter was an old and wise wizard and would have been perfect for this, if in fact he could go. But he had to stay behind and conduct the ritual. "He is actually also too frail just now," Wolf noticed. "That ordeal in the tower took too much out of him..." Wolf looked at the other senior mages that came from the tower, and thought the same. They were all there, in the top room, held by Uldred, their souls were frayed as the demons were feeding off them... "It is a miracle they are even here and ready to perform a ritual of this magnitude," Wolf shook his head. "On another day, sure, any of them could go into the Fade, but today... No, not them." Wynn was looking eager, trying to catch his attention... Morrigan was lost in Flemeth's Grimoir that she brought with her "to pass the time while we wait", as she put it. There was another mage in the room though - the one that they found in the dungeons, the one that had poisoned Arl Eamon. He just stood there, behind everyone else, but his hands weren't bound, meaning that he had been behaving himself. Wolf walked over to him.

"Walk with me," he said. "What is your name?"

"What?" The mage looked up in surprise. "Err... I am Anders... But why..? I think I am going to be executed as soon as we free the boy. I've been preparing myself..."

"Walk with me," Wolf repeated, leading him out into the courtyard.

They were out of earshot of everyone, yet Wolf continued walking - he wanted to be out of sight as well. Then they found a quiet spot under the trees and sat down for a talk.

"I have been reading some papers about blood magic," Wolf started. "I am no mage, and I am new to this land, I've never heard of it before. We have no blood magic in Tamriel, that I know of." He paused, but Anders didn't say anything, and Wolf continued. "Grey Wardens do not forbid it, so in my eyes, apart from poisoning Arl Eamon, you've done nothing wrong." Again he paused, and again Anders said nothing. "I want to ask you to go into the Fade and confront the demon that's possessing that little boy."

"You what..?!" Anders was so surprised, it took a moment for him to digest what he was hearing. "I am not a qualified mage, are you aware of that?" He squinted. "Still an apprentice... The First Enchanter kept pushing back my Harrowing..."

"The First Enchanter was trying to save your life," Wolf smirked. "Oh, he knew full well what was going on in his tower. I've seen the papers. You're qualified... more than qualified for all you've been through. Minus the poisoning, of course, that was dumb."

"Tell me about it," Anders sighed. "I fell for it like a schoolboy... which technically speaking I still am..."

"Are you aware of the rebellion in the Tower?" Wolf changed the subject.

"I've heard talk..." Anders nodded. "I wasn't a part of it, if that's what you're asking..."

"I know you weren't," Wolf nodded. "I cannot guarantee what will happen to you after we free the boy. In their eyes you're still a blood mage, a maleficar, with sins to overshadow the poisoning of the Arl. I suspect Teagan will want to keep you here in the castle until we revive Arl Eamon somehow... But after that... We'll talk again then."

"I understand," Anders nodded.

"So, will you do it?" Wolf squinted and Anders straightened his back.

"I'll do it," he said firmly. "And no deals. I went so wrong with a human, I expect it would be a hundred times worse with a demon, were I to make a deal. If the First Enchanter allows it, I'll go into the Fade."

"For once, the First Enchanter is not the one calling all the shots," Wolf winked. "Let's go and surprise them, Anders."

...

"Anders will go into the Fade and confront the demon," Wolf announced when they were back in the castle.

"WHAT?!!!"

Everyone was talking at once. Has the Grey Warden lost his mind? Does he not know that it is a Blood Mage he's sending into the Fade? A BLOOD MAGE who summoned that demon in the first place? A MALEFICAR SUPERIOR just waiting to destroy them all? A MASTERMIND unlike any other?!!!

When the shouting finally stopped, Wolf repeated his decision.

"He is none of those things, and you know it, Lady Arlesse," he addressed the mother of the boy who had been shouting the loudest. "Last time we spoke you were ready to hand him your life to perform a blood magic ritual to free your son. You know full well that he is not a maleficar. Stop that hypocrisy or I might take your life myself."

That remark made everyone turn around and stare at Wolf.

"I was a soldier before I became a Grey Warden," he looked into the faces of the civilians around him. "Even Alistair does not know what that means, since he never completed his training. I shall do what it takes to fulfill my mission, which is to defeat the Blight. To that end we need the help of Arl Eamon and his troops, and this is why we have to save his son. Your role in this is only circumstantial, Arlesse. Plus, you were the one who made it all possible, and broke the law as well. If you now stand in my way, I shall have to remove you."

