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

[Renee]

Dang, where's my bookmark? Ah, here. First Seed 10, 4E 192. Hauk is about to escort Yrseke to a business meeting. "Keep me alive!" Love that.

Meeting is in the sewers! Yikes.

Three against one, yeah, that's really not fair. But really it's going to be three against two.

"I don't believe in fighting with honour, I prefer to win myself" -- Sometimes this is the best way.

Hauk gets seduced by Reesa, whoo. That was a funny scene.


http://chorrol.com/forums/index.php?s=&...st&p=341155

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 17 2025, 05:44 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Nothing is as it seems in the Fade

"But really, Anders, you are not gay and neither is Lucanis. What do you think will happen once the novelty of your relationship will have worn off? You are both confusing friendship with love."

Neve was sitting on a large cushion plucking the strings of a teardrop-shaped guitar. The room was dimly lit and the fog from her waterpipe was hiding the walls. Anders was reclining on more cushions covering a large divan, blowing rings of waterpipe fog of his own.

"Are we confusing it?" He looked at Neve through the fog. "And how do you know all this? And more importantly, why do you care?"

"I've been watching you," She smiled. "You cut an impressive figure, Warden. Quite to my taste."

"Oh?" Anders lifted himself slightly on an elbow. "Are you... chatting me up?" He grinned.

"I am, I suppose," Neve smiled radiantly at him. "I should be the one dancing the tango with you, not Dorian or Lucanis!" She pouted her lips in mock offence.

"Well, we can still dance a tango!" Anders laughed. "I'm sure neither Dorian nor Lucanis would mind. Right after the Blight, at The Gay Vint. It's a date, Neve. Don't stand me up." He was still laughing gently, watching Neve with interest. She focused on her guitar for a while, playing a variation on a traditional song, something that was both familiar and novel at once.

"You killed the goddess," Neve said to her guitar.

"We did," Anders looked up, blowing a thin jet of fog through the rings that were still hanging there.

"Without us," Neve sighed.

"So?" Anders turned, now facing Neve, but still reclining on the divan.

"We are no enemies."

"We are rivals."

"We should not be," Neve shook her head. "I want to get close to you." She put down her guitar and moved to the divan, reclining next to Anders. "Even closer than this..." She pressed herself to him. "What do you taste of?" She put her arms around him and kissed him.

...

"Blood!" Anders sat up in his bed, having woken up in cold sweat. "She tastes of blood!"

He jumped off the bed, realising that Lucanis stayed on the cot in the common room. He wanted to face the Desire Demon in the Fade... and that could be deadly! He was so unprepared... he wasn't a mage, he never faced a demon before... he should not be undergoing a Harrowing! But of course he could not become possessed and turn into an abomination because he already was one... Anders shook his head, trying to steady himself. Was he confusing friendship with love? Who was it that he met just now in the Fade? What kind of a demon..?

Anders got dressed and went to find Alistair. He looked in on Lucanis and breathed with relief finding him sleeping quietly. For the moment he was safe.

"Alistair," Anders touched his shoulder. "Alistair, wake up."

"Hmm..? What time is it..? Huh? Anders? What's up?" Alistair finally woke up, rubbing his face.

"Do you still remember how to be a templar?" Anders touched his shoulder again. "Can you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Alistair sat up. "Your magic always tickles, I feel nothing unusual. What happened?"

"Demons," Anders sounded dead serious. "Demons in the Fade. Not here, no, but we have enough mages that... and Lucanis..." He shook his head.

"Lucanis what?" Alistair was trying to make sense of the half sentences that Anders was uttering. "He is already possessed. And you..? You aren't possessed, I can tell!"

"Lucanis met a Desire Demon in the Fade who's been trying to make him stay there. But he woke up every time against his wishes - the Desire Demon appeared as... well... was successful in making him want to stay. It must be Spite that kept waking him up. Spite, that is, the Spirit of Determination. Lucanis finally remembered the dream and I told him it was a demon. He wants to fight it in the Fade. Do you understand what it means?! He could die! That demon's been feeding on his soul all this time! It's been growing in power! This is dangerous! I've got to help him! Sacrifice someone, open a portal, one person's blood will suffice..."

"STOP!!!" Alistair raised his voice, grabbing Anders by the shoulders with both hands. "Stop right there! You'd NEVER sacrifice anyone! Anders I know is a blood mage, yes, but he gives his own blood to others, not the other way around! What else happened?"

"I think I met a demon in the Fade too," Anders snapped out of his trance. "I just can't figure out what kind. It seemed just like a regular dream... until she kissed me. She tasted of blood..."

"So, that explains your tirade just now," Alistair said in a calmer voice but didn't let go of Anders. "Who was it?"

"Neve," Anders looked him in the eye. "Chatting me up. Wanting to... well. But if it was a Desire Demon, there are so many other women that it could have picked... with immediate success..." He smirked. "So why Neve? And that taste of blood..."

"There's more than one kind of desire," Alistair said softly. "May be it's being subtle?"

"You are a templar, can't you tell? Here's a mage in need of protection," Anders smiled weakly.

"But I cannot sense any demonic influence on you," Alistair looked puzzled. "Are you sure it wasn't the actual Neve?"

"In the Fade..?" Anders looked up. "It is nearly impossible to find another person in the Fade when one is dreaming, so she had to enter it physically, and even then..." He shook his head. "Unless... she had help."

"Solas."

"He can see me, of course... but what is she trying to do?"

"Get you killed, by the looks of it," Alistair smirked. "If you actually went ahead with bleeding someone, I would have to stop you."

"Death by templar."

"You would have been too far gone to listen to reason at that point," Alistair nodded. "I would have to kill you."

"Blood magic messes up the mage's own mind more than anyone else's," Anders nodded. "But Lucanis? What do we do?" He looked worried.

"Lucanis is not a mage; the danger he's facing is just that of battling a powerful demon in its own domain... which is bad enough," Alistair rubbed his chin. "Get Avernus. Come on."

...

Avernus was not in his room. They looked in the infirmary wing but he wasn't there either. Eventually they found him in the courtyard opening a portal to the Fade.

"Lucanis..." he started saying noticing Alistair and Anders approach. His wrists were bleeding badly but there was no sacrificial person involved.

"I am going," Anders looked around for a staff. "You keep the portal open," he nodded to Avernus.

"No, I am going," Alistair picked up a sword and a shield from a rack. "I am a templar. I shall fight that demon."

"Straight through the portal and turn left," Avernus smirked. "Spite is waiting on the other side... his appearance may surprise you..." he shot a glance at Alistair. "Just remember: nothing is as it seems in the Fade."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Your wish is my command

Alistair stepped through the portal into the Fade and Avernus lowered his arms, letting the portal shrink until it's needed again. Anders was still staring at it, unsure what to do.

"Go sit with Lucanis," Avernus turned to him. "I'll stay here and maintain the portal. Go. Keep Lucanis alive. Help him from here. You know you can."

Anders looked up, snapping out of his indecision and shaking off lingering effects of the blood magic spell that he was subjected to in his dream. Having a purpose always helped to overcome mind manipulation of blood magic, and he now knew exactly what he had to do. Keep Lucanis alive until Alistair slays that demon. Right.

...

"Alistair? You're not whom I expected..." A spirit copy of Lucanis greeted Alistair on the other side of the portal.

"Spite? Or do you prefer Determination?" Alistair squinted. "I am a templar. I am better placed to fight a demon."

"Umm... if you say so..." Spite squinted. "My name is Determination. But Spite is shorter. And... may be not too far from the truth... I'm used to it now..." He was saying in a hissing voice, chopping phrases into chunks. Spirits were not accustomed to talking. He led Alistair to a clearing nearby. "It's just here. Lucanis will appear shortly... Avernus has been shielding him... but he is asleep... he will appear... and so will the demon..."

They didn't have to wait long and indeed Lucanis walked in from the fog. He was not physically in the Fade like Alistair, it was Lucanis' spirit dreaming in the Fade while his body was lying on the cot in the infirmary wing. But he looked solid enough... nothing was as it seemed in the Fade.

"Mathilda?" He called. He did not seem to see Alistair or Spite standing there.

"Luca... my love..." A sweet voice sounded from the other end of the clearing and a Desire Demon walked in.

"Mathilda..." Lucanis took a step back, quite involuntarily.

"This is not how he sees her," Spite hissed. "He sees Mathilda..."

"Who's there?" Lucanis turned towards Alistair and Spite, looking straight at them, yet not seeing them.

"Just someone at the door, my love," the demon responded sweetly. "It will be just a moment..." She walked up to Lucanis and kissed him, caressing him gently. Alistair saw a faint shimmering strand flow from Lucanis to the demon. The demon was feeding on his soul.

She let go of him, but he was still looking at Alistair, or rather, at the spot where he heard voices. He was not yet entranced. The demon said something to him softly, embraced him ever so gently, kissed him... until he stopped looking at the spot where Alistair was standing... The demon led him to the far corner of the clearing, waved her hand and made furnishings appear, and there Lucanis sat down on a sofa waiting for her to "answer the door". He was no longer wondering where the voices were coming from.

"Well, it seems we've got guests," the demon walked over to Alistair and Spite. "Intruders, rather," she frowned. "You are intruding on a private moment."

"You cannot have Lucanis, demon," Alistair said rather aggressively. "I am here to fight you!"

"Oh? But Luca seems quite happy to stay," the demon swayed her hips at him. "He has his Mathilda back... like he could never have in your world," she smirked. "Just look at him," she waved her hand and he waved back from the sofa. "He cannot see you. Now, shoo."

"No!" Alistair shouted, plunging his sword into the ground in a cleansing strike that purged all magic around them. The demon shrieked and jumped up - that hurt. But the strike didn't reach far enough to pull Lucanis out of his trance.

"Insolence!" She cried. "I said out!!!" A powerful lightning bolt sent Alistair reeling but he picked himself up and lunged at the demon with his sword. The demon spun in place and swiped at Alistair, shredding his light armour - the demon's fingernails were now long, razor sharp blades...

"Ugh, I forgot how nasty you Desire Demons can be..." Alistair swore. "But no matter! When was the last time you faced a templar?!" He lunged again, this time cutting a gash on the demon's body, and she responded with another shriek. Yes, he still remembered how to be a templar - each of his strikes depleted magicka as well.

They danced, and it was only after a while that Alistair realised that Spite was no longer standing next to him. Spite did not join in the fight either... where was he? But Alistair had no time to ponder this question as the demon kept attacking. Then suddenly she shrieked when Alistair was himself recoiling... someone stabbed her from behind. Alistair looked up - Lucanis stood there with his sword at the ready.

"You are not Mathilda!" He cried, lunging at the demon. "You deceived me! Merda!"

Two fighters were stronger than one but the demon was more than a match for both of them together. Her spells knocked them back and out, her swipes cut through the remnants of their armour and clothing and were now inflicting serious bleeding... They had to work together if they were to gain an upper hand, but she never gave them a chance to regroup. It very much looked like that demon was going to get two souls for the price of one.

...

"Don't give in," Anders was sitting cross-legged by Lucanis' cot. "She'll get you entranced again... there... I think she already got you... Come on, shake it off!" He put his hand on Lucanis' shoulder sending a healing wave through. He didn't know which spell to use, he acted on an instinct. "You know it's an illusion, I told you. You remembered the dream," he kept talking hoping that somehow some of it might come through. But Lucanis remained motionless and his breathing was slowing - he was dreaming.

...

"This is not good," Alistair was rising heavily from another knock-out. "Those lightning bolts... ugh... they hurt." Yet he took a deep breath and resumed his attacks, trying to match Lucanis' lunges, but Lucanis too was reeling from the bolts. "Just keep going..." Alistair told himself. "Nothing else for it. We'll wear her out eventually..." He thrust his sword into the ground again in a cleansing strike, then pulled it out quickly and lunged at the demon while she was momentarily incapacitated. She shrieked - that was a successful move. "Right. Templars do it all the time," Alistair told himself. "Got to think like a templar. Negate all magic. Slay the mage. Slay the demon!" Another cleansing strike before the demon could cast another spell, and now Lucanis lunged at her at the same time as Alistair. Finally they were working together.

The dance went slightly better from that point on. Lucanis had finally seen Alistair, mostly because Alistair's cleansing strikes caught him in their range a few times and the demon's hold over him began to weaken. Lucanis finally remembered what Anders had told him - it's a demon, don't give in. Mathilda was but an illusion. His heart bled at the thought, he lost her again, and this time it was forever. His Mathilda was not dead but it was worse - she changed, she was his Mathilda no more. Half of him wished he'd never learned that he was living an illusion these past days - he had been so happy again. It was better to die happy than to live in pain. Perhaps the demon would make him forget all that? Perhaps the charm could be restored..?

He stopped attacking and lowered his sword. Alistair shot him a glance and realised the danger. The demon had regrouped. Lucanis was entranced again.

"No! Not on my watch!" Alistair leapt towards Lucanis and plunged his sword into the ground at his feet - that cleansing strike was for Lucanis. It worked, he shook his head, looked at Alistair in bewilderment, looked at his sword...

"Merda! Not again!!" He swore and lunged at the demon, but the demon was expecting it. She parried, swiping at both Alistair and Lucanis with the blades of her fingernails, sending them back again... The dance continued.

...

"She is bleeding you," Anders noticed droplets of blood appearing on Lucanis' hands. He opened his shirt and saw blood on his chest as well. "No, I've got to stop this... I cannot stop this... Look at this... it's all over the body!" Anders started panicking, not knowing how to deal with injuries inflicted from the Fade. "Keep him alive, he says!" He rolled his eyes at what Avernus had told him. "How? I cannot give him my blood, he'd get the taint..!" He jumped up and started pacing the room, surely there must be something he could do...

"Stop panicking," Avernus stood in the doorway. "Yes, yes, the portal is holding," he nodded to Anders' alarmed look. "Use conventional healing. Use potions. Use magic. Be there. That's what I did when you were fighting your demons..."

...

Alistair and Lucanis were now attacking together, standing shoulder to shoulder. That way each of Alistair's cleansing strikes also caught Lucanis and cleared the charm that the demon kept placing upon him. Time and time again Lucanis would shake his head in bewilderment then lunge at the demon again. It was going to be a very long dance.

And then suddenly a large bird swooped down on them all... a griffon... no... a crow... A crow the size of a griffon. It circled once then plunged, dissolving into a devastating blast of lighting just above the demon.

"Ahhh..." The demon sighed, spinning. A luminous sphere appeared around her, then dissolved. She stopped spinning and stood smiling, facing her attackers. The blades on her fingers had retreated turning into fingernails again, her demeanour was peaceful, soothing, appeasing... "You are strong, let us stop the fight..." She said in the sweetest of voices and both Alistair and Lucanis could not resist the compulsion to sheathe their swords. "Ahhh... That's better. My brave warriors. My handsome knights..." She smiled radiantly at them, swaying her hips. "Why should we fight..? Why fight when I can give you exactly what you want and more... give you what you don't know yet that you want... long for..."

"You lie, demon!" Alistair exclaimed, shaking his head. His templar training was now paying off - he was not that easily charmed. "All you want is our souls!"

"But that is such a small price to pay for real happiness, is it not?" She looked at each of them in turn. "Alistair... a king's son, but not quite... a king, but not quite... a templar, but not quite... and now, Commander of the Grey, but not quite the same as the one that came before... ahhh... Would you rather not see at least some of it complete? I can make you a templar, a real one - and all without the lyrium addiction. I can make you a king, if you wish it... but no, that's not it... something is lacking in your life, is it not? Ahhh... you never found love... or rather, you thought you did, but she was a mage and you thought you were a templar, and so, again, not quite..." The demon came close to Alistair and was now almost touching him, her bottomless purple eyes locked with his. "What will it be, Alistair? Templar or lover?"

"Do not give in!" Lucanis shook off his trance and grabbed Alistair by the shoulders. "This is a DEMON!!!"

"Huh?" Alistair's eyes were still glazed over, but he was shaking his head again. "Get off me, demon!!!"

"Ahhh..." The demon sighed and started spinning again. "Such a pity... I do rather prefer peaceful resolutions... but your wish is my command..." She raised her arms incanting a spell and a ball of luminescence started gathering above her head.

"Stand back!!" Alistair grabbed Lucanis by the hand. "It'll wipe us out!!"

"If only Anders was here..." Lucanis was watching the demon's growing orb. "He casts a storm like you wouldn't believe!"

"Anders..." Alistair started saying something but the orb suddenly burst with blinding light pushing them right back into the fog.

"Anders warned me of this," Lucanis was trying to decide whether he was already dead. "You can die in your dream... Anders... How I need you now, my friend..."

