Ж Dragon Age: Universum Phasma Phasmatis
Disclaimer: Dragon Age setting is property of Bioware
Contradiction
A cacophony of screams, roars of rage, shouts of triumph, wails of loss, and moans of pain, desperate planning, despair and determination… All of them blended together, whirling at a frantic pace and then…
Silence, calm, the will to survive, to rebuild, to put the past behind them and create a better future… Anger at those responsible, a need for answers, for justice, for vengeance… Wrath against the circumstances that brought them to this point, self-loathing as those same traits were realized in each of them but mixed with a craving to improve… Mixed in with mourning for those who were now gone, a desire to protect family, friends, loved ones…
This is what it means to be mortal…? Interesting… such contradiction… Perhaps this is why we cannot understand them, for our 'purity' cannot be found among a single one of them.
…
…
I must try this for myself; see what may come of it…
The scent of blood filled the foggy forest air as Fen Dyne gazed across the scene in front of him, a sour taste rising in the back of his throat. These had not been templars, at least not in a proper sense; they had only been trainees, young men and women who were just learning how to be a templar. Some of them could still be called children… he realized as the sour taste surged up into his mouth and he doubled over, emptying his stomach.
Shakily, he stood back up, pulling out his canteen and taking a quick drink to wash the taste out; spitting the water out before he realized that he had unintentionally done so on the body of a templar, a young woman with long black hair wearing standard templar armor except for her helmet seemed to be missing. He grimaced and pulled off his cowl, kneeling down to gently wipe the tainted water off the young woman's corpse. As if he needed to add desecration of the dead to his-
Suddenly, a hand shot out for his throat and he tumbled backward, landing with an undignified yelp as the not-quite-dead templar just missed grabbing his neck. Scrambling away on all fours, Fen paused a moment to look back. The templar was still struggling, although he could not tell if she was trying to kill him, trying to get help or if she was even really aware of his presence. Face down in the mud left over from melted ice created by various spells cast during the ambush; she slowly inched along, dragging herself forward with one arm. Fen could not tell if her other arm was still intact or not and her legs did not seem to be working. Or, perhaps, she was too disoriented or exhausted to climb to her feet. It did not really matter though; he supposed as he quietly stood, she would not live long without aid.
"Hold still, let me help…" he said quietly as he took a few steps toward her, using his staff as a brace as he leaned over her back and rested his other hand on her, focusing on the damage that had been done to her body. As expected, her other arm had been severely injured, burned with flame so hot it had partially melted the armor onto her skin, while severe internal bleeding and numerous stab and slash wounds on her body caused by templar blades gave grim testimony to the use of blood magic in the battle. He sensed, rather than saw, all this in addition to the frostbite on her fingers, toes and other extremities as well as any skin that came in contact with the steel of her armor; which, for better or worse, had cooled down the internal burns on her other arm. The arm was beyond saving though, Fen admitted he focused on healing the internal bleeding first, but at least she was unlikely to be experiencing pain considering the damage that had been done. The rest of the damage would take time to heal, even with his abilities in the School of Creation her injuries were too extensive to fix with just a wave of his hand. The fact that she still lived was a wonder to him, much less how she was still conscious to any degree. Of course- A sudden, sharp pain in his calf let him know that she had indeed realized he was a mage and had reacted by stabbing him.
"Apostate… maleficar… I'll not let you cap…ture…" she slurred venomously as she lost her grip on the dagger. Biting back a curse, Fen yanked out the dagger and threw it far off to one side, quickly focusing his attention on healing the wound before restarting his work on her.
"Be still! I'm trying to save your life." He hissed as she threw a weak punch at his formerly-wounded calf. "I may be an apostate and for that I apologize to your sense of righteousness, but I am no maleficar. Now let me work and you can worry about the decapitation later." Whether it was his words or her own exhaustion, the templar fell silent, letting Fen work on caring for her wounds. After some time, he was satisfied that he had prevented her from bleeding out and, despite his own exhaustion, he quickly drank a lyrium potion and moved on to fixing her frozen extremities. Gently taking her good hand in his, he gingerly removed her gauntlet, allowing his own body heat to slowly thaw her fingers while he healed any remaining damage that he could sense. Thankfully, he was able to sense that he would be able to prevent her from losing any fingers. Setting her newly restored hand down, he moved to her feet.