"Wow!" Morrigan looked up from her mother's Grimoir. Everyone fell silent.

"Do as you choose, Warden," the Arlesse said in a fallen voice and stepped back.

"Are you sure?" The First Enchanter threw a questioning glance at Wolf. "Are you not too trusting in this?"

"I am sure," Wolf confirmed. "Anders goes into the Fade."

"Well... Good luck to you, my student," the First Enchanter turned to Anders, smiled and passed him his own staff. "Take this."

"But..?" Anders was perplexed since only his spirit would enter the Fade, he could not take a staff with him anyway... But what a pity... the First Enchanter's staff..! He took it, and felt a surge of energy and magicka from the enchantment... and something else...

Before he knew it, he stood in the Fade.

...

"So it is done," Teagan shook Wolf's hand when Anders awoke from his trance. "The ritual is over, the First Enchanter assures me it went well, and Conor is back to his old self... not having any memory of the possession. It's just as well, I guess." He smiled, watching the boy play. "But I'm keeping Anders here nevertheless," he said with a frown. "He poisoned Arl Eamon, and is therefore under arrest. No, we won't lock him up again, but he must stay in the castle. If the Arl dies, he will hang for murder."

Wolf agreed and their party returned to the camp for rest.

As soon as they settled down, Morrigan pulled him aside.

"You won't believe what I found out!!" She exclaimed, excited and worried at the same time. "From my mother's Grimoir!"

"Well, what did you find out?" Wolf tried not to let her notice that he had already read that Grimoir himself.

"She is only raising me in order to possess my body! She is essentially going to kill me and just use my flesh! Arghhhh!!!!"

"Ugh, that's... err... disturbing," Wolf struggled to find the right word.

"And then some!!" Morrigan was fuming. "The nerve!!"

"Well, she is the Witch of the Wilds..."

"Hmm..."

"Question is: what are you going to do about it?" Wolf squinted. That was a test of Morrigan's character.

"What to do about it? Oh, but there's just one thing to do about it: you must kill her."

"Huh?" He should have expected it, yet he didn't.

"I obviously can't do it because she'd immediately possess me 'ahead of schedule', so to speak, and I'd be nowhere still. Someone else has to kill her, that is you." She looked triumphant, as if Flemeth already lay dead... and that made her very attractive indeed.

"So, you want me to go and kill Flemeth?" Wolf repeated slowly. "Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds? That Flemeth? A thousand year old being that is probably immortal anyway?"

"Oh, she is not immortal," Morrigan brushed aside Wolf's remark like an annoying fly. "That's just what she wants you to believe... But yes, I want you to kill that Flemeth," she smiled again. It is remarkable how charming she could be, if she wanted to. "Will you do it?"

"Well..." Wolf started, not taking his eyes off her. "Umm..." She kept smiling. "Let's see now..." More smiling. "Well, alright, I'll see what I can do," he finally agreed.

"Excellent!" Morrigan beamed at him. "Don't delay, there's no telling what she'll do. Bring me her spellbook, that is her real Grimoir... it should be in the hut somewhere, she never let me read it properly. Then I'll know that she's dead."

Wolf walked to the central campfire scratching his head. Kill Flemeth... Somehow that seemed like a much greater challenge than all the demons taken together.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those of you who know Dragon Age Origins, will have realised that I changed the name of the mage whom Wolf sent into the fade at Castle Redcliffe. Yes, the mage whom they found locked up in the dungeons, the one that poisoned Arl Eamon... Since Bioware never developed the original character but they did develop Anders, I decided to let Anders come in early. This will make a lot more sense for my story.

As for the original mage character... In Lena's story we've met him already, some 250 years later than the year 3E387 when Wolf Asgarsen was sending a mage into the Fade to fight a demon. So you see, that other guy wasn't even born yet. I felt that the two mage characters had so much in common, that a substitution like that was only natural. After all, who is to say how things really went?

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Sep 15 2024, 08:06 PM

[Lena Wolf]

First Seed, 3E387 - Loyalty

The following morning Wolf went to see Flemeth, only bringing his faithful dog with him. Had he gone mad? Perhaps not entirely.

"So, the Grey Warden returns," Flemeth greeted him, noting the lack of company. "Have you come to kill me?"

"This happened before, hasn't it?" Wolf smiled.