"Come on, get up!" Lucanis heard Alistair's voice. "We've been blinded. But we are not dead! Get up!" Someone was tugging on his sleeve. "Up, up you get!!" Alistair was urging him. "Follow my voice! I can sense her! I am a templar! A REAL templar, you hear me, demon?! I am coming for you!!!"

...

Lucanis was thrashing in his cot, even despite the lavender incense that Anders was burning right next to him, despite all the calming magic that Anders poured into him - Lucanis was thrashing to the point that sometimes Anders had to hold him down so that he wouldn't tumble to the floor.

"She really has you fight for it, doesn't she," Anders shook his head. "Well, you're fighting, so you're not charmed, that's something at least... Keep going... I am here... I'll heal your wounds... I'll catch you if you fall... my friend... my lover... my love..." He focused on another healing spell, pouring as much as he could without using blood. "Do not give in!"

...

Alistair charged the demon. He could not see her, everything was erased by an orb of blinding light hovering above them, but he could sense her, her presence, her magic. He was a templar, he did not need eyes to see evil! He suddenly remembered an old templar they met during the Fifth Blight somewhere in the capital. He was almost completely blind, a common affliction resulting from taking lyrium since young age. He was ageing, and his strength was not that of a young man, but his will compensated amply for that. He did not need eyesight to find the demon. "That templar died that day," Alistair sighed to himself. "And he had known from the start he would die... he only hoped he would take the demon with him... and he did... with a little help from us..." He sighed again, all while slashing and slicing at the demon before him without needing to see it. "And this here is my demon, it seems... She came for Lucanis but she met me... Well, hello, darling! Let's dance!"

Lucanis couldn't see the demon either, he too was completely blinded by the orb. He could not sense the demon like Alistair, but he could hear Alistair's grunts and the demon's shrieks and moans, and he tried to hit something in that direction, hoping it wouldn't be Alistair. Which way? He did not know... but something seemed to guide his hand... he lunged and the demon shrieked, he lunged again, and again he hit his target. "Spite?" He reached inside himself and felt his presence. "Is that you? Alright! You don't need eyesight, do you? Together we fight!"

"I guide you, partner..." Spite's voice said inside his head. "Open your wings..."

But Lucanis could not open his spirit wings in the Fade, not being there physically seemed to be the problem. Surely, Spite knew that... spirit wings were Spite, after all... unless he meant something else?

"Anders... Mathilda is gone... Gone from my life, now for good... Gone from my heart... it bled out... I know how you feel, my friend... Bésame, bésame mucho... Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte despuis..." He lunged and slashed at a streak of purple appearing among all the white, and every time there was a shriek or a moan, he was hitting his target again and again, so then perhaps there was a chance to survive this, to win even, may be despite all odds... "Stay with me... Quiero tenerte muy cerca mirar me en tus ojos verte junto a mi... That wasn't a tango... you still owe me another dance..."

The orb finally started dimming and Alistair and Lucanis found that they had not been permanently blinded. Their vision was returning, but what they saw did nothing to lift their spirits - the demon was still there, still spinning, still fighting... Were they even hurting her?!

"It's an illusion, keep going!" Alistair shouted to Lucanis, noticing his dejected look. "We are hurting her! I can sense it!"

"Anders..! Your storm! We need your storm!!" Lucanis shouted into the void, not expecting anything really, just acting on an impulse... again... "Stay with me..!"

They did not immediately notice a large bird swooping over the clearing, a crow the size of a griffon. It circled once and then dissolved into the mightiest lightning storm they'd ever seen, pushing them back into the fog...

...

"NOOOOO!!!" Lucanis on the cot lost his pulse. "No, no, no! You do not die on me!" Anders jumped up, ripping off Lucanis' shirt in preparation for a heart massage. "Stay - with - me! - Stay - with - me!" He punctuated his movements with a breath between each phrase, he was not going to lose his friend to a demon in the Fade! If only he could be there... demons were weak to lightning... he would whip up the biggest storm they'd ever seen, his wrists were healed, he'd give it his all..! But he was not in the Fade and his friend was lying lifeless on a cot with only his chest compressions keeping his blood circulating... "Stay - with - me! - Stay - with - me..!"

...

"Stay back, demon!!!" A hissing voice ripped through the air, someone was casting more lightning bolts and the demon was shrieking...

By the time Alistair and Lucanis recovered from their knock-out, the mage in the clearing was finishing off the demon.

"Take that!" He hissed one final time and they saw the demon's form go limp and slide to the ground, then dissolve into the Fade without a trace.

"Anders..?" Lucanis stared at the spirit shape of the mage. "What are you doing here..?"

"But I am always here... always with you..." The mage replied with some surprise.

"This isn't Anders," Alistair smiled. "This is Spite in his new human form." He paused as Lucanis and Spite stared at each other. "Time to go," he patted Lucanis on the shoulder. "Avernus must be tired keeping the portal open. And... no one needs to know what that demon was offering... not to you and not to me, right?" He smiled again as Lucanis nodded. "It's all but a dream anyway. Time to wake up, Lucanis."

Alistair watched Lucanis vanish and Spite follow him, then grinned picturing the first time Anders were to see Spite in his new human form... that'd be a laugh! And indeed, no one needed to know what happened that night in the Fade.

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Friends

"That was a hard fight," Avernus greeted Alistair when he stepped through the portal from the Fade. "You look dreadful."

"Yeah... it was pretty tough," Alistair nodded.

"But you were successful."

"Lucanis should be waking up shortly."

"How does it feel - being a real templar?" Avernus asked softly, closing the portal. "Should we mages worry?"

"Of course not," Alistair smirked. "Templars are meant to protect mages from evil, that's how I see it... It's just that sometimes that evil hides in the mages themselves..."

"I see you still remember the good book," Avernus patted him on the shoulder. "If more templars remembered their true purpose, the whole mage-templar war of the past ten years could have been avoided..."

"Which is why I prefer being a Grey Warden," Alistair frowned. "I hate politics."

"The Queen of Ferelden was very happy when you said that... and abdicated your birthright to the throne in her favour."

"Yeah... she was also very happy to learn that Grey Wardens cannot have children," Alistair smirked, returning his sword and shield to the rack and shaking his head at his shredded armour.

"It's best she doesn't know the whole truth," Avernus grinned.

"Like, how many Grey Warden children are serving with us? They have a near immunity to the Joining Cup... having joined at conception already..."

"But none of them are yours," Avernus closed the topic. "Come. We'll find a healer to patch you up... I am too exhausted at the moment."

"How's Anders?" Alistair gave Avernus a long look turning towards the infirmary wing.

"He was panicking last time I saw him... he never treated wounds inflicted from the Fade before... But I have faith in the boy - he will have redressed himself."

"Hardly a boy..." Alistair grimaced. "He's past forty five."

"And I am past three hundred," Avernus objected. "I remember when Wolf brought him in..."

"Point taken," Alistair smiled. "We should look in on him."

They were just coming into the room where Anders was still very anxiously checking Lucanis' pulse every few minutes. He had recovered from his cardiac arrest, but there was no telling what else was to come...

"We're done," Alistair told him. "Lucanis will wake up eventually."

"Thank you!" Anders hugged Alistair tightly to Alistair's great surprise. "But... you look dreadful! Hang on - let me just..." He grabbed his dagger.

"No, Anders, no blood magic today," Alistair stopped him. "You look dreadful too. I'll get another healer. You still have a patient to look after."

Alistair and Avernus left and Anders dropped back to where he'd been sitting - at Lucanis' side, cross-legged by his cot. So, he didn't have to check for pulse every few minutes any more, Lucanis was just sleeping now... exhausted after the fight, no doubt. He would wake up eventually... it's best to let him sleep. Anders put his head on Lucanis' shoulder and his arm across his chest and fell asleep too. It had been one hard night.

...

Several hours later Lucanis woke up. He had a slight headache and his neck felt stiff but otherwise he seemed to be alright. He remembered everything that happened in the Fade, and it didn't feel like a dream. He half-opened his eyes just to make sure that he was definitely back in Mundus. Of course, he already knew that - the smells and sounds of the infirmary wing were unmistakable, but still he had to see it.

The first thing he saw was a blond head resting on his shoulder and a scarred arm across his chest - he couldn't see the rest of Anders, just his head and arm. He was still sleeping. Lucanis smiled to himself, propped his head against Anders and closed his eyes. He'd seen enough.

Another hour or so later Lucanis woke up again. Someone was watching them, he could feel it. He looked around, trying not to move so as not to disturb Anders. No, that someone was standing behind them, he could not see who it was... oh well... no matter. He propped his head against Anders again, burying his face in his hair and closed his eyes. There was no rush.

The lavender incense that Anders was constantly burning by Lucanis' bed, was all used up, and the lack of familiar smell woke him up. He should refill the burner... He sighed, and with that slight movement felt Lucanis' face against his hair. Perhaps he shouldn't move, shouldn't disturb him... But Lucanis woke up too and stirred, and when Anders finally decided to sit up and lift his arm from Lucanis' chest, he found Lucanis' fingers intertwined with his.

"It's done," Lucanis whispered in his ear. "The demon is no more... and with it, also Mathilda."

"That must have hurt," Anders turned his head and found Lucanis' lips.

"You have no idea..."

The infirmary wing was buzzing with conversation around them, healers were going in and out with salves and potions, bandages were being changed, healing magic performed... and they heard none of it. Finally Anders realised that he was still sitting on hard stone floor, and had been sitting in the same position for hours...

"We should get some privacy," he pulled away slightly.

"I have no issues kissing you in public," Lucanis grinned. "Let them watch."

"It's not kissing I'm thinking of..." Anders grinned, his playful smile returning. "But really, I want to get off this stone floor... and you need a bath - you are covered in blood, head to toe."

"Why am I covered in blood?" Lucanis finally realised that his chest was exposed and indeed covered in blood. "What happened to my shirt? I don't walk around with my shirt undone like some slob!"

"You were dead," Anders' voice went hoarse at the recollection. "I was massaging your heart. The shirt was in the way."

"Huh... But I thought... it was just my spirit fighting..."

"It's like I told you - you can die in the Fade," Anders frowned. "I had no idea how to treat injuries inflicted in the Fade... but the demon was bleeding you... What did she have - razor-sharp blades for fingernails? One Desire Demon I fought had blades like that..."

"Blades, yes," Lucanis nodded. "And magic."

"Right," Anders sat up, really pulling away from Lucanis this time. "Come on. There should be hot water down in the kitchens. Hold on to me - you still have a concussion, remember? You can't walk on your own yet."

"Concussion?" Lucanis got up and realised that the world was rocking again, although not spinning. "I had no concussion in the Fade..."

"That's because your concussed head was here in Mundus," Anders smirked. "But now you're back in your body and your concussion."

...

"Ahem," Harding cleared her throat. "Guys? I've got something to tell you."

"Huh? Just how long have you been standing there, Harding?" Anders turned to her, a steaming bath in the middle of the wash room.

"Long enough to..." Harding giggled. "You could have locked the door!"

"I didn't think anyone would just stand and watch!!!" Anders' nostrils flared, but Lucanis was laughing heartily at the scene.

"Next you'll tell us you'd never expected to see a master assassin in quite such a position..." He was finding it hilarious.

"The thought had crossed my mind..." Harding giggled again.

"Alright, alright, you like to watch! You're a scout! It's in the job description!" Anders was still angry and Lucanis thought it was the funniest part.

"Oh never mind," he patted him on the back. "I'm sure she'd seen you in worse settings before..." He laughed again. "I am going to make coffee."

Anders scowled and decided not to tell Lucanis this time to make tea for Harding instead, but Lucanis remembered.

"So, Head Scout," Anders looked sternly at Harding. "What compelled you to find us with all haste?"

"Well, actually..." Harding gratefully accepted a cup of tea from Lucanis. "Actually, it isn't funny at all. Neve means to kill you," she looked at Anders with significance.

"Yeah, I know," Anders nodded, cooling off. "She already tried. Again."

"How..? When?" Harding was taken aback. "She's been at the Keep all this time... I've been watching her door!"

"Blood magic in the Fade," Anders frowned.

"Wow... that's worse than I thought..." Harding looked lost. "I cannot help you there... we dwarves don't dream... never enter the Fade... I cannot watch her in the Fade..."

"It's alright, Lace," Anders said softly. "No one can watch her in the Fade. Solas is helping her. Perhaps I should try to find him myself."

"That is too dangerous," Lucanis shook his head. "Merda! I should have killed Neve ages ago!" It was Lucanis' turn to get angry.

"Then Solas would have simply found someone else," Anders shook his head. "No, leave her be for now. Till the end..."

"Let's hope it's not your end!" Lucanis retorted. "Talk to Dorian... Avernus? Emmrich too, he knows about the Fade and spirits and stuff..."

"Yeah, let's just put an advertisement in the papers!" Anders snapped. "Blood mage looking for an elven god. Catchy."

"Sounds like a dating request," Harding smirked. "But Lucanis is right, you know - you should talk to someone. Solas is not to be trifled with."

"Oh alright..." Anders sighed. "We should include Alistair as well... and Taash..."

"Taash?" Harding looked surprised. "Taash?" She repeated, as if trying to figure it out. "Taash has been at the Keep all this time... following Davrin around, mostly... and... err... why Taash?" She finally asked, having given up trying to solve this riddle herself.

"Taash does dream," Anders looked straight at Harding. "The qunari have their own powerful magic. She's been visiting me... in the Fade. She is our Fade scout. Did she never tell you that? Perhaps she didn't want to hurt your feelings..."

"Oh..." Harding did look upset. "May be she trusts me less than I thought..."

"Nonsense, Lace," Anders said softly. "It's just that... well... the qunari have different customs around love and sex and friendship... and duty... And even though Taash was brought up in Rivain... she is still a qunari, she follows the Qun. Perhaps you should talk to Dorian about his discoveries with The Iron Bull... and I don't mean the sex part."

"Looks like we all have something to discuss," Harding nodded and Anders thought he saw a tear in her eye. "I'll return to the Keep... I might talk to Dorian on the way... I'll send Taash over..." She got up, throwing one last glance at Anders and Lucanis, still completely naked. "I won't join you for the big discussion, that'd look suspicious," she said matter-of-factly. "But I hope Taash will fill me in afterwards..." She sighed.

"She will," Anders got up and walked over to Harding, then dropped to one knee and hugged her. That way his face was level with hers, his face rather than his midriff. "Friends?" He looked at her and smiled.

"Friends," she smiled back, and this time Anders was sure he saw a tear in her eye.

"What about Varric?" Anders suddenly realised that Varric, being a dwarf, would have the same issue as Harding of not being able to follow things in the Fade. "Does he even know what Neve is doing?"

"That... is a very good question," Harding smiled brightly. "That I can find out!" Her mood visibly improved. "Right! I never thought of following him! Oh! I'll let you know!" She smiled again and ran out of the room.

[Renee]

Lena and Hauk, heading to Arenthia (or so Hauk thinks). Which is Valenwood, if I'm not mistaken.

Besides, you don't know it's mine - you can't be sure. We won't be sure for several years after the child is born."

Several years?

Yea, Hauk's tale of Reesa is pretty darn wretched! Until next time.

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - No quiero perderte nunca despues

"You're upset, aren't you?" Lucanis watched Anders close and lock the door after Harding had left, then walk over to the bath tub. "Harding upset you."

"Yes," Anders nodded without turning around. "She just stood there and watched..." He smirked. "I didn't think anyone here would do that."

"She was intruding and she knew it," Lucanis nodded.

"It wasn't what we did..." Anders faced him. "It was how we did it... That was for you only."

"But you forgave her..."

"And you laughed it off... I could see through it, you know."

"Harding is an ally, but not a friend."

"Quite," Anders nodded. "That's why there was nothing to forgive. It was not an offense but a disappointment." He turned back to the bath tub and resumed washing off the traces of their love making. "She will never become a friend."

"I wonder..." Lucanis took the other side of the bath tub. "I wonder how Taash sees Harding..."

"Well, they are 'an item', as we used to say when we kids," Anders smirked. "But the qunari don't equate sex with love and friendship, and Harding should remember that."

"Humans don't always equate it either," Lucanis grinned. "Mostly we don't equate it."

"Let me rephrase: for us love leads to sex, for the quanari it doesn't. In fact, they are taught to keep it completely separate. I don't know how closely Taash follows this teaching... but I fear Harding might be misunderstanding the nature of their relationship from Taash's point of view." Anders finished washing and picked the largest towel from the stack.

"Was that what Dorian discovered on his own experience?" Lucanis finished washing too and eyed Anders' towel with envy - there were no big ones left.

"Dorian was just playing, to start with," Anders nodded. "It was a game, it was for fun... then I think it got a bit more serious for him, but not for The Iron Bull... Bull explained it to me once: he could never become emotionally involved with Dorian because of sex... It sounds bizarre to us but such are their traditions."