"Please, don't kick me." He said quietly, earning him a terse nod of her head as he removed her boots and set to work. While he focused mostly on healing the damage to her toes and feet, he looked back up to her face, noting that her color had improved and she seemed to be more aware of her surroundings, likely due in part to the rejuvenation spell he was weaving in with his regeneration spell. Mercifully, she remained quiet, not asking any questions that might distract him, particularly the question about why he was helping her that he knew she must be contemplating. After several minutes of silence, Fen stood up, satisfied that the templar would be able to recover in time, at least as long as she avoided combat.
"Why did you help me?" she asked suddenly, her Nevarran accent recognizable now that she was conscious enough to speak clearly. "You're an apostate, if not a maleficar."
"Not all mages are aligned with the revolution sweeping Thedas, Ser Templar." Fen explained as he wrested his staff free of the mud it was stuck in. "Some of us are just trying to survive this mess."
"I see, how very fortunate." The templar mused as Fen offered her his hand to assist her in standing. "My skepticism remains however… If you are truly not aligned with this rebellion then you will accompany me to the nearest templar encampment, my commander will decide what to do with you there."
"Considering your injuries have still not fully healed and your arm will likely need continuous treatment for some time, I would be remiss in abandoning my patient and thus have little choice in the matter anyways." Fen answered with a heavy sigh as he helped the templar to her feet. "Besides-"
"Now, tell me who you're working for!" the templar rasped as she used his arm to pull Fen into a headlock, another knife appearing in her hand at his throat.
"By the maker, how many of those do you have?" Fen asked incredulously. "Is this really any way to treat the person who saved your life?"
"My squad of trainees -TRAINEES!- not templar, was ambushed by blood mages and massacred! Now you conveniently come along and heal me, willingly accept me taking custody of you and you expect me to believe this isn't some kind of trap? Tell me who set this up, what faction of mages?" the templar raged, her voice practically dripping with venom. "Tell me or you will be the first to pay for this crime!"
"Okay… Clearly I should have spent more time studying behavior and a little less time studying magic. Probably would have avoided this rather unpleasant situation." Fen quipped, his voice shaking slightly as he tried not to let his anxiety show.
"Answer my questions, now!"
"Believe me Ser Templar when I say I know nothing of the any of the factions' movements! I'm only trying to help those that I can, what other reason would I have for being out here all alone? Now please release me!" Fen shouted, fear and outrage finally coloring his voice.
"I think not, you're too much of a risk, particularly if you won't tell me anything…" the templar answered quietly, pressing the tip of her dagger into his throat, drawing a slight trickle of blood as Fen grimaced in pain. Then, suddenly, she released him, whirling him out of her grip as she stashed her dagger.
"W-what?" Fen stammered, clutching his throat as he tried to piece together what had just happened, failing utterly in his attempts to do so.
"The mages aren't going to send a spy into such a vulnerable and easily compromised position. Not without backup at least… backup that would have acted to preserve your life should I attempt to kill you. After all, a skilled spy is a valuable asset, an unknowing patsy such as what I would be is not and it would be quite easy to set up this scenario again, perhaps with a more gullible templar. If you were a spy, either your backup is very certain I was bluffing or I would be dead. Either way, I'm not going to be able to prove you're a spy and your actions and attitude don't seem to support you being a spy. And, unlike some templar, I view it as much my duty to protect innocent mages as to protect against maleficar." The templar explained as she began walking away from the former battlefield. "Come along then, I have no desire to remain here among the dead and this location is clearly not safe. We can bury and mourn the dead when we return with a regiment of templar."
"That's… remarkably well-thought out considering not more than twenty minutes ago you were barely conscious."