"Not with Morrigan, but before that - yes," Flemeth laughed. "Let me guess - lovely Morrigan discovered something shocking, and you are her knight in shining armour who is supposed to save her from imminent annihilation. Am I close?" She smirked. "Oh, but this is a tale that Flemeth had heard many times before, a tale that she herself had many times retold. So what are you going to do?"

"I have no wish to battle you, and even less to kill you," Wolf said calmly. "I think you can see that. Even though, in theory, if I survived and won, I could in fact devour your soul. I've never done such a thing, mind, but by all accounts that's what Dragonborns do."

"Perhaps I should have left you on the top of that tower in Ostagar then," Flemeth pulled a long face. "But yes, tell is, Dragonborns are a bane for dragons. Of course you would have to defeat me first, which..."

"...is unlikely," Wolf nodded. "Yet I need Morrigan, and I think she is more than just a hedge witch."

"Well, she is my daughter..." Flemeth smiled thinly. "Adoptive, but still. Yes, she is quite special. Which is why I am willing to let her go. This body will serve me long enough to raise another daughter..." She patted her apron. "Or perhaps I'll find another way... What does Morrigan want as proof of my demise? My spellbook, I suppose? Then take it - it's in the hut. I had prepared a new robe for her as well - exactly like her own creation, but with a better enchantment... It dampens her will a little as well - just to take the edge off, not to harm. You might find it useful..." She smiled, then laughed. "Oh, Morrigan is coming of age! It is not how I envisaged it... no, it is better."

"What will you do when I leave?" Wolf was watching Flemeth, realising that her appearance of an old woman was just an illusion... But what was underneath?

"I shall leave here," Flemeth shrugged. "The woods are completely overrun with darkspawn now, there is no point in me staying anyway. A sea of darkspawn can swallow a dragon with ease... The Blight threatens me the same as everyone. Not every dragon is the same..."

"I've met the Archdemon, I know," Wolf nodded. "Thank you, Flemeth, and goodbye... Will we meet again?"

"I have no doubt," Flemeth smiled.

...

"Here is your mother's spellbook," Wolf handed an old hand-written tome to Morrigan. "You are free."

"You've done it!" She beamed, grabbing the book and starting reading it straight away. "Yes, this is the book I meant! The real thing... A Spider transformation grows in power with the mage performing it... Indeed! I always suspected it was the case... yet my spider isn't as deadly as I would have liked... Hmm..." She walked off, completely absorbed in her study. Wolf shook his head and left her new dress in her tent. It looked exactly the same as her old one... would she notice the difference? He was certain she would.

...

"We have to go to the capital and look for the scholar who researched that sacred artefact that could save Arl Eamon," Alistair sat next to Wolf. "We can't really leave him in limbo like that... who knows how long he can stay alive that way..."

"...now that the demon is slain?" Wolf looked at him sideways.

"Demon? What demon?"

"The demon that was possessing the boy... That was the deal: Arl Eamon would stay alive for as long as the boy was possessed."

"Oh... I think I missed that part," Alistair looked confused. "Was the demon keeping its word? Surely, you cannot trust demons?"

"A demon will trick you, that's for sure, but once they give their word, they keep it," Wolf nodded. "The First Enchanter told me. Something to do with magic bonds... They cannot break their promise, it appears."

"Well, that's good, right?" Alistair looked up.

"May be. But that demon is no more. Let's hope Arl Eamon won't die without it."

"So the more reason to hurry to the capital!" Alistair exclaimed. "What..? You don't look convinced..."

"Do Grey Wardens have a base in Ferelden?" Wolf suddenly asked, changing the topic.

"Err... no... not any more," Alistair shook his head. "There's a grand base somewhere up North, but not in Ferelden. There are Grey Wardens in every kingdom."

"Ever heard of Soldier's Peak?" Wolf squinted, passing Alistair a letter. "That chap apparently found an old fortress there, still North, but not that far North. It used to be a Grey Wardens' base centuries ago... but it's been abandoned after something unmentionable happened, and it is now overrun by ghostly apparitions..."

"And that unmentionable wouldn't begin with the letter B, would it?" Alistair squinted at Wolf, scanning the letter.

"Most likely," Wolf nodded. "Blood magic and demons is what we will likely find there, as well as darkspawn of course - darkspawn sauce is everywhere."

"We should probably go there then," Alistair nodded. "But first, I want to return to Ostagar... Yeah, it's overrun by darkspawn, I know. But their army has retreated for now, I can sense it... I want to find the King's body, give him a burial... Find Duncan's body too..." His voice trailed off, but Wolf didn't need convincing, he wanted to return there too. Why - he could not explain.