"And Dorian had to accept it, of course," Lucanis threw off the towel and proceeded with getting dressed. "This shirt is covered in blood... these trousers also... on the inside..."

"Well, you were covered in blood, that's why we came here," Anders looked up. "There should be a clean robe in the chest... there's usually something."

"I don't wear robes!" Lucanis scowled. "But I suppose it will have to do..." He pulled on the robe and dropped his shirt and trousers into the tub to wash. "So I suppose Dorian was upset when The Iron Bull turned on you all in that fight I heard about?" He picked up their conversation again.

"If he was, he didn't show it," Anders mused. "He killed Bull without hesitation."

"He must have been very hurt," Lucanis decided.

"Dorian never spoke of it, although some people had to ask. Dorian is a very private person."

"Of course, being gay in Tevinter..."

"The only kingdom in Thedas where gay marriage still doesn't exist."

"Bizarre, really," Lucanis shrugged. "I mean, what's the big deal?"

"Dunno," Anders finally unwrapped himself out of the towel and decided to get dressed. "But he's had difficulties at the Magisterium because of that. It is only slightly worse than blood magic... imagine that! And then, when everyone finally had to accept an openly gay Magister, he had to go and buy a blood mage for a slave - me! That put him right back in the centre of unwanted attention."

"Is that why you slept in his bedroom for weeks on end?" Lucanis shook his head at the blood stains on his shirt and trousers that weren't easily coming out.

"The problem is that you cannot prove that you are not doing something. The only thing you can do is try to prove that you are doing something different," Anders nodded, examining his own robe and tossing it into the bath tub to wash. "The suspicion was that he bought a blood mage so that this mage could bleed a few slaves for him to augment his power without Dorian himself having to perform a blood magic ritual... keeping his hands clean, so to speak."

"Disgusting," Lucanis grimaced. "That's worse than doing it yourself."

"Exactly. So the other option was sex... I mean, why else would he buy a blondie like myself?" Anders grinned. "Blonds are not common in Tevinter."

"And of course you being a man, that fits," Lucanis agreed.

"Besides, Dorian doesn't have a permanent partner... so there's always talk that he might be open to marriage one day... To marry a woman, that is. He is a very rich man, and plenty of women wouldn't give monkeys for his preference, as long as they get to his gold..."

"It's always the same, isn't it?" Lucanis looked up from his washing. "Money and power."

"So yeah, he asked me if I would consider doing him a favour... pretending that we were intimate. Of course I obliged. I was coming and going at first, just so that the servants would see us enough, but then someone sent The Crows after me..." he grinned. "And then Dorian insisted I moved into his suite permanently to be protected by his bodyguards. It turned out a good precaution, too."

"Plus the bodyguards could join in the gossip," Lucanis smirked.

"For sure..." Anders laughed, looking up. "Sometimes they'd have to check on us as well..." he winked.

"Didn't Dorian get cross with them for that?"

"He did, and they stopped." Anders gave up trying to wash out a stain left by his potion belt. "I'll need to get a new robe when this is over... these stains don't come out."

"What - you just have the one robe?" Lucanis looked up in surprise.

"Yep... I normally just wear some Grey Warden stuff... never had the coin for clothes..."

"We'll have to change that," Lucanis rinsed out his shirt and trousers decisively. "I think you deserve a few gifts."

"When I was younger..." Anders smiled. "I had a pretty golden earring," he fingered his earlobe. "Then we got into a fight with some darkspawn, they slashed at my ear and I lost it. Wolf gave me a new one later... just as pretty. I had that one for a long time, but then we got taken into a darkspawn prison and, well, I guess darkspawn like gold too... because it vanished. I never replaced it..."

"I can see you still wearing it," Lucanis said softly.

"Yeah..."

Anders focused on washing his robe for a while, and splashing water made his face wet.

"Dorian is a very private person, you know," he returned to their conversation. "You can lie naked next to him and still feel your privacy respected. I just don't know how he does it."

"He doesn't stand and watch?" Lucanis offered.

"Makes you appreciate your friends more when something like this happens," Anders agreed. "We should see how he's doing. And Alistair. Alistair looked dreadful when he came out of the portal..."

"Alistair is a real templar," Lucanis straightened out his shirt on the washing line by the fire. "He could sense that demon even when we both were blinded. Went right for it! I've never seen a templar at work... impressive!"

"I always knew he's a real templar, even when he doubted it," Anders nodded, rinsing out his robe. "It doesn't take lyrium addiction to be one. They are taught to sense magic... they've got the cleansing strike... if that's not magic, then I'm a toad," he smirked. "Magic has many forms... they are just never told that. Wolf believed that everyone has magic... to a varying degree - that's what they believe where he's from. And it makes sense, you know... we all go to the Fade to dream..."

"Don't remind me," Lucanis shook his head. "I've had enough of the Fade to last me a lifetime..." He watched Anders hang up his robe on the washing line. "Done? Then before we go, there's something I need to show you... while the door is locked."

"Oh?"

"If it wasn't a temporary effect..." Lucanis rubbed his chin in doubt. "Then we'll both find out. Here... Spite, show yourself!"

There was some movement of air and a spirit form of a man in a robe appeared in the room.

"It's still the same..." Spite hissed.

"What?!" Anders stared at him. "You are me?!"

"No, I am I but I look like you," Spite shook his head. "For some reason."

"Come on, you know why this happened," Anders squinted at him. "What did you do?"

"It's what you did, not I," Spite contradicted. "Kept pouring magic into him..." He jerked his head at Lucanis.

"Healing magic..." Anders wasn't convinced.

"I think I did this..." Lucanis watched Spite for a while, then stood next to Anders. "I called to you... a few times... Bésame, bésame mucho... Remember that song?" He sang the start of it. "But no... let's change it... No quiero perderte nunca despues..."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - A god's way

"Well, hello, Fen'Harel," an elf walked up to the invisible wall that's been locking Solas in his prison in the Fade. "This prison is superbly designed, I must say," he smirked. "No miscalculations this time."

"What do you want, Elgar'nan?" Solas scowled.

"Oh, nothing, I just thought I'd come and say hello to an old friend," Elgar'nan smiled pleasantly. "Because we used to be friends... ahhh... such a long time ago... Don't you remember, Fen'Harel?"

"I remember," Solas nodded. "I remember it all... how you betrayed us all, All-Father, how you turned on your people, enslaved them... God of Vengeance! But what did your people ever do to you?"

"They turned out to be inferior," Elgar'nan said with disdain. "Not worthy of being elves. They were only good for one thing - obedience."

"You made them this way!" Solas replied hotly. "With your endless retributions! You know no mercy!"

"Mercy is a miscalculation," Elgar'nan smirked. "The word you like very much. Because Fen'Harel does not err but occasionally makes a miscalculation. You killed our people when you created the Veil. It is far worse than 'enslavement', as you call it."

"I miscalculated, true," Solas looked down. "But you are wrong - I err, I recognise that I err. Miscalculations, mistakes, errors - call them what you like, they all have one thing in common: my intent is always pure, which cannot be said about yours."

"Are you quite sure?" Elgar'nan squinted. "Or perhaps are you again mistaken? They call me All-Father for a reason. Between Mythal and myself, we are the elves. All elves come from us. Even you."

"That's rubbish, Elgar'nan, and you know it," Solas grimaced, spitting out the words. "You are not a god! I am not a god! Mythal was not a goddess! We were all created along with this world, the Fade, Mundus, everything. You cannot claim creation!"

"Ahhh, there is the old fire of Fen'Harel!" Elgar'nan laughed. "I was wondering what would bring it out. How is dearest Mythal? It's been a long time since I've heard from her... I miss her so."

"Mythal... is no more." Solas said with a fallen voice and turned away.

"Really?" Elgar'nan came as close to the invisible wall as he could. "I cannot believe you killed your mistress."

"I have."

"Well... actually I lied: I can believe you killed her." Elgar'nan walked back a little. "We warned her of your treachery, but a heart in love does not listen... whatever she saw in you, I never knew."

"Yeah... killing her is perhaps my greatest regret."

"So, what now, Solas?" Elgar'nan looked stern. "You changed your name... ever since you started that rebellion... three hundred years of war... The elves were destroyed by it! And then the humans came, and we could not defend our lands because there wasn't much of us left! And all for what?! Freedom? What freedom do they have now?"

"Things have gone far worse under humans than they'd ever been under the Evanuris," Solas admitted. "But how could we have known that humans would come?"

"You did not need to know that," Elgar'nan objected. "You should have stopped the war after the first hundred years or something! It was clear already then that the war was destroying the people! But no! Solas proved true to his new name!" He scowled. "I wonder how many know what it means. Solas. Pride. Personally, I preferred Fen'Harel. I like wolves."

"Have you come to torment me, Elgar'nan? Is this your vengeance?" Solas looked up, his face torn.

"Actually, no," Elgar'nan replied in a calmer tone. "I came to see whether you were indeed locked up in a prison, and it does look that way. What would bring it down? The death of Ghilan'nain and myself, no doubt? Well, Ghilan'nain is already dead... killed by your puppet!" He scowled. "And I'm next in line, of course. But your Warden will be surprised when he meets a real Old God..."

"Anders is not my puppet," Solas scowled too. "Anders is an arrogant brat who listens to no one and acts without thinking! I am here because of him! It is all his fault!"

"Is it now?" Elgar'nan laughed out loud. "I would have liked to see that! I mere human spoiling Fen'Harel's ritual! But of course I could not see it because I was imprisoned at the time!" He glared at Solas. "That previous prison wasn't as perfect as this one and Ghilan'nain and I were already making cracks in it... Then suddenly it crumbled and here we are! But the world has changed in the meantime."

"Oh yes, the world has changed..." Solas sighed. "My plan was however to restore it! To restore it for the elves!"

"And to destroy it for the humans, no doubt? Eh, Fen'Harel? Is that why the humans got up in arms and did everything they could to stop you? And even succeeded?"

"Well, yes, sacrifices had to be made," Solas nodded. "Yes, alright, the world they know would have been destroyed. Everyone except the elves would have been dead but..."

"No buts!" Elgar'nan interrupted him. "Don't you dare to rebuke my retributions! They never included destruction of a whole world!"

Solas and Elgar'nan stood there, glaring at one another.

"We're both ancient elves," Solas said softly. "And unless we work together to eliminate all humans, we will be two dead ancient elves. We aren't immortal, you know."

"Work together? I've heard that before," Elgar'nan spit. "No, Fen'Harel. You are probably right, but I cannot trust you. No."

They stood silent for a while, eyes locked, continuing the conversation in their thoughts.

"Then we shall likely both be dead," Solas finally said. "You can kill Anders, but another Warden will rise where he falls. You can kill all Wardens, and someone else will pick up their banner. They are more united than we ever were. That's why we lost."

"I see... so your Final Solution was exactly that..." Elgar'nan said softly. "Cleanse Mundus and open it to the Fade again... all races except elves will die... That's genius, Fen'Harel. Crude and cruel, but genius still... Too bad it can no longer be done."

"Oh but it can," Solas looked up. "Even if we don't work together. The Blight..."

"Ahhh..." Elgar'nan laughed softly. "Ghilan'nain's pet project... Gone entirely out of hand... It's a disease now, Fen'Harel, have you not seen it? It no longer obeys its creator... Yes, Ghilan'nain could still alter it, she thought she could control it... but no... no one controls the Blight. We should be fighting it, not letting it consume the world!" He added in anger. "The Blight does not discriminate! It consumes every living being and every race, elves included!"

"I realise it now, yes," Solas nodded.

"A bit too late, wouldn't you say?" Elgar'nan glared at him. "First you give your key to the Golden City to one ancient darkspawn lord, you help him make a giant hole in the Veil so that demons inundate Mundus, you practically push him to take over the world and merge it with the Fade... and then when the lord dares to think for himself and discovers red lyrium, you join the Inquisition and make out yourself as the hero of the day! Pah!"

"That was another miscalculation..."

"Oh, keep your excuses to yourself!" Elgar'nan spit. "Solas. The one thing that Pride can never accept is that others may have a will of their own!"

"What are you going to do, Elgar'nan?" Solas raised his voice. "You have a plan of your own, I know you! And it won't be anything short of destroying Mundus, either. So stop lecturing me!"

"I have no plan to destroy Mundus, no," Elgar'nan replied calmly. "I actually want the Veil to stay intact. The Blight will do the destruction and I want to be safe from it in the Fade."

"And?" Solas didn't believe Elgar'nan.

"And from there..." Elgar'nan smiled. "Do you remember the Forgotten Ones? They aren't exactly forgotten. Not by me, that is. I don't know yet, is the answer. I only just escaped from an eternal prison," he smirked. "The Blight cannot be controlled but it can be exploited. How and to what end, I do not yet know. I just need... to rest a while... to gather my thoughts..." He paused, watching Solas. "But there is a problem with it, isn't there? As long as I am alive, you are locked in this prison. Ah. You understand now why I do not believe that working with you would do me any good."

Solas did not reply, there was nothing more to say. The cards lay bare. Solas needed Elgar'nan dead, and therefore Elgar'nan needed Solas dead in turn, as impossible as it appeared.

...

"Ugh," Anders sat up in bed, he'd had another nightmare. He stretched for his Conscription Ale and swallowed several gulps. He shook his head and got up. Lucanis woke up too but didn't need to ask what happened - he already knew the signs. He got up and started making coffee.

"It's almost dawn, the Wardens will start waking up shortly," he said, looking out of the window.

"The Wardens are probably already awake," Anders smirked. "I bet most of them had the same dream as I - Solas and Elgar'nan talking. Too bad I couldn't catch more of what was said."

"I thought it was only the Blight that gave you nightmares," Lucanis squinted. "And we killed that Blight Mistress."

"And the nightmares lightened up a lot since then," Anders nodded. "I am not exactly sure why I'm hearing these two... hmm... it didn't seem like either of them was talking to us..."

"Perhaps they are unaware that you can hear them?"

"Perhaps... but unlikely," Anders wasn't convinced. "I'll need to talk to the others. The older Wardens, they'll know. Avernus too."

Lucanis nodded. That was Warden business and he wasn't a Warden. That was the line in the sand between Anders and him.

...

Anders walked into the room with three old Wardens - Linus, Markus and Roderik. All three of them were awake, as Anders had expected. But most other Wardens seemed to sleep peacefully.

"The dream?" Anders looked at them.

"Not everyone, it seems," Roderik looked around. "Only older Wardens... so it takes a certain level of taint... You should not have had it."

"I light up in the Fade..." Anders smirked. "Solas has a connection to me, whether he knows of it or not. It seems it was made when I interrupted his ritual... He can always locate me, and perhaps this is why I had the dream."

"Did you hear what they were saying?" Markus moved closer, he didn't want to raise his voice and disturb those that were still asleep.

"Elgar'nan wants the Veil to stay intact so that he could withdraw into the Fade and gather his thoughts and his strength," Anders summarised. "But Solas needs him dead in order to destroy the prison he's in. For this reason Elgar'nan wants Solas dead, although it is unclear how to achieve it."

"And the Blight?" Linus didn't think that was all.

"Don't know, didn't catch it," Anders shrugged. "They didn't say anything directly about it... but I have a feeling they both can manipulate it."

"Which is why we are hearing them," Linus nodded. "Which means that for us, each of them is like an Archdemon."

"So then the plan remains the same: kill Elgar'nan, then kill Solas. Two Archdemons to go," Anders agreed. "But wait... something has changed. Elgar'nan can no longer hide from us."

"Neither can an Archdemon, and yet with every Blight it is the Archdemon who comes to the Wardens and not the other way around," Roderik reminded him. "We may sense him but we cannot reach him unless he comes to us."

"It's a game of cat and mouse," Linus agreed. "We prepare and wait. What has changed is that now we know that he is coming."

[Renee]

Ah, so that's the guy in Two Worlds. Hauk himself, eh? Not sure if the guy has some other name in TW. But that's Hauk as portrayed in Two Worlds, neat.

Hauk now has an audience as he continues the story of Reesa.

Holy [censored], look at Riverhold. That's gotta be a fun place to explore, wow. And look at Grand Castle Hall! And the Mages Guild is here too, very cool.

They walked around town trying to avoid jumping down from terrace to terrace, but there wasn't always a connecting staircase, and Lena was getting tired of zigzagging left and right over the mountain stream

http://chorrol.com/forums/index.php?s=&...st&p=341328

[Lena Wolf]

Ah, so that's the guy in Two Worlds. Hauk himself, eh? Not sure if the guy has some other name in TW. But that's Hauk as portrayed in Two Worlds, neat.

