The barely audible sound of breathing filled the dimly lit room, as the Tevinter Magister sat by his only son's bed. The boy was pale and sweat trickled down his forehead as the healers fussed around him, trying in vain to ease his pain. The Taint was slowly killing him, and Magister Gereon Alexius knew he would die, all hopes of finding a cure being unsuccessful "Father..." Felix muttered."I'm here, son." "I'll be okay, Father." he said and Alexius noted his child holding onto something. "What's that, Felix?" The boy's warm eyes travelled to the object in his hand and he passed it to his dad.
The dark spawn attack on their way to Hossberg left their carriage destroyed, Felix's mother dead and him infected. Alexius later tried to sift through the ashes but found nothing that could help in his son's recovery and his wife's remains were barely recognisable. The Magister looked at the object in his palm. It was a locket that Livia was wearing on the day of their departure. The very same locket he had given her on the day of their wedding all those years ago. The Magister's hand closed around the object and Felix saw tears trickling down his father's cheeks. The boy took Gereon's hand and pressed it to his heart, then his eyes closed and Felix drifted off into a restless sleep . A few moments later the pained expression on the man's face changed."I have let Livia down, I cannot do the same to my boy."He kissed Felix's forehead before looking coldly at one of the healers."You said you knew someone who could help my son." "Yes, but we need to speak..privately." The healer said. Alexius nodded and followed him out of the room.
The Magister slumped into his armchair as conflicted thoughts filled his mind, his fingers nervously fiddling with the locket in his hand. The estate's grounds were quiet now, as even the servants retreated from their duties to seek peace and rest. It was going to be a very long night for Gereon Alexius. The healer's offer was not what he had expected and he did not trust the man to whom the healer introduced him to. They left Alexius's estate in a hurry, got out of town and rode on horseback along a deserted side road, leading to a deserted building. There waited Felix's alleged 'saviour' who, as the healer with great passion kept convincing the boy's father, could 'reverse time itself'. The man spoke in a harsh low voice, his face hidden from his listeners as he explained his plan to Alexius. He was to turn to the rebels in Ferelden, convince them to join his ranks and take over Redcliffe, and then Corypheus, for that is what the cloaked figure called himself, would save the Magister's son.
Gereon knew that meddling with the affairs of the Southerners would end, as it always did, in war and for all intended purposes 'Corypheus' could be a bluffing fraud. He could start a great war between Ferelden and the Imperium, cause innocents to die... but if there was just the slightest chance for Felix to be saved, his father would do anything to help it happen. Felix was the only thing he had left, the only reason to live on this cruel world, the boy's safety was the only thing that mattered to the old man and he would not let his son down. The locket fell out of Gereon's hand and onto the floor with a metallic cling. He picked the object up gently and opened the wings to meet the smiling face of his beloved Livia. She would understand, wouldn't she? She would want Felix to live a long and happy life...She always stood by the boy's side, even when she would be safer not to. The Magister shut the locket, making his decision. In the end, the only people who anyone can rely on, is their family. Alexius would not abandon the only family he had left.