"Are you two making battle plans?" Leliana joined them with a pack of letters. "We've got mail! Remarkable how even in the times of the Blight, the courier service is still operating..." she mused. "These are mostly from the Chantry," she passed them to Wolf. "Requests to help refugees. If you ask me, those refugees are probably dead already, but not going doesn't seem right either..."

"We'll go," Wolf nodded. "It's on the way. Ostagar first, it's just to the South from here, then turn around and travel North, and look - all these places align quite nicely between Ostagar and Soldier's Peak..."

"What's at Soldier's Peak?" Leliana looked up in surprise.

"Home, I hope," Wolf smiled.

...

The next week or so was spent looking in on all those refugees that Chantry asked about. They went to Ostagar first, as planned. It was covered an bodies and they found the King's body as well as Duncan's, recovered some armour and weapons and made a pyre for the King and for Duncan. Not that the other fallen didn't deserve a pyre, but they could not do it for everyone.

"The King's armour is almost pristine," Alistair was examining the pieces after they reclaimed them from darkspawn. "He didn't get much use out of it..."

"Or it wasn't of much use against the darkspawn," Wolf muttered under his breath. "They got overwhelmed," he said aloud. "It was all over fairly quickly, by the look of things..."

They collected what was still of use, with Alistair taking the King's sword and Wolf taking Duncan's sword and dagger. Neither of them could wear the King's armour that was too heavy, but they took it anyway. They could not stand seeing it fall to darkspawn.

They met more and more darkspawn along the way, the South was well and truly overrun. But even so, those were just stray groups, not the main army of the Blight. They were glad to find some of the refugees still alive and fighting, against all odds. With the Grey Wardens' help, the refugees could now continue their journey North, and may be even reach some place of relative safety.

One group of refugees, however, turned out to be an ambush. A dozen mercenaries attacked them from every angle, but despite their superior numbers, they didn't last very long. The biggest challenge presented a single rogue who seemed to be able to disappear and emerge behind them, backstabbing and poisoning, again and again. But finally, also he was defeated.

"This must be the leader, don't kill him yet," Wolf stopped his companions from finishing off the rogue. "I want some answers."

"Well, you can safely kill me now, for I am already dead," he looked up at them from the ground, not able to rise on his own. "I failed in my mission."

"Your mission?" Wolf crouched before him. "Who sent you? Tell me about it."

"I am an assassin of the Antivan Crows," the rogue answered with a little bow. He was an elf, Wolf noticed. "You've never heard of us? Well, then you must be from a foreign land... which would explain your accent," he nodded to himself. "The Antivan Crows is the most successful and the most expensive and exclusive assassins bureau in Thedas," he explained. "We hardly ever fail, today was really an exception. But then again, we don't normally get contracts on Grey Wardens."

"I see," Wolf looked him over. His armour was of a very good make, and his weapons were even better. "The Antivan Crows are clearly not in financial difficulties," he smirked. "And you are well paid. But who sent you? Do you know?" Wolf realised that assassins did not usually get all the details of a contract, so he would not have been surprised if the elf before him could not tell him who the contract giver was. He had a pretty good idea already, anyway.

"I know, I had to get his signature myself," the elf smiled. "The current King of Ferelden... Well, King Regent or something... Loghain, I think was the name. You have some powerful enemies, Warden."

"Not surprising," Wolf nodded, exchanging a glance with Alistair. "But you failed. What now?"

"To the Crows I am dead already," the elf smirked. "We are not allowed to fail - we are supposed to die trying. Were I to return to Antiva now, the Crows would kill me themselves. So... since you haven't killed me yet... I offer to join you. You are going after the Blight, are you not? That is what Grey Wardens do. I'll join you in your fight which is better than being eliminated by the Crows."

"You are not loyal to the Crows, then," Alistair was looking at the elf with disdain. "How can we be sure that you won't kill us in our sleep?"

"Loyalty is an interesting concept," the elf smiled. "I didn't choose to join them - they bought me on the slave market when I was eleven. They got their money worth many times over - I am pretty good, if I say so myself. And now that I failed, they will kill me, should I return. I have no reason to kill you in your sleep because this contract is already forfeit, word of your continued existence will soon reach the contract giver and he will demand a retry or a refund. In either case, my life is forfeit as well. Being in your company, however, would afford me some protection... So yes, you can be sure that you are safe from me."