It's a bit odd in Two Worlds. The main character is the same in I and II, so he has a back story. But we don't know his name... I played two games with him, and I still don't know who he is! I gave him a name, of course.

But Hauk's game is different - he is not doing the main quest as such. He is a mercenary, so he's focusing on side quests and exploration "not by the rules". Note that the game is unmodded, but there are ways to do things that developers didn't block well enough... So this way Hauk is a different person in the same land.

Hauk now has an audience as he continues the story of Reesa.

Holy [censored], look at Riverhold. That's gotta be a fun place to explore, wow. And look at Grand Castle Hall! And the Mages Guild is here too, very cool.

Yeah, and all the shirtless Khajiit too. Keep on reading.

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - A first time for everything

"I think I did this…" Lucanis watched Spite for a while, then stood next to Anders. "I called to you… a few times… Bésame, bésame mucho… Remember that song?" He sang the start of it. "But no… let’s change it… No quiero perderte nunca despues…"

Anders stood transfixed. Spite, the spirit possessing Lucanis, had a new human appearance - that of Anders. Spirits had no control over their appearance in Mundus, that had to come from the person they were possessing - in this case Lucanis. But to change the spirit's appearance was no simple magic. There was no spell or ritual for it - that came directly from the soul. Which meant...

Emotion rose in Anders' heart and overflowed it. He was finding it hard to breathe. Tears were just at the back of his eyes, tears of some new and unknown quality... Anders never felt like that before. He was looking into Lucanis' eyes and drowning in their depths.

"For me?" Lucanis was looking into Anders' eyes in turn. "Am I your first?"

"I... yes..." Anders finally managed to take a breath. "Never before..."

"I know the signs... Mathilda..." Lucanis smiled softly. "I felt like this for her. But I feel no less for you now - may be more. More intense, more mature... And of course, you are my first, too."

"Always women before, eh?" Anders smiled. "Just like me... with one exception. You know."

Anders finally regained some measure of control and realised that his legs felt weak. He took a step towards Lucanis and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Lucanis responded by taking Anders in a tango grip, and just as well, there was no longer any danger of Anders falling.

"Dorian - yes?" Lucanis spoke very softly as there was no need for loud words. "You owe me nothing. Exclusivity is not required..."

"But it is given... the same as you," Anders smiled.

"Ah... no... Mathilda - or rather the demon impersonating her... I wasn't dreaming."

"Mathilda doesn't count, she's from the past. She's a part of you..."

"She was, yes... That demon killed her..." Lucanis sighed. "I think I am still grieving."

"You don't need to make any promises."

"Dorian is very fond of you... He would like to see more of you, I am sure. I am not stopping you... if you feel the same..."

"No, it's... different," Anders smiled. "Before Dorian men were never for pleasure. They were for coin or for pain or both... or just because as young lads my friend and I couldn't get girls to do it with..." He smirked. "But we both hated doing it with each other... So I always hated having sex with men."

"But..."

"You kissed me first," Anders pointed out. "You started it."

"I didn't know what I was doing, I admit," Lucanis laughed. "I still don't understand how it happened... I just... wanted to kiss you... and I did..." He kissed Anders softly. "I never kissed a man before, and never wanted to."

"I never wanted to before either," Anders pressed his forehead against Lucanis. "Perhaps this is what they call a mid-life crisis. We're the right age for it."

"Do you believe in such nonsense?" Lucanis laughed. "I don't. We're just... whatever..."

Their next kiss lasted forever... or at least this was how it felt.

"Dorian tells me you asked him for sex... so I assumed it was because you enjoyed it..." Lucanis returned to the one point that was puzzling him. "But if in fact you didn't normally enjoy it... then... were you trying to change your mind?" He pulled back a little and looked Anders in the eye.

"Dorian is a very gentle person," Anders nodded. "If anyone could change my mind, it would be he. Or you. But I didn't know if you wanted to go as far as that."

"And so... you did it for me..." Lucanis' heart skipped a beat. He usually held his emotions in an iron grip, but now they were getting out of control. His heart felt heavy, it was overflowing.

"Just in case you wanted it... I wasn't going to offer or suggest..."

"And you didn't... I did... Not knowing what I was starting again..." Lucanis' voice sounded hoarse, emotion was cutting his breath.

"Always in control..."

"It's an illusion... I am easily tricked by a clever mage."

"We do what we can to get people into compliance," Anders smiled. "I promised not to do it again."

"I know, I'm just teasing you..."

This time it was Anders who started the next kiss. Lucanis wasn't always leading.

"And now? Where do we go from here?" Lucanis pulled away when his heartbeat started to overwhelm him. "We have a Blight to fight..."

"The Blight can wait..." Anders stroked his hair. "I am not about to ignore this... feeling... I may not live past the Blight... none of us may live past this Blight... So let's forget it for today..."

After another kiss they both decided that the wash room was not the most romantic place in the fortress, and besides they were getting hungry. They unlocked the door and stepped into the kitchen hoping to find something to eat. Evka was stirring in a pot over the fire.

"We've got stew," she shot them a glance. "You look like you could eat. You also look very tired, both of you - I've heard of the bad night you've had. Alistair and Avernus are both exhausted..." She stopped talking when she noticed their baffled looks. "You... ah," she smiled. "Hello, love birds, have some stew!" She sat two bowls of stew on the table. "Oh, don't mind me," she grinned. "I welcome another couple around! Antoine and myself being the only couple here... it hasn't always been straightforward," she sighed. "But at least we no longer have to lock the door - everyone learned to knock by now." She watched them sit down at the table and start eating without a word. "But you locked the door... why? I didn't think Fereldens locked their doors..." She looked at Anders.

"Someone stood and watched," Lucanis grimaced.

"Who?!" Evka frowned. "Who needs to be taught manners again?!"

"No one from here and not a Warden," Anders gave her a long look.

"Ah," Evka sighed. "Well, if any one of ours give you grief... you just let me know!" She said forcefully.

"Sounds like you've had trouble with that," Anders touched the topic hoping that Evka would stop talking about them.

"Well, no, not really. I mean, nothing besides the usual Elf and Dwarf jokes," she smirked. "Which is complete nonsense, really... Antoine is an Orlaisian elf... he's half the size of an average human... he's still taller than me, but not like you're taller than me..." She shook her head. "He took those jokes personally though... An elf in love with a dwarf - that's a theoretical impossibility, they said..."

"That's a cruel thing to say," Anders looked up. "And untrue, of course."

"Yeah... he took it badly at first..." She sighed again and turned away to stir the stew for a while.

"How long has it been now? A few years, I reckon..."

"A few years, yes... But I still see it before my eyes as if it is happening all over again... Such things don't leave you... The Blight is... forever etched in your mind..." Evka left the stew pot alone and sat down at the table. "A caravan was attacked by darkspawn, some people killed, others wounded, and not just a little... We were nearby and responded... Cleared the darkspawn, tended to the survivors... Took them to the nearest village... Antoine was so badly hurt, he had to be carried. The village didn't have a healer, so we stayed a while. And then... the usual," she looked at Anders. "Some die, some survive, some..." She looked away.

"...are in so much pain, they want to be dead," Anders finished her sentence. "Yeah... I know the requests."

"I bet you do," Evka smiled. "Jacques didn't make it... Another elf, he asked to join us... he was dying, the blight spread throughout his body, so quickly... I was wondering whether he'd been blighted already before the attack, but I never asked..."

"Jacques' sacrifice will not be forgotten," Anders said solemnly. "Did you make a record?"

"Of course," Evka nodded. "Antoine watched him die... It's never easy to watch, and it's worse when it's your friend..."

"That isn't an easy death."

"No..." Evka sighed and paused, looking at Anders and Lucanis in turn. Lucanis was listening without saying anything. "Antoine's blight was spreading quickly too," she continued. "Too quickly... I wonder if it was some new variant already..." She shook her head. "We did what we could to slow it down, but..."

"...it's pointless..."

"...yeah..."

"Then Antoine asked to join us too?" Anders prompted her to continue.

"He did, and of course we would never refuse," she nodded. "He made it. His blight receded, it was again... remarkable to see... never seen it retreat like that..."

"Antoine has unusually keen senses, it must be because of this strange new blight," Anders suggested.

"Or because he's paying attention," Evka smirked. "He is actually listening to the song... I mean, he doesn't just hear it, he is listening to it... while the rest of us are trying to block it..."

"...unsuccessfully..."

"I blame the song for the lot of it," Evka laughed. "He actually loves me... Me!" She rolled her eyes. "Evka of Dust Town... castless..."

"Don't say that," Lucanis interrupted her softly. "Warden Evka."

"You see past the cast too..." She gave him a long look. "You haven't spent much time in Orzammar, have you..?"

"I have not been allowed in," Lucanis shook his head. "Antivan Crows..."

"Of course," Evka nodded. "Well... Antoine's never been to Orzammar either..."

"So he saw you for who you are," Lucanis continued in a soft voice. "The same as we see you..."

"Antivans..." She laughed. "You have a way with words, you do..." Then, turning to Anders, she added: "He's a handful... the same as Antoine..." She jerked her head at Lucanis. "They worm their way into your heart and never leave..."

...

"Alistair?" Anders pushed the door of Alistair's room. "Are you asleep?"

"I was but you woke me up," Alistair sat up. "Nah... I'm just teasing you," he grinned. "What are you two doing up?" He looked at Anders and Lucanis in turn. "You don't look like you've had enough rest yet."

"We are here checking on you, thanks," Anders shook his head and came closer to have a good look at Alistair's bandages. "You've taken some scrapes."

"Nothing I haven't had before," Alistair dismissed it. "It was... a tough fight," he admitted looking at Lucanis. "But we won. It's done. What happens in the Fade..."

"...stays in the Fade," Anders nodded. "Very well."

Anders was satisfied, leaving Alistair in the care of the other healers. He wasn't the Chief Healer of course, there was no such thing... but he took his duties seriously. Being a healer was a calling, after all.

"Emmrich? Dorian?" Their room was next. "How are things? Sorry I couldn't come check on you sooner..."

"We are fine, really," Emmrich smiled, looking up from his book. "We're not being left out. You've had other fish to fry."

"I... was busy," Anders nodded. Still, he made it a point to check Emmrich's bandages which weren't many, while Emmrich kept his eyes on Lucanis.

"You look much better, Lucanis," he finally said. "You seem at peace with the other spirit inside you."

"We made peace, yes," Lucanis nodded. "And... well... I suppose you can sense it... He changed... for the better, I think," he smiled.

"Spirits do take on change," Emmrich now looked at Anders. "And it isn't always peaceful. I can only imagine the kind of turmoil you must have gone through with Justice..."

"What..?" Anders was taken by surprise. "Oh... Well, he's out." That was all that Anders was going to say on the subject and Emmrich didn't ask any further questions - as curious as he was about it, he also did not want to pry. After all, Emmrich's interest was merely professional, while for Anders it was a deeply personal matter.

Dorian was watching them from his bed, keeping a large book on his lap even when Anders walked over to him.

"I'm fine too," he said cheerfully. "Just minor scrapes." However, Anders saw through it.

"What's under the book?" He looked at Dorian sternly. "No, wait..." He came closer. "Oh no..." Of course, he could sense it.

"I'm afraid so," Dorian smiled with sadness and removed the book. Black veins were visible under the gauze of the bandage across his leg. "I hadn't seen it coming. A tentacle."

"Damn..." Anders quickly removed the bandage to see the full extent of the blight. "It's spreading quickly," he said with worry.

"Actually, no, it's much better now than it was yesterday," Dorian looked up. "Avernus has been treating it... Remarkable, really."

"He didn't tell me..."

"You were busy," Dorian pointed out. "You had quite enough on your plate already... How's that blood magic spell affecting you? Worn off by now, I trust? Any side effects? I know a thing or two about being subjected to such spells..."

"Yes, but... No, I'm the healer here!" Anders shook his head. "I'm the one asking questions," he smiled. "You know it cannot be cured, right? Avernus can delay it, slow it down..."

"But he cannot free me from the grip of the Blight, I know," Dorian became serious. "However, his treatment is effective at keeping it stable. There's no time for melancholy now, or for life-changing decisions like joining the Grey Wardens. I'll be fine for now. We keep fighting, we defeat this Blight, and then we'll see how much pain I'm in... and whether I'm ready to drink anything to stop it, such as Archdemon's blood..."

"Well..." Anders sighed, taking a small step back. "It's..." He shook his head, then leaned over to Dorian and hugged him tightly. "Whatever you need..." He said in his ear. "I am here for you."

"Shhh... I am not dead yet," Dorian waited for the emotion in Anders to ebb before pulling away slightly. "I'm still with you in this fight, like before. Nothing has changed."

Anders started protesting that everything had changed, but Dorian silenced him with a kiss.

"We'll dance another tango at The Gay Vint when this is over," he smiled. "Let's just focus on that."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Spirits

"Hello, blood mage," someone said behind Anders' back making him spin around. "You do light up in the Fade," the person smirked.

"Elgar'nan," Anders recognised him. "What do you want?"

"Oh my, you are abrupt, Solas didn't lie," Elgar'nan laughed. "Don't be alarmed, I just want to tell you a few things, nothing more... It is in your interest, as well as mine."

"Alright, I'm listening." Anders folded his arms.

"Just like that?" Elgar'nan sounded surprised. "No protests? No tantrums? Disappointing, really."

He waited for Anders to respond but Anders just stood there, saying nothing.

"Well... that is rather boring," Elgar'nan scowled. "To business then. I suppose you overheard me talking to Solas... you and a few other Grey Wardens... I should have realised you'd be able to hear us... oh well. Which is why I am here. As a Grey Warden, your duty is to stand against the Blight, yes? Not against ancient elven gods as such, am I correct? I know I am," he said without waiting for Anders to reply. "And yes, both Solas and I can influence the Blight... to a certain extent. Ghilan'nain created it, and even she could not control it. But she is dead now, thanks to you. That I understand - you stand against the Blight, you kill its creator. I even understand why you had to kill my dragon... it was an Archdemon, of course. But I am not one, I do not lead the Blight."

Elgar'nan paused again, perhaps expecting a reply, and again Anders said nothing.

"So, before you Grey Wardens decide whom to kill next, you should get your facts straight." Elgar'nan looked Anders in the eye. "Solas is not as innocent as he likes to appear. You need to learn about him. Feel free to learn about the rest of us as well, while you are at it. You have someone with you who can talk to spirits - that Nevarran necromancer. Take him to the Arlathan Forest - the Veil is very thin there, you can practically walk in and out of the Fade. Seek out Elven ruins, seek out Tevinter ruins, ask yourself why Tevinter ruins look so Elven... Ask your necromancer - he should find a lot of spirits there willing to tell you what really happened a thousand years ago, and more importantly what had been happening for three hundred years before humans arrived. That's all I ask. Educate yourself before making your next mistake." Elgar'nan smirked. "See you later, blood mage."

He waved and vanished.

...

Anders woke up with a start.

"Another nightmare?" Lucanis opened one eye - it was the middle of the night.

"Not too bad, this one," Anders shot him a glance but still took a few gulps of his Conscription Ale. "Go back to sleep."

"Not without you," Lucanis insisted, pulling Anders back under the covers. "You're letting in cold air. Close your eyes. We sleep now."

...

"Well, I am coming with you, and that's final," Lucanis stood his ground when Anders was trying to talk him out of going to the Arlathan Forest. "I have a feeling Neve will show up and I am not letting her succeed in murdering you," he said firmly. "Besides, Spite can help when we are in the Fade."

"Yes, I think Lucanis should come with us," Emmrich agreed. "I won't be much help in a fight if I am to focus on talking to spirits... Someone will need to watch out for the unexpected."

"I hope you're not planning on going without me," Dorian joined in. "Tevinter ruins! Learn what happened when my ancestors arrived in Thedas! Obviously, I am coming along."

"Oh, why don't we just bring the entire Grey Warden contingent along as well - the more the merrier!" Anders scowled.

"Don't be ridiculous," Dorian sighed. "It's just the four of us. You simply don't go on such trips alone."

...

A few days later Emmrich, Dorian, Anders and Lucanis stood at the edge of the Arlathan Forest in Northern Tevinter. The place did feel strange, even to Lucanis, and he thought that it must be overwhelming to mages. The three mages next to him did look uncomfortable.

"Well, we're here, might as well go in," Dorian said when no one dared to go through the gate into the forest proper.

"It doesn't feel right," Anders said in a hoarse voice.

"A lot of disturbances in the ether," Emmrich agreed. "Spirits walk in that forest, I can sense them from here. The Fade and Mundus co-exist there... It's like Solas' lighthouse, I suppose."

"Ugh..." Lucanis grimaced. "I couldn't wait to get out of there."

"Alright, let's go," Anders took a step forward. "It's like jumping through a waterfall - it will get better once we're in. We'll get used to it."

"Says who?" Dorian shook his head but followed Anders. "There's a reason no one ever comes here..."

"Apart from the Dalish elves, of course," Emmrich reminded him.

"Weirdos," Lucanis swore under his breath.

"Now, now, just because they choose to live in a forest... and wear strange pointy clothes... and meddle in magic that they don't understand... Oh, forget it!" Emmrich gave up.

After a few minutes walking they realised that it was indeed much like jumping through a waterfall - they were getting used to the forest and the strange energy filling it.

"Darkspawn!!!" Anders cried, rushing forward. They turned a corner, and there on the clearing there was a sizable group of new-style darkspawn, complete with squishy heads and tentacles growing out of their bodies...

"Ugh! That smell!" Dorian coughed. "Why does the Blight have to smell so bad?!"

But of course they had no time to ponder that question. They dealt with the darkspawn, carefully avoiding any contact with the tentacles and trying not to get bathed in the puss emitted by the boils.

"This bodes well!" Anders scowled. "Darkspawn already! I bet the whole forest is infested with it!"

"This is a trap," Lucanis said darkly. "Learn about ancient history and die while doing it."

"Let's try not to die," Emmrich laughed softly. "But yes, it definitely looks like a trap... What else would you expect from an ancient elven god stuck in the wrong epoch? We've been naïve."

"It's not that bad," Dorian approached an abandoned elven caravel. "Here, this looks serviceable," he put his hand on the door handle. "We should find a place to spend the night, the sun is about to set..."

Dorian pulled on the door handle and the door opened without a sound.

"What did you do?!!!" Emmrich shouted, pulling out his staff and starting an incantation. "Look what you released!!!"

"What..? I don't see anything..." Dorian was looking around in bewilderment. Anders seemed to sense something too and started summoning a storm. Even Lucanis felt something and readied his sword. But the odd thing was that all three of them were immobile. "Oh... that's not right..." Dorian pulled out his own staff but couldn't decide which spell would help him restore the flow of time.

"Ahhh... we meet again... Dorian," a soft voice sounded all around him, as if the words were carried by the wind.

"We meet again?" Dorian was still perplexed. "We met before? Who are you?"

"A castle filled with gold and silks, we chatted and ate grapes and then you resisted me!" The voice reminded him, sounding sweet and soft at first and finishing on a sharp note.

"Oh, my personal Desire Demon!" Dorian laughed. "And what do you desire from me now?"

"Why, your soul, of course!" The voice breathed. "But fear not - I no longer desire possession!"

"No? Why not?" Dorian was still hoping that the demon would show itself. "Oh... the Blight."

"Ahhh... Such a waste..." The demon breathed. "But your body is blighted, and I am rather particular about that."

"I am rather particular about that myself, but I can't just swap this body for another," Dorian nodded.

"Perhaps I could help with that?" The demon materialised in front of Dorian.

"Imshael," Dorian sighed. "At least this time I know your name."

"Yes, it was awfully uncourteous of me not to introduce myself the first time we met," Imshael smiled. "But then the second time you actually tried to kill me!" He pouted his lips.

"We did kill you," Dorian frowned. "Why are you not dead?"

"Because I am a spirit? A demon, even?" Imshael laughed pleasantly. "We are not that easy to kill. I was defeated and left, that was all."

"So what do we do now? Time needs to resume flowing," Dorian looked at his companions, still immobile.

"Now... I offer you a new body," Imshael smiled. "This one."

"I don't understand," Dorian shook his head.

"You come with me to the Fade and I'll let you have this body as your spirit form," Imshael explained. "It is fully functional, I assure you," he smiled. "I've got others I can use, not to worry."

"Nice try, Imshael," Dorian gave a short laugh. "But would that not require killing my current body, by chance?"

"Your body is already dead, my boy," Imshael said gravely. "It is only a matter of time. You are already in pain, the blight is spreading. You can join Grey Wardens but it won't stop it, plus the rest of your life will be forfeit in their service, provided you survive the Joining, of course. Your freedom will be gone. I offer you a way out."

"In exchange for my soul."

"You won't need it in the Fade. I'll give you an animated spirit for all the fun stuff that you enjoy so much."

"My memories..."

"Will remain with you, your mind also," Imshael kept smiling. "You will even be able to talk to your friends in the Fade when they dream... You can live an endless life of pleasure and comfort here."

"Is that your final offer?" Dorian squinted. "Do you really know me so little? Or have you grown too lazy to look into your victim's minds? No deal, Imshael."

"Oh, but I forget the most important thing: him," Imshael smiled brightly, flicked his wrist and a young man appeared next to him. Dorian paled. "Ah, that's better!" Imshael clapped his hands. "Awww, but now you'll want your old body back... the one that you had when you and this young man were friends... and more..." Another flick of his wrist and Imshael's appearance changed, he now looked like young Dorian. "You can have it all! Remain yourself, but younger. Have your lover back, your amulet too, keep it, enjoy life here in the Fade! You are too pretty to die, Dorian Pavus!"

Dorian took a step towards the young man who looked at him and smiled.

"Hello," he said. "We should have never broken up... it was stupid, but we were young and hot-headed. But now we can start again... I love you still..."

He took a step towards Dorian, wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him, and Dorian... All the memories rushed into his mind in a flood... Was that true..? Was he being given a chance to start again..? What was he waiting for?! He'd give anything - anything! - to feel that love again...

"Begone, demon!!!" A loud, harsh and hissing voice cut through the romance. "You cannot have his soul!!!"

"What..?" Dorian broke off the kiss and looked up. Anders stood between him and Imshael, his dagger and arcane sphere drawn, ready for a fight. "Anders..? How is it that you are here..?" Dorian shot a glance to where Anders stood incanting a storm, and yes, Anders still stood there incanting a storm... and he also stood between him and Imshael, poised to cast a spell... "No... not Anders... Spite?" Dorian let go of his young lover who promptly took a step back. "You came for me..?"

"Do not give in!" Spite hissed. "This is a DEMON!!!"

The sight of real Anders frozen in time and Spite as a spirit copy of Anders made another flood of memories rush into Dorian's mind - those of recent events. He was no longer twenty years old. His young lover was no longer young, they never got back together, that love was dead... while Anders, although not his lover any longer... well... never been his lover really... but just a good friend... and yet...

"Let's get him, Anders!" Dorian cried, starting on a spell. "Imshael, begone!!!"

The fight was short. Imshael was not in the mood, it seemed, he flicked his wrist and vanished, taking his young man with him. Spite's lightning bolts were still hitting the ground and Dorian's fire was still burning around them when time resumed its flow.

"You called?" Anders stopped his incantation, turning to Dorian. "Are you alright?" He ran up to him, grabbing his arm. "You look... disturbed. What happened?"

But Dorian was too caught up in the moment to speak. Here was Anders, his friend, who heard his call from the Fade itself... it was worth infinitely more than what Imshael had to offer.

"A demon, I think," Emmrich observed when Dorian did not reply. "Gone now."

"Well done, Spite," Lucanis said softly, folding his spirit wings. He walked around the caravel, examining it inside and out, then nodded with satisfaction. "It's safe to sleep in. There's a fire pit too. I'll make coffee."

The sun was setting, it was high time to settle down for the night.



~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 12 2025, 04:57 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Rosa sangrenta

"Show me your leg," Anders rolled up his sleeve. "It's been three days."

"My leg is fine," Dorian rolled his eyes. "Avernus' treatment is holding, the blight isn't spreading."

"Show me," Anders wasn't giving up.

"Just do it, he won't leave you alone until you do," Lucanis smirked.

"Oh very well..." Dorian proceeded demonstratively unbuckling his boot.

When the clothing was finally removed, Anders carefully unwrapped the gauze bandage around Dorian's thigh. Black veins were spreading from a black spot underneath it, but the skin had closed over it.

"I'll have to reopen it - this will hurt," he said, looking up. "Brace yourself." And without waiting for Dorian's objections, he slashed the black spot with his dagger letting a few drops of black, viscous blood ooze out. "Here it comes!" He warned, slashing his own wrist and letting a few drops fall on the open wound.

"That... does hurt," Dorian breathed through clenched teeth, a few sweat pearls appearing on his forehead.

"Almost done," Anders looked up quickly, then returned to the wound. A few more drops of his blood mixed with Dorian's blighted blood in it, foaming up. "That's the best I can do," he sighed. "Not as good as Avernus, but..." He started bandaging up the cut. "The pain should subside... eventually..."

...

The following morning the weather was foggy at first, allowing them time for an extended breakfast and coffee, but once the sun cleared the air, it was time to start the exploration of the Arlathan Forest in earnest. They were looking for elven ruins that still bore the scars of the war of a thousand years ago. They spotted some ruins not far from the caravel where they spent the night, and decided to start there.

"I think we can just pick any ruins, really," Emmrich was walking around the remnants of a rotunda. "The whole forest is filled with spirits. Let's see if I can get any of them to speak..."

As Emmrich's spirit lantern illuminated the rotunda, the light seemed to flow into it rather than out of it, with the ambience dimming around them. The sound of a flute sounded from a distance, slowly approaching. Was that the wind? [Listen to the wind.]

...Pensem nas crianças mudas, telepáticas...

...Pensem nas meninas cegas, inexatas...

...Pensem nas mulheres, rotas alteradas...

...Pensem nas feridas como rosas cálidas...

Verses of a song came from no where.

"That's... not Elvish," Emmrich looked around. "Who is here?"

...Mas, oh, não se esqueçam da rosa, da rosa...

The voice seemed to circle around them, repeating the verses over and over.

...A rosa com cirrose, a anti-rosa sangrenta...

"Tevene..." Dorian was listening closely. "Not quite like we speak today, but close..."

...Sem cor, sem perfume, sem rosa, sem nada...

"Are you a human spirit trapped in the Fade?" Emmrich addressed the voice.

There was no answer but the verses of the song.

"That song..." Dorian paled. "It tells us what happened here..."

Think of the mute, telepathic children...
Think of the blind, stumbling girls...
Think of the women, their lives uprooted...
Think of the wounds like melting roses...
But do not forget the rose - the rose -
The rose scarred, a bleeding anti-rose...
Without colour, nor fragrance, nor heart... nothing...

The flute kept playing and the voice kept singing the verses over and over...

"Blood magic," Lucanis finally said, as if to himself.

"And not just any blood magic," Emmrich echoed his words equally softly, no louder than the eerie sound of the song. "They bled some people in order to curse the others..."

"The rose is life, of course," Dorian nodded. "When my father..." He shook his head, emotion cutting off his breath. "That's how he knew how to do it... We did it... here... a thousand years ago..."

"You don't know that," Anders said unexpectedly firmly, putting his arm around Dorian's shoulders. "Who performed that magic here? You assume it were humans, but it could have just as easily been the elves..."

"The song is in Tevene, not Elvish..."

"The song does not specify..."

"I think we've heard enough," Emmrich shot a glance at Dorian who was very pale and  shaking slightly. "No other spirits will talk to us here." He extinguished his lantern and the sunlight filled the rotunda. The wind died down and the song stopped. "Let us return to the caravel. Exploring can wait."

...

"When my father realised that I was not going to hide from being gay, he decided to 'cure' me," Dorian said when they were sitting around the fire with Lucanis' special extra-strong and extra-sweet coffee. "It was a blood magic ritual that he performed... he actually performed it himself... it wasn't some evil blood mage, it was my own father..." He paused, taking a sip of his coffee. "He bled two slaves..." He shook his head. "He did something... The room was filled with red mist... My whole body was boiling... my blood was boiling..." He paused again, then looked at Anders. "You know how that feels."

"Neve," Anders nodded. "My mind was in a fog... I was saying things..." He squeezed his head between the palms of his hands. "I wanted to do those things, too! If it hadn't been for Alistair stopping me..."

"You were lucky to have kept some of your reason to go to Alistair in the first place," Emmrich pointed out. "Otherwise..."

"Yeah..." Anders sighed. "Remember Adamant Fortress? Warden-Commander Clarel?" He looked at Dorian who nodded. "I could have sworn they were under some blood magic spell even before they started with their rituals."

"Possible," Dorian agreed. "Warden-Commander Clarel was a very level-headed woman... It was hard to believe she'd just fall for a such an unbelievable fable as the end of all Blights..."

"What did you want to do?" Lucanis interrupted their musings looking at Anders. "What did Neve try to compel you to do?"

"Bleed someone in order to open a portal to the Fade to go fight your demon," Anders smiled. "Oh, she had it all figured out... Of course, I'd do anything... it would only require one life... may be two..."

"Anders, the spell wore off, remember?" It was Dorian's turn to put his arm around Anders' shoulders and shake him slightly. "It wore off. The side effects will linger though..." He looked Anders in the eye. "It is up to you to resist that."

"And you? What side effects..?" Anders started asking, then changed his mind, but Dorian answered anyway.

"No side effects, no effects even... but it replaced my mind with someone else's. I wasn't me anymore. I lost myself." He smirked and let go of Anders. "It persisted for a long time, too - a month may be, or more. They even tried to marry me off and I didn't resist... Imagine that!" He laughed. "But it didn't work, I still didn't fancy women... I fancied no one, in fact... it was all... gone... Do escuro eu via um infinito sem presente, passado ou futuro... An infinity without the present, past or future... It's an old song..." [Listen to the song.]

"That wasn't a common ritual," Emmrich said softly. "That is forbidden art by any standard."

"No doubt!" Dorian looked up. "Firmly forbidden in Tevinter as well! Not easy to get hold of any text that even hints on how to do it... I always thought we didn't have such texts, that the magic was foreign... But now I think I was wrong..."

"You don't know that," Anders objected again. "We don't know who performed such magic here."

"It were the elves," a woman's voice spoke behind them. Neve.

"Well, if that isn't our special guest," Lucanis rose to greet her, his face white as a sheet. "Come, have a coffee with us. And why not. I want to see just how you plan to kill Anders this time."

"Oh, I'm not here for him," she smiled radiantly at Lucanis. "I am here for the secrets of old Tevinter. The proof that we didn't do it. We did not destroy the elves or their city - the elves did it all themselves well before we arrived. We simply picked up the pieces..."

"Get out." Dorian too rose, his eyes blazing.

"Or what, Magister Pavus?" Neve glared at him. "You want the glory for yourself, I see! But I was here first!"

"I recommend you leave, Neve," Emmrich stood between Lucanis and Neve. "Now."

Neve looked at each of the in turn, shrugged and smiled.

"Alright, have it your way - I leave." She turned around and walked a few paces. "Solas will not give you Elgar'nan, Anders. And without Solas you'll never find him. Dorian won't live and your lover..." She shot a glance at Lucanis. "Well... there's always another demon in the Fade..." She waved and walked away.

For a while no one moved or spoke.

"Remind me - why am I not allowed to kill her?" Lucanis glared at everyone, but mostly at Anders.

"You are, but not yet," Anders sighed and sat down. "I don't need Solas to find Elgar'nan since Elgar'nan found me already... but she didn't know that... hmm..."

"She knew plenty other things though," Dorian sat down too. "Such as my blight..."

"No other demon in the Fade will catch me unprepared," Lucanis said firmly. "Mathilda is dead to me."

Emmrich was watching them silently, his coffee drunk. Memories were crowding his mind... memories that normally left him well alone...

"Johanna..?" He whispered, looking into the distance. "Here..? After all these years..?" He got up and walked out of the circle of light of their campfire. The night had already fallen, a few steps further and Emmrich would disappear from view...

...

Dorian was the first to react. A wall of ice in front of Emmrich stopped him from walking into the night and whatever trap was waiting for him there. They ran up to him but he didn't seem to see them... all he saw was Johanna, he kept calling to her, kept trying to reach her... They took him by the arms and led him into the caravel, closing the door to the cabin.

"Blood magic," Dorian hissed. "Neve."

"He is completely zoned out," Anders nodded. "Johanna... he mentioned her once... she was his friend some twenty years ago... more than a friend, I think..."

"Definitely more than a friend," Lucanis nodded. "So what do we do?"

"We can try to give him coffee, if he takes it, it will shorten the time until the spell wears off," Dorian looked up and Lucanis nodded. "Extra-strong, extra-sweet... But other than that, there isn't much we can do..." He paused, checking Emmrich's pulse. "I'll stay with him, you two go make coffee."

...

"She will not have you," Lucanis took the coffee pot off the heat and sat it down to cool off, freeing himself from the need to watch it. "She... I wish she was dead already but you keep stopping me..." He gently pushed Anders onto the grass by the fire, lying down next to him. "Mathilda..."

"...does not matter," Anders interrupted him, rolling over on top.

"Were you really going to do blood magic to fight my demon for me?" Lucanis asked.