"Hmm... I see," Alistair was trying to remain objective, with little success. "But to accept an assassin into our group... that's a sure sign that we're desperate! Do we really have to?"

"If you don't want him to join us, then kill him now," Wolf turned to Alistair. "That shouldn't be too hard. He did attack us first."

"Oh... umm... err..." Alistair backed off. "That does seem a bit extreme..."

"Why? He is an assassin with a contract on our lives," Wolf shrugged. "I am not willing to release him. Either he comes with us, or we kill him. Your choice."

Alistair paled.

"He comes with us," he said meekly.

"Very well, assassin," Wolf turned to the elf, helping him up. "What's your name?"

"Zevran, at your service," the elf gave a little bow. "I am your man until further notice... Oh, I won't stab you in your sleep, you can be sure of that."

[Lena Wolf]

First Seed, 3E387 - Soldier's Peak

When Wolf and his party finally arrived at the Soldier's Peak, they found the fortress abandoned with nothing going on. Yet a strange feeling of foreboding made everyone uncomfortable.

"This fortress has been abandoned for over three hundred years," the fellow who called them there explained. "My grand-grand-grandmother or something was the Commander of the Grey Wardens here. According to history books, Grey Wardens had rebelled against the King, and the King had ordered the Wardens' elimination."

"Sounds familiar," Alistair smirked.

"Yeah, except that we never rebelled against the King, remember?" Wolf objected. "But please, continue," he turned to Levi Dryden, their guide.

"Well, that king was a tyrant - history made its ruling," he picked up his story. "But many think that the Grey Wardens still should have stayed out of politics. The king had ordered a seige of this fortress, returning months later when the supplies had run thin. It wasn't easy by any account, but the king's forces prevailed and the fortress fell... with every Grey Warden slaughtered. The books don't say how many of the king's men fell in that battle, but I reckon many times more than the number of Grey Wardens killed... But that isn't why we, the Drydens, have been dragged through dirt for the past three hundred years. Rumour has it that the Wardens had summoned demons, or used blood magic, or both, I don't really understand it, but the point was they did something unmentionable that decent people just don't do. And my grand-grandmother knew about it, possibly even ordered it... Which is why her name is vilified, and our whole family with her. I hope we can find some proof that she was none of those things, so the name of Drydens could be cleared."

"Well, so far nothing is going on here," Alistair shrugged his shoulders, stepping into the courtyard. "No monsters, no demons, no walking dead, no skeletons or wraiths or anything of the sort... Ouch!!!" A walking skeleton hit him from behind. "Where did this come from?!!!"

"It's called magic, Alistair," Wolf smirked, engaging an enraged walking corpse. "They rose from under the earth as soon as you stepped into the circle of the fortress. Every fallen Warden and every fallen soldier of the king's army are here to attack us. But look on the bright side - there's no darkspawn."

The battle was ferocious even without the darkspawn. The numbers of skeletons and walking corpses were astounding, new waves kept rising to replace the defeated ones. But after a while the courtyard was quiet. For some reason Levi Dryden could walk among the corpses and the skeletons and not even one of them ever attacked him, as if he didn't exist.

"Why are they leaving you alone?" Wolf squinted. "It's good, of course, but strange."

"Perhaps they feel the blood connection?" Levi shrugged. "My grand-grand... whoever was one of them... probably still is, somewhere deeper in."

"The veil is very thin here, demons will soon start appearing," Morrigan noted, sniffing the air. "They are attracted to fresh blood, and you are bleeding," she pointed out Alistair's wound. "You've got to bandage that up."

"That won't make much difference to the demons," Wynn objected. "Although it might make a difference to Alistair," she smirked, helping him with the bandage. "Something evil is awaiting us, I can sense it. I can also sense a magical seal around this fortress, which explains why none of these walking corpses made it out. Someone here is still alive and holding up that seal."

"Could a demon do that?" Alistair asked and shivered.

"It could, in theory," Wynn nodded. "But why would they? Something doesn't add up..."

They could not solve it in the courtyard and decided to enter the fortress keep.

They met more undead inside, they had visions of the final battle. None of it explained anything, so they pressed on, exploring every room in search of some tangible clue or record of the events. They found a library, but most books had perished one way or another, including what looked like a logbook. There were no records to be found.