"I do blood magic every day," Anders smirked. "I am a blood mage."

"Not of that kind."

"There's just one kind."

"Not true, I kill the other kind."

"I love you..."


~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 14 2025, 01:42 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Secrets of Fen'Harel

"I see you're poking around Arlathan," Solas smiled pleasantly at Anders standing on the other side of the invisible wall in the Fade. "What are you hoping to find, I wonder? Are you looking for proof that humans did not destroy the elves? I could have told you that, had you asked."

"That is ancient history," Anders shook his head. "It explains why those humans won. It does not explain where the Blight came from or how to stop it."

"The Blight... of course," Solas sighed. "You have a singular tunnel vision," he hissed. "Obsessed with the Blight."

"I am a Grey Warden," Anders replied coldly, wondering just why Solas got so worked up. It should have come as no surprise that Grey Wardens put fighting the Blight in the centre of everything they did. "The Blight is on. My primary goal is to defeat it."

"Defeat the Blight... while slaying a few ancient elves in the process," Solas glared. "I know you want me dead. I may be old but not senile."

"Cut through the chase, Solas," Anders looked bored. "Why did you bring me here?"

"To tell you what you are about to discover anyway," Solas folded his arms. "It's better you hear it from me than from... well... whoever you get to speak to you down there," he smiled. "To save Dorian a few grey hairs, too. It must have been painful to hear that song."

"You know that song?" Anders looked up.

"Oh yes... I was there when..." He paused, searching for words. "That song is about the Blight, of course, I do hope you figured that out," he continued firmly. "It isn't about blood magic."

"Go on." Anders betrayed no emotion.

"The Blight started among the elves, Ghilan'nain created it as a means to control the people," Solas said gravely. "It wasn't as infectious then as it is now, it had to be administered to a person specifically... but over time it evolved into a plague terrorising the land... it was never meant to be like that."

"Are you defending Ghilan'nain for creating it?" Anders smirked.

"No, I am not... I am explaining the origins," Solas sighed. "It was wrong to create something to control the people..."

Solas fell silent and paced in front of the invisible wall.

"There's something you need to understand about the Veil," he continued, changing the topic. "How it is set up... how it is powered... why you were able to disrupt my ritual so easily..." He sighed and stopped right in front of Anders, looking straight at him. "Elves carry magic in them... not like humans carry magic... Humans only use the magic that's around them already, respond to it... while elves generate magic... it's in our nature... The Veil was powered by the magic of ancient elves that I locked away in the Fade... Yes, Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan among them. The more of us you kill, the weaker the Veil becomes. Modern elves are just not the same... they cannot power it. When you toppled the pillars that I had set up for that ritual, you disrupted the power network for the Veil, you destroyed the safeguard that would have prevented Ghilan'nain and Elgar'nan from escaping while I was transferring them to this new prison... This whole mess is solely your fault!!" He suddenly exploded in an angry outburst. "Look what you've done, Warden! How does this help your cause?! I am the only one of the Evanuris who is actually on your side!! You are an idiot!!!"

He stopped shouting and just stared at Anders, pale with anger.

"Well, I'm glad we've established the facts," Anders remained stone-faced. "Are we done?"

"Done." Solas waved his hand and Anders' vision blurred.

...

"Blöde Klugscheißer!!" Anders woke up. "Tell me what we'll find out anyway..!" He mocked Solas, subsequently exploding with a tirade of Anderfels swear words that surprised even him.

"Another nightmare, was it?" Lucanis looked up from his bedroll, grinning.

"Nightmare! I'll give him a nightmare!!!" Anders jumped up, his tattoos aglow.

"Right now?" Dorian woke up too.

"Right now!"

"Hmm...?" Emmrich stirred as well. "Oh my... Anders, you are glowing."

Somehow Emmrich's sleepy words worked wonders to calm Anders' anger. He sighed and sat down on the floor.

"Solas wanted to tell me what we are about to find in the ruins," he explained. "He didn't get very far..." He shook his head. "He did say that the Veil was powered by a few ancient elves... that they emit magic... something like that... and also that with every ancient elf that we kill, the Veil gets weaker. So what are we supposed to do?!" He glared at his companions, getting angry again. "Just let them take over?! Solas wants to tear down the Veil altogether anyway!"

"Solas put up the Veil before humans arrived here," Emmrich pointed out. He seemed to have recovered from his blood magic spell of the night before. "Yet the song we heard was in Tevene." He shot a glance at Dorian before continuing. "The humans were the victims here... that magic..."

"Solas claimed the song was about the Blight rather than blood magic," Anders looked up. "But I wonder..."

"Whether they are one and the same?" Dorian looked up too.

"The Blight as a form of blood magic..." Anders rubbed the scars on his forearms. "I spread the blight every time I spill my blood..."

"Potentially, yes," Emmrich replied calmly. "Which is why you are careful how you do it."

"Life isn't a safe affair, Anders," Dorian nodded.

"We make do with what we have," Lucanis joined in, a spirit crow landing on his shoulder.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" Anders looked at his companions in turn. "Well... I think it's working," he grinned. "So... shall we go and see for ourselves what Solas was trying not to tell me?"

...

"I'm telling you, Fen'Harel, this war has to stop!" A tall elf was glaring at young Solas. "We are not freeing our people from slavery, we are slaughtering them!"

"WE are not slaughtering them!" Solas exploded in anger. "THEY are slaughtering them! The cursed Evanuris! WE have to overthrow THEM to stop the slaughter!"

"Three hundred years!" An older looking elf joined in. "Three hundred years of slaughter! Have you gone mad, Fen'Harel? This has to stop!"

"We've come too far, we can't stop now," Solas shook his head. "Another push..."

"Another push will wipe us out!" The tall elf objected. "Look around - this place is an infirmary. Everyone is wounded, dead or dying! We cannot do another push!"

Solas sighed loudly and paced about.

"Well then... We used to be friends..." He looked at the other two elves. "We used to think alike... But now... it's all up to me, is it?"

"We are still friends, Fen'Harel," the tall elf sighed too. "We still want the same..."

"Oh forget it..."

The vision blurred.

"He left us then," the older elf addressed Emmrich. "You want to know what happened, human? How far in the future are you? You woke me from my slumber... But that was when Fen'Harel set off on his own."

"A thousand years have passed," Emmrich replied. "Fen'Harel is still on his own... He is planning something that would destroy our world and we seek to understand what drives him."

"Elven pride is what drives him," the old elf replied. "A thousand years... I can only imagine what the world has become... No, don't tell me, I'll go back to sleep, it's better not knowing... You're a human, not an elf... No elf came to speak to us in all this time... Are there no elves in your world any longer?"

"There are elves," Emmrich nodded. "But they are... changed. And... humans won that war..."

"The Veil..." The old elf sighed. "We felt it when Fen'Harel put it up. It was draining us of our magic, it was draining away our very souls... The elves have changed, you say? Why am I not surprised..." He sighed again and turned to leave. "I return to my slumber... but there are others like me in the ruins of our city... you will hear the same from them..."

The spirit dissolved and Emmrich extinguished his lantern.

"Not everyone agreed with Solas, it seems," Dorian was still looking in the direction of the vision. "He took it upon himself to fix the world... and miscalculated."

"We should have brought an elf with us," Anders said suddenly. "It must be distressing for the spirits to see only humans."

"The two Dalish elves in our party..." Emmrich started saying, but Anders shook his head.

"No, neither Davrin nor Bellara would do," he looked up. "But Antoine... may be I should have asked Antoine..."

"I don't think it matters much," Dorian started walking towards the exit of the ruined temple they were in. "Perhaps it's better the spirits don't see what the elves have become... If none of the Dalish ever spoke to the spirits here... hmm... I wonder what that means..."

"Let's try another ruin," Emmrich agreed.

The stories they heard from the other spirits were much the same. Elven rebellion had been exhausted after three hundred years of civil war, and the city of Arlathan already lay in ruin. Some elves were blighted by Ghilan'nain in order to make them into compliant slaves, and when the rebels tried to "liberate" them, they resisted... And those few that joined the rebels, brought the blight with them, unwittingly infecting others. The Blight was evolving already then.

When the humans arrived, they brought blood magic of their own. They sought to take over the elven lands and met little opposition. Oh, the battles were fierce, but the elves were few and they were weakened by the war and by the presence of the Veil. Had the humans arrived three hundred years earlier, they would have been wiped out in a trice... but as things stood, the humans were winning, enslaving what elves were still alive.

It was then that the Evanuris turned to drastic measures in an attempt to reverse the course of the war. Ghilan'nain altered the Blight... it was now a weapon, a plague, it was designed to consume the enemy, without and within... It did require some sacrifices, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and besides, the elves in Mundus were of no importance, the Veil had cut them off from their roots, their memories, their very souls... or so she thought.

The Blight was unleashed onto the humans, with elves as the first darkspawn... The humans responded with blood magic, eventually wiping out the Blight, or so they believed. Remaining darkspawn retreated into the earth through dwarven Deep Roads, and the cycle of the Blight had begun.

...

"The world that the elves had known before the Veil was put up, before their civil war - that world is gone forever," Anders observed after yet another conversation with spirits. "If the Veil is torn down now..."

"...that would destroy us all," Dorian nodded.

"Is that what Solas is trying to achieve?" Lucanis rubbed his forehead. "I admit, I am confused... He wants to destroy all elves along with humans... because they'll die too..."

"They are not the right elves," Emmrich nodded. "There must be a few more ancient ones hidden away in the Fade, or possibly slumbering somewhere... He probably plans to bring them back, to rebuild the elven race from scratch..."

"Another one of Fen'Harel's grand plans then," Lucanis nodded. "So, what do we do?"

"We are not done here yet," Anders looked up. "We learned what happened a thousand years ago but not how to save our world today. Solas isn't innocent, true, and Solas is a threat to us - but we knew this already." He sighed and paced about. "How do we ensure that the Veil stays put and remains strong? How do we drive the Blight underground again? The spirits can't answer this, and yet I feel..."

"...that the answer is here somewhere..." Emmrich said softly, finishing Anders' sentence. "Yes, I feel that too... There is another presence..."

The wind rose around them, making dry leaves fly through the air in that forest of eternal autumn. A cloud passed in front of the sun, softening its rays. A shadow fell over the ancient elven ruins of the city of Arlathan. A dragon...

"Look - a dragon!" Lucanis noticed it first. "Just there - hovering over that tower in the distance."

"Perhaps it's got a nest on top of that hill," Anders suggested, following it with his gaze.

"Just the place for it - no one comes here to bother it," Dorian agreed.

"Dragons are immortal beings that walk both in the Fade and in Mundus," Emmrich observed. "It would feel at home in a place where the Fade and Mundus are one. A place like the Arlathan Forest."

The dragon landed on top of the ruined tower and folded its wings. There was something deeply familiar about that particular dragon... It turned its head to look at the newcomers to its forest... Three mages and an assassin... A Grey Warden among them... yet two carry the Blight... one talks to spirits, another carries one... All four know death up close... yes... it was the right group...

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Like father, like son

"No, mum, I'm going," Kieran shook his head at Morrigan. "Alistair left me here in charge of the younger recruits, but now the fight is on and I am a Grey Warden. I am leading the recruits to the Anderfels, as per Alistair's orders."

"I've never known Alistair to issue orders..." Morrigan smirked, then added with a sigh: "I suppose you're right, young man. Well... be careful." She hugged him in a motherly fashion and he allowed her to do that. "I'll see you there... one way or the other."

"Mum..." Kieran grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the doorway. "Is grandma with you?" He asked in a whisper.

"A piece of her..." Morrigan nodded. "Just a piece... Her memories, but also a little of her spirit."

"Are you possessed?" Kieran was trying to understand it.

"No... not as such," Morrigan shook her head. "Flemeth wasn't possessed either... or may be she was, but her spirit wasn't suppressed... Hmm... I am really not sure," Morrigan admitted. "But Mythal was strong then, she had enough energy to build a body of her own after Flemeth died. And of course in the Fade she could rest..."

"She was a dragon!" Kieran said with pride.

"Yes... that dragon is still out there somewhere... The dragon that lent Mythal its body... It must be carrying another piece of her, you know."

"And then Fen'Harel killed her!" Kieran looked angry.

"Fen'Harel absorbed the energy from Mythal's body, yes," Morrigan frowned. "He probably believes that it killed her... but no. She is weak again, but her will has not faltered. I shall carry her where she needs to be..."

...

The dragon atop a ruined tower in the Arlathan Forest was watching the four adventurers in its domain. Three mages and an assassin. One was a Grey Warden but two carried the Blight; one could talk to spirits but another carried a spirit inside him, yet two were abominations. One blood mage but three had blood magic course through their veins... It was the right group. The dragon took off, gliding through the air to where they stood and landed softly before them.

"Young man," the dragon addressed Anders, "there is something you need to know about Fen'Harel..."

There was definitely something deeply familiar about that dragon. How many times had Anders heard that voice? He lost count. When Morrigan stayed at the Soldier's Peak with Wolf, when they traveled together to help her reach the most scattered of the Dalish elves, and even back in Kirkwall when Wolf insisted that Hawke should deliver the witch's amulet to the Dalish as she had requested...

"Mythal?" Anders took a step forward.

"Just a piece of her, just a small piece..." The dragon said softly. "But yes, I carry a piece of her soul... Mythal is not dead..."

"Then Morrigan carries another piece," Anders smiled.

"Mythal took precautions..." The dragon lowered its head. "Mythal... loved Fen'Harel but also knew his nature... loved him despite of that... you don't love because of something but always despite of something... you know how it is, yes..."

"Mythal... Remarkable..." Emmrich was transfixed, a faint glow emanating from his whole being.

"You are almost there, necromancer," the dragon turned to him. "Your spirit will soon transform... have faith." Then turning back to Anders, the dragon continued. "When Fen'Harel absorbed Mythal's life force, he made himself vulnerable to her magic... he doesn't know it, of course... When you face him, I shall be there... I can reach him where you cannot... behind the invisible wall of his prison... The only question that remains, is what is it that you really wish to achieve?"

The dragon brought its head quite low and looked Anders in the eye.

"First and foremost?" Anders stood as if mesmerised under the dragon's gaze. "Maintain the Veil. Defeat the Blight."

"Save the world," Dorian said softly. "Nothing more."

"Tell him that," the dragon said with a nod, rose and flew away.

...

"We are going to the Arlathan Forest," Kieran addressed half a dozen recruits under his command.

"But Alistair told us to go to the Anderfels..." One of the recruits objected. "Isn't the Arlathan Forest dangerous?"

"It is," Kieran nodded. "Which is why we are needed there." He shook his head at the looks of incomprehension on everyone's faces. "Alistair said to go where we are needed, which will later be the Anderfels, but right now we have to take a detour by the Arlathan Forest." He paused and sighed. "I can sense it... that's where we have to be... I can't explain that right now..."

"Is that your Warden sense?" One of the recruits squinted.

"No... that's... That's why Alistair left me behind," Kieran decided to leave it at that. "With you. You are no Wardens yet, you cannot sense darkspawn, but trust me when I say that darkspawn is not thick on the ground in the Arlathan Forest. Keep your eyes peeled and your swords at the ready and you'll be fine, there are no darkspawn hordes there..."

"You are making no sense, Kieran," a tall recruit in impeccable armour ran his fingers along the edge of his ruby-encrusted sword. "If there's no darkspawn there, then why the detour? I shall not fight some forest pixies, there's no glory in that..."

"Alright!" Kieran turned to them all. "Anyone who is here for the glory - leave now! Anyone who's worried about mud stains on their pristine robes - go home! Anyone who cannot manage two weeks without a bath - out! The rest - follow me. I know what I am doing."

He turned his back to them and started walking. Ten minutes later three warriors, an archer and a mage were seen marching towards the Arlathan Forest, not an encrusted sword in sight.

...

"Where are we going exactly?" The archer asked when they set up camp for the night. "You don't have to tell us why if that's a secret... but..."

"We trust you and all," a girl with an assortment of knives and daggers about her person joined in. "And we're with you... but a little more detail would help..."

"How do you even know where we're needed?" A swordsman looked up.

"If it isn't the Warden's sense, then it's from the Fade," the mage nodded. "You're no mage... and yet... you must have something from your mother..."

"The Witch of the Wilds!" The girl exclaimed with pathos. "Come on, Kieran, you can tell us!"

"It is a sense I have from my father," he gave in. "You'll understand when we get there. I know exactly where we're going."

"Your father?" The archer sounded surprised.

"Warden-Commander Asgarsen," the swordsman rubbed his chin. "Who vanished."

"He did not vanish, he left," the mage corrected him. "Sailed to another kingdom across the ocean... Really... don't you read the papers?"