As they moved further, the corpses were replaced by demons, especially in the central hall where, judging by the visions, the main battle took place. They saw the Commander ordering their mage to summon demons for defense. He obeyed, summoning dozens of them at her command. But, the same as what happened in the Tower of Magi, the demons turned on all humans, making no distinction between the Wardens or the king's men. The demons were in control, not the mage who summoned them. Thus everyone perished.

"So the summoning circles are still active, the Veil is still torn," Wynn concluded. "We need to repair it."

"We cannot repair it without reverting the original summoning magic, you know that!" Morrigan objected. "And where is that mage that cast it? Well, he's been dead for three hundred years, that's where!"

"Then we'll just have to..." Wynn started casting some spell.

"What?!" Morrigan interrupted her casting. "Summon another demon to end all demons? You are getting senile with old age!"

Wynn blushed and scowled, but stopped her incantation. Was Morrigan right? Was Wynn in fact summoning a demon? Wynn, that right-as-rain straight and correct mage? It was hard to believe but it certainly looked that way... Wolf decided not to ask any questions just then though. They weren't done yet, and perhaps further events would clarify matters.

Going further in they found another demon, but it wasn't attacking them. Instead, it wanted to talk. It was wearing the late Commander's armour and was animating her corpse, rotten yet still intact, and Levi Dryden shivered. The demon complained that it could not leave the fortress, that a magical seal was preventing it from leaving. It wanted to go into the world and explore it, it was curious about the mortals, and yes, it would feed on some, but hey, demons had to eat too. It just so happened that human souls was their natural sustenance... And in exchange the demon offered to permanently close the tear in the Veil and prevent any further demons from entering Mundus through it.

"Don't negotiate with a demon," Wynn urged Wolf. "Don't even talk to her... it... whatever. It's a trick!"

"Oh, I think it's no trick," Wolf shook his head. "I think this demon is quite serious and would do as it promises. I've met a few demons just recently, remember?" He turned to Wynn and smiled. "Have no fear, I am not as ignorant as I look."

Morrigan laughed and Alistair scratched the back of his head, not quite getting Wolf's sarcasm. Wynn blushed with anger and stopped talking.

Wolf didn't think that the demon's bargain was worth it, he was sure they could find a way to close that tear in the Veil on their own. But since the demon remembered the battle and the events leading up to it, and since it had access to the late Commander's memories, Wolf wanted information first of all. Yet they did not learn anything new. The demon essentially recounted what they already saw in visions. It wasn't what Levi Dryden wanted to hear - the Commander did order their mage to summon the demons. It was her decision.

When all was told, Wolf refused the demon's offer of a deal, a fight followed, and the demon was slain. The body of Sophia Dryden, a Grey Warden Commander, now lay motionless on the floor. No one wanted to touch it.

"I don't know what to think of my grandmother now," Levi sighed heavily. "We always thought she was brave and honourable, but now it appears she ordered to summon the demons... I just can't square that..."

"Let us continue exploring the fortress," Wolf led him away. "Perhaps there's more to find here."

...

"I hear you, let me just finish this..." An old wizard called out to them when they entered a tower connected to the main keep by a high bridge. "It was about time someone showed up."

He finished his writing and turned around, and they recognised the mage from the visions, the one that summoned the demons. He was much older now, but it was clearly the same man.

"Avernus?" Wolf thought that was the name. "Magister Avernus, is that you? Or are you a demon animating his corpse? Or someone else entirely?"

"I am Avernus, indeed," the mage nodded. "Not a demon. And you must be the boy who stumbled onto this fortress years ago and to whom I've been sending clues ever since..." He turned to Levi Dryden. "I am glad you finally made it here. I don't think I have much longer to live."

"So the dreams..." Levi stood aghast.

"Indeed, I could not leave because I had to keep the seal intact, and I could not very well write a letter... Not after three hundred years..." the mage sighed. "But you were curious enough to go searching for the old fortress held by your grand-grand-grandmother, whose corpse is being animated by a demon as we speak..."

"Not any more," Wolf put in.

"Ah, good," Avernus smiled. "Are you the present day Grey Wardens?" He looked at all of them in turn, somehow recognising the signs in Wolf and Alistair and discounting Morrigan and Wynn. "What, just the two of you?"

"Afraid so," Wolf nodded. "The entire contingent of Ferelden Grey Wardens stands before you, Magister. And of course you know about the Blight."