"He's not going to tell us anything else," the archer sighed. "I've heard stories... but no... we'll see it when we see it, I guess..."

Kieran was not about to say anything more, indeed. Even his mother did not know the full extent of his senses. She suspected... she must have suspected something... He was conceived under a special ritual as a vessel for an ancient god's soul, an Archdemon's soul, and he carried that soul until Mythal freed him from it at the time of the Inquisition, the time when he finally met his father, a Grey Warden. The ancient soul departed, still free from the Blight's taint, and only then could he meet his father as there was no longer any danger of corrupting the ancient soul. But did his own soul not carry any marks? It was born of a union of a Grey Warden and a powerful sorceress under a special ritual, and besides... besides, the Grey Warden was also Dragonborn. What better vessel for another piece of Mythal's soul than dragon kin..?

Kieran was leading his remaining recruits to the Arlathan Forest because it was time to secure the Veil.

...

"We should make camp right here and Anders should go to sleep so that he could get to Solas," Lucanis spoke when the dragon left. "You can find him, right?"

"I can find him but..."

"No, it's much simpler than that," Emmrich interrupted them. "I can sense it... I am almost ready... may be this will be it..."

"What are you talking about?" Anders squinted.

"I can sense where we can pass through the Veil and enter the Fade, I can sense the structure of the Fade, I can find the way... almost ready... My spirit is almost ready to leave my body behind... I am a necromancer... my goal is to transgress death..."

"You want to walk among the dead?" Lucanis sounded surprised.

"I want to walk among spirits, yes... and among men... I shall become a true undead..." He stopped, looking into the distance. "There is an opening there - between those trees... Come..."

...

"Through here," Kieran was leading his recruits along a narrow forest path. "That waterfall - we jump."

No one was objecting any longer. He led them through stranger places than that, always avoiding unnecessary fighting, always landing on his feet. The mage in their party sensed the Fade flow around them, they were weaving in and out of it, and Kieran always knew just where to go...

...

"Hello, Solas, we have to talk," Anders stood in front of the invisible wall of Solas' prison.

"You!" Solas seemed surprised. "How..? Oh... the necromancer... I should have known..." He frowned. "Very well, what is it that you want? Speak! Now that you brought a whole party to watch..."

"You have to stabilise the Veil," Anders said firmly. "You built it, so you know how to do it."

"I might know a trick or two, but I am stuck here behind this wall - because of you!" He threw his hands in the air. "I can do nothing from here."

"Not true."

"What..?"

"Not true. You have plenty of magic to anchor the Veil." Anders stood his ground. He wasn't sure what he was saying exactly, but somehow he knew what to say, as if someone was whispering the words into his ear...

"Anchor the Veil..?" Solas stood aghast. "Who told you that..? No... it couldn't be... but she's dead..."

"Anchor the Veil," Anders repeated. "Do it, Fen'Harel."

"Don't call me that... you cannot know..."

"...what it means to you?" A familiar voice sounded behind Solas. "Does it still mean anything to you to hear me call you that, ma' lath Fen'Harel?"

"No... it's a trick... it must be a trick..." Solas looked distraught. "That is a cruel trick, blood mage!" He shouted at Anders and slammed his staff into the ground calling up demons all around them.

"To arms..!!!"

No one needed telling it twice. The fight was fierce but short, with three mages and an assassin dispatching Solas' demons without too much trouble. But just as Anders was hoping to resume their conversation, Solas slammed his staff into the ground again, calling up even more and stronger demons...

This second wave was tougher than the first, and yet our party defeated them all, and Solas slammed his staff again... It was turning into a long and tedious dance...

...

"We have to hurry!" Kieran was urging his companions. "This way! Quick! There! Demons!! Attack!!!!"

...

"Reinforcements..?" Anders thought he saw someone attack a demon from behind. But how? Where from? Who were they? But ultimately none of it mattered. The fight was on, and losing it was not an option.

...

Solas was getting tired. He wasn't fighting anyone, true, but calling up demons drained his magicka which he could not regenerate quickly enough. "Blasted humans, they know how to fight!" He swore under his breath. "Just like back then... they did not come unprepared... unlike us... But no, this is no army... one blood mage with a few friends... this should not be an issue for Fen'Harel!" Saying his own name in that context gave him a second wind and more demons followed. No, Fen'Harel was not done yet!

"Still fighting, Fen'Harel?" The same familiar voice from before covered the sounds of magical explosions, clanking of steel and human cries and moans. "You never give up, ma' lath Fen'Harel... Except that one time..."

"What..?!" Solas spun around but saw nothing. "Blasted blood mage!!! You cannot touch my mind!!!"

"It isn't the blood mage, Fen'Harel," the voice objected. "It is I..."

A dragon landed before him, behind the invisible wall separating him from the battle.

"Mythal..?" He froze.

"Just a piece of her, just a small piece..." The dragon breathed.

"You did not trust me," Solas' voice fell.

"I loved you but I knew your nature," the dragon replied. "Was I wrong?"

"But..."

"You killed me, ma' lath, you had to have the power, you could not stop..." The dragon sighed. "Perhaps I am wrong to love you still... but the heart wants what the heart wants, as humans like to say... Would you like to kill me again, Fen'Harel? Only now I shall fight back... and you are not immortal..."

The dragon raised itself opening its wings and all could see its magnificence. Fire was gathering in its mouth - it was no empty threat.

"I shall not fight you, Mythal," Solas dropped his staff on the ground. "You were right about me all along... ma' lath... dare I call you that still?"

"That Mythal is dead, Fen'Harel," the dragon closed its wings again. "There is no one left to love. I have but a piece of her soul..."

"Anchor the Veil, Fen'Harel," Kieran stood in front of the invisible wall. "This world must survive."

"You..?" Solas spun around.

"I have a piece of her soul, just a small piece..." Kieran smiled. He breathed at the wall before him and a layer of dew appeared on it, then dripped down and melted away. Kieran stepped through it and stood next to the dragon. "And I am dragon kin."

"Like father, like son," Solas smirked. "I always knew Wolf could do more than just spill his blood..."

"Anchor the Veil, Fen'Harel," Kieran repeated.

Solas looked at the dragon, then at Kieran, then turned to look at everyone on the other side of the invisible wall... He picked up his staff and cast a spell. His form turned to stone, and a myriad of shimmering threads extended from it into the ether.

"It's done," Kieran walked back through the wall which remained solid for everyone else except the dragon. "We go to the Anderfels," he told Anders waving at his recruits. "Mum sends her regards... We'll see you there, Anders. Take your time..."

He nodded and walked away, with his recruits following.

"He will go far, this one," Dorian said softly.

"Like father, like son," Anders agreed.

[macole]

you did the dialog so well, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Lena Wolf]

Thanks, Macole! I realised I rather like writing dialogue.

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - For as long as I live

"Another one down," Anders turned to his companions when they navigated their way out of the Fade in the Arlathan Forest. "And we didn't get stuck in there," he gestured at the opening they just came out of.

"That was a tough one," Dorian agreed.

"I need coffee," Lucanis muttered as if to himself.

"We all do, Luca," Anders came close. "Spite included."

Although they were a stretch away from the caravel where they had spent previous nights, they decided to return there as the place became familiar and they'd really had enough surprises for one day.

...

"What will happen to you now?" Lucanis asked Emmrich when they were finally sitting by the fire with food and coffee. "You don't look undead."

"Not yet, no," Emmrich smiled. "I'll stay as I am until we're done saving the world," he grinned. "Then I shall return to Nevarra and undergo a ritual to become undead."

"Ugh, that sounds unpleasant," Lucanis shivered.

"Well... I shall die... and I won't die..." Emmrich stared into the distance, as if watching such a ritual performed. "I have always feared death... I still fear death... When my parents died... I..." He shook his head.

"You want to cheat death," Lucanis said softly. "I understand."

"Yes, I suppose I do..." Emmrich nodded. "You have seen other undead in the Necropolis in Nevarra when you came to me there," he looked at Dorian and Anders. "Some look like ghosts, others like skeletons... Those are just material forms meant to give them bodies of some sort. Some undead look just like living people - with illusion magic."

"What do you want to be?" Dorian smiled.

"I haven't decided yet," Emmrich shrugged. "Something that can wear clothes and may be a mask... so as not to have to use illusion all the time... something like that..."

"You want to look alive," Lucanis nodded. "Makes sense."

"Does it?"

"Yes. If you look dead, you haven't really cheated death, have you?"

The conversation moved to lighter matters, then died down. Light topics didn't fit with what they'd witnessed that day.

"Do you think that there is enough of Mythal left to still love Fen'Harel?" Anders asked his companions. "Now that she is literally in pieces..."

"If each piece of her loves him, then yes, I suppose..." Dorian shrugged.

"That depends on how much she loved him to begin with," Lucanis offered.

"If it permeated her entire soul," Emmrich nodded. "Not just sat pushed into a corner, then squeezed out and replaced by... oh never mind..."

"I am sorry, Emmrich, it must have been a torture," Lucanis said softly.

"What..?" Emmrich looked up. "How did you...?"

"I guessed," Lucanis smiled. "Neve's blood magic spell... You were seeing someone... She brought up memories... emotions... And I... know how that feels..."

"Yes... Johanna," Emmrich inclined his head. "We... were close... I loved her... but she, she loved her studies more... Always so competitive... She wanted the same as what I am aiming for - to become truly undead, but she was going too fast, not taking the time to prepare her soul. Letting death into your soul can kill the life in it, and with her I think it did... I lost her even though she's still out there somewhere..."

"She left you?" Dorian looked puzzled.

"She left everyone," Emmrich nodded. "She is... half-undead... of sorts... A powerful sorceress, she will have preserved her body or got herself a new one, and she has a soul or a spirit if you prefer, but it is crooked, corrupt... Yet she is not a demon and cannot enter the Fade... She's here in Mundus somewhere..."

"That... is sad," Dorian sighed.

"It is..." Emmrich agreed. "And I thought I had overcome it... But all it took was one blood magic spell to stir up the memories and bring it all back... Can you believe it - I love her still?"

"I can believe it," Dorian and Lucanis nodded, each engrossed in their own memories.

"We need more coffee," Lucanis got up and started making it.

"Dorian, I am so sorry for what you went through with blood magic," Anders suddenly said, hugging Dorian around the shoulders. "That must have been terrible."

"It was... but it was a long time ago," Dorian sounded surprised, but hugged Anders too. "What brought that up?"

"Don't ever stop being gay," Anders said in his ear.

"I wasn't going to, honest," Dorian laughed softly. "Why?"

"Just - don't." Anders kissed him and released the embrace.

"Well, you can tell him," Lucanis came back with the coffee.

"Tell me what?"

"Umm..." Anders couldn't find the words.

"Shall I tell him?" Lucanis sat next to Anders, wrapping his arm around his waist. Anders nodded. "Alright. Without you there would be no us, Dorian," he said. "And I can never feel jealousy towards you. Never. You are the one man..." He paused looking at Anders who was still struggling with finding the words. "He gives all of himself... He doesn't hold back... You'll see..."

"Oh, I already know," Dorian said softly. "But he belongs to you."

"You didn't have to buy me from the guards," Anders looked at Dorian. "You could have paid my fine or arranged my release through the Magisterium... I would have been grateful... They would not have skinned me quite so soon..."

"Those methods take time," Dorian was watching him. "They would not have killed you so quickly, true... but beatings, lashing, rape... all that was to come... I could not let it happen. The moment I paid for you, you came under the protection of my name, and I am yet to see a city guard who goes against House Pavus!" He smirked. "In Minrathous, it counts."

"You did yourself a lot of damage with that purchase," Anders objected.

"My reputation? Yes... well... I rather enjoy being the pariah..."

"Show me your leg," Anders suddenly sounded decisive, rolling up his sleeve. "We've fought a lot of demons today."

"Stop fussing about it!" Dorian rolled his eyes but started removing his boot.

...

With another blood treatment administered and another pot of coffee drunk, it was time for bed.

"How come your evening coffee doesn't keep us awake all night?" Emmrich asked Lucanis. "While your morning coffee really chases away drowsiness?"

"It's not the same coffee," Lucanis shrugged. "We like to sleep at night in Antiva."

"Who would have thought!" Dorian smirked. "I wish it could knock me out," he sighed. "These blood treatments hurt more than the blight itself..."

"Ah..." Anders stopped, watching him. "Well... Let me see..." He slit his wrist and started an incantation.

"What are you doing?" Dorian squinted. "Hey, I am a mage myself... No! Stop that!"

But Anders wasn't listening. The spell was cast and black veins started coming forth under his skin, receding after a while. He closed his eyes but the pain he was in, was obvious.

"Go to sleep," he spoke with a hoarse voice. "Your leg should feel better by the morning."

"All of himself, like I said," Lucanis said in Dorian's ear. "He won't take no for an answer, it's useless, I tried. Like a dog with a bone..." He shot a glance at Anders who curled up on a bedroll. "I'll take care of him. You... accept his gift... he doesn't do it for just anyone..."

"He took my pain onto himself," Dorian's voice trembled. "That is... some very rare magic..."

"He loves you," Lucanis said simply. "You and me and Wolf... he is a healer and helps others of course, but it's not the same... The difference between giving away and taking onto yourself is immense."

"I first met him during the time of the Inquisition when he came to Skyhold with the other Ferelden Wardens. He was often drunk and slept with every female in the castle, I am sure," Dorian smirked. "If there was a brawl, he was in it... not unlike the other Wardens... but as soon as darkspawn showed up, they were all sober and in perfect fighting form, like by magic..."

"The taint?"

"It must be," Dorian nodded. "Grey Warden taint is not just the blight..."

"Grey Warden discipline goes a long way too," Lucanis smiled, watching Anders sit up, take a gulp of his Conscription Ale, then go back to sleep. "An Archdemon is singing him a lullaby, as he put it... it must be terrifying," he shivered.

"Will you be leaving The Crows?" Dorian suddenly asked. "Like Zevran?"

"Leaving... I cannot leave," Lucanis shook his head. "I was born to The Crows, there is no quitting. But I shall be taking a long vacation," he grinned. "They won't kill me for that..."

"What if you join Grey Wardens?"

"They'll kill me then, or at least they'll try."

"So that's why Zevran..."

"That's why, yes," Lucanis nodded. "Even though he was written off at first, but that can be reversed... and of course it was reversed for him... Zevran still belongs to the Antivan Crows."

"It took me a long time to realise what Wolf saw in Anders," Dorian continued his train of thought. "This rowdy mage who was constantly getting into trouble... I got to know Wolf a bit by then... more than a bit... if it wasn't for him, I would have never forgiven my father..." He shook his head. "Wolf was older... he'd seen things, he lived through things I could not even imagine... The Fifth Blight, for one... his life before that... There was more to him than most people suspected. And Anders... I saw them together one day, Wolf slitting his wrist and making Anders cast the spell to take his life force..." He shook his head. "You know the type..."

"Let me guess - after Anders collapsed from too much healing?"

Dorian nodded. "They've done it before, that transfer of life... They were bonded..."

"It sounds like..."

"Yes... Wolf saw himself in Anders... His inner self..."

"I now understand the depth of feeling... That separation... it must be so acute."

"Wolf left but Anders remained," Dorian looked Lucanis in the eye. "Not many know this, even among the Wardens... Anders spent many months with me after that, hiding from himself. He begged me to keep an eye on him, said he trusted me to save him from himself... Well, I didn't do anything really, just let him deal with his pain... He learned Tevene during that time, he speaks it perfectly... He'll learn Antivan before you realise it, you'll see," he smiled.

"You were there for him, that was all that he needed," Lucanis nodded.

"I never..." Dorian shook his head. "We were never intimate until he insisted just recently... I would never..."

"I know," Lucanis interrupted him. "Even when you two were pretending to be. 'You could lie naked next to him and still feel your privacy respected,' he said about you. But now... there is no longer any need to hold back." Lucanis paused, looking Dorian in the eye. "I won't lose him to you, that's impossible. You were a part of him already before we met."

"And you accepted him that way."

"You are his Mathilda."

"The past never leaves us, does it?" Dorian smirked.

"Some wounds never really heal. Some scars can always reopen."

They shot a glance at Emmrich who appeared to be asleep on his bedroll.

"I take a step back when you're around," Dorian said quietly. "But when you cannot be with him..."

"I'll know you'll be keeping him out of trouble," Lucanis smiled.

"For as long as I live."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E411 - Eu sou feliz

"I wish that coffee could knock me out," Dorian lay down on his bedroll. "These blood treatments hurt more than the blight itself."

"Ah..." Anders stopped. "Let me see..." He slit his wrist and cast a spell, refusing to interrupt the incantation despite Dorian's protests - being a mage himself, Dorian realised what Anders was doing. Black veins came forth under Anders' skin, then retreated after a while. He closed his eyes steeling himself, but the pain he was in, was obvious. "Go to sleep," he said in a hoarse voice. "Your leg should feel better by the morning."

Anders curled up on his bedroll, making an effort not to scream. His blood was boiling. The same spell that raised the taint in darkspawn, could also be used to calm it at the cost of the caster's life force, and that was the spell he cast for Dorian, reducing Dorian's pain but making his own blood boil. "That's how darkspawn must feel when we cast it on them," he reflected, almost with pity.

Anders was not new to many forms of pain. "I'm not a virgin," he smirked when people asked him how he could stand it. "You get used to it." The truth was of course that he didn't get used to it but instead found ways to block it or override it with something else, usually an even greater pain... How was that helpful? Sometimes he would lose consciousness, other times he would have visions, but more often than not, an Archdemon would sing him a lullaby, quite literally. He became accustomed to allowing the horrors of the Blight block out his pain, both physical and mental. Giving himself over to the Blight, letting the taint take control of his being, allowing his mind to swim in the sea of blood, hearing the song... All of that was horrifying, and yet at the same time it was the Blight that healed his slit wrists, that restored his depleted magicka, it was the Blight that kept him alive. "Blight is life." The voice of Ishala rang in his ears. "If I were to die, what would happen to these griffons?" And so she had embraced the Blight to lessen their pain, in all perpetuity.

Anders did not want to go too far. He did not allow the Blight to consume his mind. He was a blood mage, which was bad enough, but he was still in control. Between Avernus' taint mixture and his understanding of blood magic, he was able to walk the tightrope and use his taint without permitting it to use him. "You like to walk the edge," Lucanis said soon after they met. Yes, the edge was where the action was. The edge was where he could make a difference.

"He's not used to this pain yet, to the song on the back of his mind," Anders was lying with his eyes almost closed, watching Dorian through the eyelashes. "But the spell worked," he nodded to himself. "He's talking to Lucanis, he is feeling better... The blood treatments slow down the blight but make his blood boil for a time... I wish it could be avoided but that's what keeps him alive..."

He sat up and took a gulp of his Conscription Ale, then turned over and closed his eyes. "Got to try to sleep," he told himself. "The pain should subside by the morning..."

...

Dorian and Lucanis finished their conversation, it was high time to get some sleep. Dorian stretched out on his bedroll realising that he did not have to wait till morning for his pain to subside - his leg already felt much better and the song on the back of his mind went silent for the first time since he contracted the blight. "He was talking about himself," he realised, shooting a glance at Anders. "My pain is already gone... it is his pain that should subside by the morning." Dorian watched Lucanis move his bedroll next to Anders, then lie down, pulling Anders close. Dorian closed his eyes and fell asleep, free of Archdemon's lullabies.

...

"Sleep now, I've got you," Lucanis whispered in Anders' ear. "Release that ball of pain."

Anders didn't answer, perhaps he was already asleep.

"Let it out."

A barely audible moan was Lucanis' answer.

"There..." he turned Anders over to face him. "I won't hurt you like you asked... there are other ways to deal with pain," he said, kissing him softly. "Release your hold on the pain, I am here... Let it loose and sleep."

Anders moaned again, but without engaging his voice, it sounded more like a hissing groan. He could not speak, the pain seemed to stream through his entire being, now that Lucanis snapped the knot holding it together. Lucanis held him close. Anders felt the pain radiate from somewhere under his liver, slicing through it like with a sharp knife. It reached his heart and cut through it too, and Anders twitched and tensed, his knees pulling up in a reflex.

"Let it loose, don't pull it back in," Lucanis wrapped himself around Anders. "I have it."

The pain shot through Anders' fingertips making his whole body convulse, but Lucanis only tightened his embrace, trying to include as much of Anders in it as he could. Another groan, another convulsion, and the source of pain under Anders' liver started losing its power, a supernova dissolving into a cloud of overheated debris propelled through his veins like liquid razor blades. He moaned again.

"Don't hold it in," Lucanis encouraged him, kissing the tears away. "I won't let go."

Slowly, the pain was subsiding. Anders' heart was still skipping a beat every time a stray blade passed through it, but the stream of razors was thinning, and his fingertips stopped tingling, regaining feeling. As his muscles relaxed, the sharpness of sensation gave way to a steady ache, bothersome but not acute. He could sleep through this... this pain would subside by the morning.

As the dawn rose over the Arlathan Forest, Anders opened his eyes and smiled. "You haven't slept all night," he said, meeting Lucanis' gaze. "You can sleep now, I've got it. Eu sou feliz," he added in Tevene, and Lucanis knew what he meant.

[Listen to the song]

[Lena Wolf]

First Seed, 3E411 - The Messiah

"So, if the Blight now exists on its own, then who or what is driving it?" Anders was thinking aloud as he and his companions were walking back from the Arlathan Forest towards the Anderfels. "We've secured the Veil, now all that is left is to defeat the Blight... But without an Archdemon to lead it, I am at a loss what to do."

"What does your Warden sense tell you?" Emmrich looked at him sideways. "Isn't it how it normally works?"

"It is, and it tells me nothing..." Anders sighed. "Oh, there are plenty of nightmares... Nightmares of Archdemons of old... THEY are talking to me... to all of us, I suppose... But how can they if they are all dead?"

"So instead of a single Archdemon singing you lullabies, you now have a choir, is that it?" Lucanis shivered. "Charming."

"Now you understand the need for the extra strong Conscription Ale," Anders smirked. "We always hear the Blight, and the difference is that when it is suppressed, we just hear some vague murmurs, some noise, sometimes a song, but it is in the background... Distracting and all, but markedly different from the times when the Blight marches onto Mundus. Then the Archdemon leading it takes control of the choir and the song becomes much more persistent, it gets louder and harder to block. Sometimes he holds speeches... and we are invited," Anders shuddered. "But now it's different... ever since we killed Ghilan'nain, the Blight lost its leader, but instead of retreating, it is still marching forth... The song has not weakened, but there's no one holding speeches... It's just bizarre..."

"Does the Blight even need a leader?" Dorian wondered aloud.

"Yes, there was always a leader," Anders nodded. "That's why darkspawn seek out old gods under the earth in the first place. To make one of them into a leader. The vast horde of darkspawn is mindless and needs someone or something to get them organised."

"Which is what makes it less dangerous when there is no Archdemon," Lucanis nodded. "I don't think we'll figure it out between us though. You'll need to talk to the other Wardens."

"You're probably right," Anders agreed. "Let's hope Morrigan is there too... I have a feeling Mythal has more wisdom to impart to us."

"I wonder what Neve will do now, that Solas is... umm... incapacitated?" Emmrich smirked. "Not dead exactly, but still out of the game..."

"Neve's objectives in terms of becoming the most important citizen of Tevinter in modern history can still be fulfilled," Dorian pointed out. "She can enter the Fade through the Arlathan Forest, she can collect enough proof that we didn't destroy the elves. For all the good it will do," he scowled. "So I expect that's what she'll be doing. And she'll bring it to the Magisterium while we're still here, that is before I return to Minrathous with the same information."

"Then we should go back," Lucanis stopped. "We no longer need her, correct? I have a contract to fulfill."

"That would mean that I have to deliver that information to the Magisterium instead of her," Dorian grimaced. "I am not looking forward to the prospect."

"Why?" Anders stopped too. "You wanted to find out..."

"I wanted to find out and I did," Dorian nodded. "I wanted to know, and I do. I never wanted to become the Messiah who ushers Tevinter into a new era of self-importance," he frowned. "It does not suit me," he smiled.

"You will become the Archon," Anders understood him.

"They will make me into an Archon, yes," Dorian scoffed. "And they will completely erase my identity by doing so. A Magister from House Pavus becomes the Archon, and House Pavus finally loses its black sheep. Ours is one of the oldest Houses in Tevinter, and the Archon cannot be gay." He turned away from them and took a step to the side.

"And that's not all of it," Anders said softly. "Everything that Dorian has been trying to achieve over the past ten years, every change in the the law, every shift in attitudes at the Magisterium - all of that will be lost. And I am talking about the abolition of slavery rather than the recognition of gay marriage."

"They would probably even recognise gay marriage just so they could forget about abolishing slavery," Dorian said angrily. "There are far more slaves in Tevinter than there are gay men!"

"So you want me keep away from Neve for now," Lucanis said softly and nodded. "Let her become the Messiah."

"Yes."

"Will she not be made into an Archon though?" Emmrich asked. "That would be counter-productive."

"House Gallus isn't important enough, she would be jumping several stages," Dorian shook his head. "There is even no such thing as House Gallus... No, Neve would simply get a seat at the Magisterium, nothing more. That's quite a huge honour for someone of... well... her lineage," he said with a blush. "Just listen to me... Talking like some..." He shook his head. "But that's how it works. It would take another heroic feat to move up, and even then..."

"Another heroic feat such as defeating the Blight, perhaps?" Anders smirked. "Oh I think Neve is aiming high."

"Your life is still in danger," Lucanis looked squarely at him.

...

Neve was doing exactly what Dorian thought she'd be doing - collecting evidence that the first humans who arrived in Thedas did not destroy the elves. They built the Tevinter Imperium on the old elven lands, true, they enslaved a lot of elves, true, but they could only do it because the elves had weakened themselves through their civil war well before humans arrived. The humans were innocent! Their blood magic did not poison the land, it was ancient elven magic that did it! The elves created the Blight! The elves were the first darkspawn! The elves... and so on, and so forth. In short, elves deserved exactly what they got in the hands of humans - slavery and humiliation, or, as Neve preferred to call it, "guidance" and "common law". As proof Neve collected many remnants of old records and missives, many samples of objects contaminated by blood magic with an elven signature, she made many notes and put many marks on the map to show just where more proof could be found. Neve was ready to become the Messiah.

Upon returning to Minrathous, she deposited all her evidence at the Magisterial Archives and soon was welcomed as the newest member, now to be addressed as Magister Gallus. To Neve's disappointment however, this honour did not come adorned in gold and jewels. Magisters did not get paid, it was a public service and a civic duty, not a profession or a job, she was told. Ah. That was an annoying setback, but still not a disaster - Neve wasn't done yet. She returned to the Anderfels hoping that new leads would have appeared while she was away.

...

When Anders and his companions finally reached the old Grey Warden head quarters in the Anderfels, they found the fortress under attack by darkspawn. The battle wasn't massive and the darkspawn was cleared without any casualties among the Wardens, but the very fact of such an attack was worrying.

"They've been getting bolder and bolder," Evka was saying, turning over one or the other darkspawn corpse. "Just look at them - they are more like the ones we're used to, normal heads, no boils, no tentacles, they don't explode in a fountain of puss... and yet they are not like the ones we're used to. These ones aren't dumb."

"They did seem to have a purpose in their attack, but I don't see an Emissary," Anders nodded. "Who was leading them?"

"That's what we don't understand," Antoine said wistfully. "They have a purpose and a strategy where none should be possible..."

"We'll need to send out scouts," Anders decided. "May be there's something in the Deep Roads... A broodmother or..."

"Another Architect?" Alistair joined them. "Like the one you encountered shortly after the Fifth Blight?"

"What do you dream of?" Anders turned to him. "What do the old Wardens dream of?"

"Nothing definite," Alistair shook his head. "The same as you... nothing but foreboding..."

They all shook their heads at such a dilemma and returned to the fortress.

...

"What are you trying to achieve, Neve?" Varric refilled his mug of beer. "The Wardens have left us preferring to follow Alistair of Ferelden," he spit on the floor. "Even Davrin is hesitating, and if it wasn't for Bellara, he'd be long gone too. What is your plan now?"

"Stay put and listen," Neve smiled. "Anders will do something stupid again."

"Like stabilising the Veil with Solas' life force?" Varric smirked. "Blondie hit your right under the belt there..." He shook his head. "I almost like him now."

"What's that supposed to mean, Varric?" Neve squinted. "You think you're the brain behind this whole operation, so let's hear it! What is YOUR plan?"

"We have to drive back the Blight," Varric put down his mug, turning serious. "If we make you into the Archon of Tevinter as a result, so for the better, but that isn't my concern. The Blight has to stop."

"Agreed. But how do you propose to do it without Grey Wardens?"

"It can be done," Varric sat back in his chair. "They think they are the only ones who can handle the Blight, but all it takes really is a strong sword arm, some snappy magic and Bianca," he caressed his crossbow. "There is no longer an Archdemon to defeat, this Blight is not like the others. Anyone can drive it back."

"How?" Neve sat up. "Speak up, Varric! Now is not the time for suspense!"

"Now, that is a very good line! I should put it in one of my books!" Varric grinned. "It's simple, really. There is no Archdemon, no leader, the horde is strong but trust me when I tell you that it isn't nearly as strong as it was in the Fifth Blight when it did have a leader. The horde is disoriented because we've had two Archdemons and a goddess trying to lead it in the last few months, darkspawn no longer knows whom to follow. Present them with a new leader, and they will unite behind that entity. Defeat that leader, and they will retreat into the earth like with every other Blight."

"We have to make it worse before we can defeat it," Neve's face lit up.

"Let someone else take the heat of the newly formed horde," Varric smiled.

"Someone whose duty it is to fight darkspawn..."

"Let them be the heroes..."

"Genius..."

They drank a toast.

"Davrin should rejoin the Wardens then," Neve looked up. "He'll be a mole otherwise."

"You mean his Warden sense?" Varric looked around, then smiled, spotting Davrin in the far corner of the hall kissing Bellara behind a column. "I think he found someone more exciting to sing songs to him!" He laughed. "Bellara is a Dalish elf, a very talented elf with a deep connection to the Fade, like few elves have. While Davrin is only a part elf... I suppose you figured that out?" Varric shot a glance at Neve noticing her surprise. "Just look at him... It's been a thousand years since humans landed here, Neve! Of course there are halflings everywhere. Nothing wrong with that as such, my point being that his elven connection to the Fade is weaker than average, he doesn't actually know what makes an elf an elf, apart from the ears... And Bellara is teaching him that... in her own unique way..." Varric paused, watching a barely perceptible cloud of shimmering mist envelop Davrin and Bellara.

"And you think that the Fade dulls his Warden sense?" Neve was watching them too.

"Undoubtedly."

"Hmm... May be." Neve wasn't convinced. "And may be it doesn't matter," she dismissed it. "Who will lead the Blight? I assume you've already chosen."

"Oh yes," Varric smiled. "But it is... delicate. The Emissary will want payment, too - red lyrium."

"The Emissary? A darkspawn Emissary?" Neve looked alarmed. "Red lyrium? Have you gone mad?!"

"Not really, no," Varric smirked. "He didn't want any crystals, just someone seeded with it. Someone who would not die in the first day or two. Someone who had magic in them. He is quite intelligent, you know, and has no intention of dying. His 'defeat' will be teleportation, I am not entirely sure how, but I am sure he will pose no threat to us for a very long time. He's got other plans."

"This is madness, Varric," Neve was sitting on the edge of her chair. "How long is that very long time?"

"Longer than our lifetimes," he smiled. "A hundred years or more, what do I know?" He shrugged.

"He wants to be a real Archdemon," Neve realised.

"Yes."

"So... whom have you seeded?" Neve's voice sounded hoarse as she took another sip of her red wine.

"Well... no one... yet," Varric smiled. "Cheer up, Neve! Payment is only due at the very end, and he's already rallying up the horde against the old head quarters fortress. Sit back and relax! After all, you are the Tevinter Messiah!"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 21 2025, 06:16 PM

[Renee]

Wow, Lena gets busted for skooma! In fact this entire segment

They saw their horses quietly grazing near Fort Seaplace, but before they could mount, the Legion guard stopped Lena again.

"You lawbreaker! There's a bounty on you - again!"

"What?!" - Lena couldn't believe it. "But we've literally just returned from the Castle..."

"And stopped along the way to pick up some illicit skooma, have you?" - the guard looked at her sternly. "Now we have to go back to the Castle so that you could pay your new fine. And I'll have to search you again, of course" - he grinned.

"Oh..."

There was nothing else for it.

...

A couple of hours later Lena and Hauk were once again approaching Fort Seaplace where their horses were still grazing peacefully on the lush grass.

It's a typical repeat of what happens when we get caught, and Pay the Fine. So they're walking by the same horses grazing on grass. Then two hours later they're walking by horses grazing on grass...

Elephants are hostile in this land? Bummer. 🐘

Looks like the water keeper has a dinosaur in that one picture. Yeah it's nice to finally find some place to rest. I get the feeling that you're doing a first-run playthrough of Elsweyr during these chapters, eh?

oops -- http://chorrol.com/forums/index.php?s=&...st&p=341358



This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 23 2025, 06:59 AM