"Oh yes, I've felt it of course," the mage frowned. "It's bad... but I am not surprised. Well, you've seen the visions, no doubt, you know what came to pass here. Yes, it was I who summoned the demons, and yes, Sophia Dryden, our Commander, ordered me to do so. It was an act of desperation... and of overconfidence on my part. I believed that I, together with our other mages, could control the demons. I know better now, but alas, it's too late."

He fell silent. His tower was a laboratory with cages and tables meant for experimentation on humans. His logbooks were there as well, the only books that were still intact in the fortress. Wolf took the time to read them. The old mage was conducting experiments on a several Grey Wardens that escaped death in that battle. He was trying to tap into the power of darkspawn blood that each Grey Warden had to drink at the Joining. It appeared that his subjects agreed to the experiments, lethal though they were, feeling that it was the last thing they could do for their Order. This research bore fruit, a concoction that would allow to awaken the power of darkspawn in Grey Wardens. It was knowledge obtained at a terrible price, and Wynn would see that concoction destroyed... but Wolf disagreed.

"If I break this vial, those Grey Wardens would have suffered and died for nothing," he told her and drank the mixture. He collapsed and saw the Archdemon again, it was not unlike the vision at the Joining. But something has changed. He felt one with the darkspawn, and when he awoke, he felt a new power surge through his veins.

"Is it blood magic?" He turned to Avernus.

"Of sorts," Avernus nodded. "It's got to do with blood, so yes, it's blood magic. But you are not a mage... Yet it works on you, you say? That is most interesting... I need to make a note of that..." Avernus squinted. "It is supposed to give you a kind of berserk power, I should think... at the cost of your own health... for a time... hmm... try it, and let me know how it goes. I've only tested it on myself, so I know what it does to a mage... but you are a warrior..."

"But this research is inhumane!" Wynn exclaimed angrily, having read the logbooks as well. "Experimenting on human beings! Whether they consented to that, is immaterial! You must be judged and executed for your crimes!" She pointed at Avernus.

"Well, you've judged me already," he chuckled. "Yet, I think, there's more to you than what meets the eye..."

Wynn blushed and stopped talking, and Wolf thought that being a mage, and an old and very experienced mage at that, Avernus must have sensed something about Wynn that Wolf had only guessed. Perhaps Morrigan sensed something as well... perhaps that could explain her hostility towards Wynn and a touch of disdain.

But they had a pressing matter to attend to first and foremost: the tear in the Veil. Avernus would clear his old summoning circles and close the tear, but the Wardens had to watch out for demons and make sure Avernus wasn't interrupted. It was a straightforward, if tiresome battle, and in the end the Veil was restored.

"You have to judge him now, Warden," Wynn insisted. "His crimes against humanity demand immediate punishment!"

"And I think it is I who should judge him - why?" Wolf turned to face her.

"You are the senior Grey Warden of Ferelden," she shrugged. "Or are you not?"

"Well... Alistair is the senior Grey Warden of Ferelden, officially," Wolf smiled. But Alistair was shaking his head violently, so Wolf continued. "Very well. As the senior Grey Warden of Ferelden I declare Avernus has done nothing wrong."

"WHAT?!!!" Wynn was having none of it. "You can't just leave it like that! He must be punished!!"

"I said no," Wolf repeated calmly. "Grey Wardens do not answer to the king, to the Chantry or to the First Enchanter. Besides, it is Avernus who is the senior Grey Warden of Ferelden. The whole thing is ridiculous, Wynn. There's just the three of us. I shall not judge what happened three hundred years ago. Avernus is welcome to stay here or leave or do as he pleases, now that the Veil has been repaired and he no longer needs to maintain the seal around the fortress... which he has done for three hundred years straight. The man deserves a break."

Avernus smiled, listening to Wolf. This was a Grey Warden after his own heart.

"But what of Soldier's Peak?" Levi Dryden suddenly changed the topic. "This fortress? The Dryden family? Was this all for naught?"

"Your grand-grandmother was the best of us, but there is no proof of that and history has judged differently," Avernus turned to Levi. "I am sorry. The fortress is now safe though, so perhaps the Grey Wardens of today can make use of it?"

"Home at last," Wolf smiled. "Indeed. The Drydens are welcome here, Grey Wardens or not... it's much too big for the three of us, you know."

"Yes! One fortress freed of demons and monsters!" Alistair wiped some blood off his armour. "We do good work."

"Well... I have no say in this... so have it your way," Wynn said with a scowl. "But I won't forget this, Warden..."