"Admittedly, your rejuvenation spells helped a lot in that regard, although my instructor always said I was particularly skilled in aspects of mental discipline and focus."
"I suppose that explains why you didn't fall prey to blood magic con-" Fen started, cutting his comment short as the templar's eyes flashed with sudden anger. "Sorry, I didn't think that through."
"That seems to be a theme with you."
"I was an academic; I preferred studying to interaction with others when possible. It seemed safer at the time, less chance of being associated with a blood mage and certainly less political discourse from the fraternities. It certainly helped with regards to my preferred disciplines as well; the Schools of Creation and Spirit are not exactly the easiest to learn you know."
"I wouldn't know, not personally."
"Oh… right, templar… Okay, well…"
"Let's start with an introduction, that's how most normal people start when they meet each other for the first time. My name is Arella Elucid, Knight of the Templar Order."
"I am Fen Dyne, former Enchanter of the Cumberland Circle."
"Fen Dyne? That doesn't sound like a Nevarran name."
"Promise not to stick another knife in me?"
"Maybe."
"I guess I'll take that… It's Tevinter." Fen answered.
"Not looking good so far…" Arella warned, her hand going to her weapon.
"It's not what you think, my father was an apostate who fled to Tevinter and my mother was a mage from Tevinter who helped him escape. I was born in Tevinter yes, but my father was worried that, being the son of two mages, I might be powerful enough to be considered a magister. He didn't want me growing up in such a corrupt environment so he took me and fled to Nevarra, where he had me inducted into the Circle. I'm not sure what happened to him afterward, but I've lived in the Cumberland Circle ever since." Fen said defensively. "I was still an infant at the time, so the Circle collectively raised me… I didn't even know who my original father was until just before my Harrowing."
"You seem awfully at peace about this, most bstards I know wouldn't be."
"It's been years since I learned the truth and, at least in my case, the axiom 'you can't miss what you never had to begin with' actually holds true."
"But such a… I see, I think I understand." Arella said thoughtfully as they mounted a small rise overlooking a stream that bubbled quietly through the woods. Pausing for a moment to get her bearings, she continued off through the forest at a steady pace. "The regional command for the templar here is off to the northwest, it shouldn't take us long to reach there, maybe a day at most. Provided we aren't ambushed, which I would suspect we about break even on the odds there given that my… my group was already ambushed, so we're doing well."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Fen said, feeling vaguely uncomfortable in the silence that followed. "I didn't know them, but they shouldn't have…"
"Thank you, but now is not the time." Arella responded, cutting him off with the sudden chill in her voice. This was not a subject she wanted to discuss, not now, when they could still be in danger. "I cannot allow myself to be distracted, not when we are in hostile territory like this. Speaking of which, how bad is my arm? Will you eventually be able to heal it?"
"I… Let's just say I'm not sure."
"In other words, you can't heal it. $%!#!" she swore in a sudden flash of anger.
"Was that your sword arm?"
"One of them, but thankfully I'm left-handed, so I can still use my good arm for fighting. And I have my daggers."
"Oh, how could I forget about those?" Fen added wryly.
"However, this is going to take some getting used to, I'm used to being balanced in terms of weapons. Do you know any useful combat spells?"
"I'm trained as a Force Mage and Battlemage in addition to knowing glyphs, summoning and enhancement spells from the Creation school; not to mention that the Spirit school is not exactly a passive discipline of magic. And, of course, I do know healing magic and the traditional arcane spells most mages learn as well as some Primal magic." Fen answered, drawing a low whistle from Arella as he listed off the magics he specialized in.
"I'm surprised; I didn't expect you to have such a wide array of spells."
"I had a few more years in the Circle than your average mage, and I am an enchanter, you have to really know your craft if you're going to presume to teach others."
"Yes… that's true." Arella admitted before pausing to consider a fork in the trail that they had found themselves on. A look of consternation crossed her face for a moment, as if she could not remember the proper route to take, but it passed after a second and she headed down the path off to her right.
"Come on then Fen, we have a ways to travel before dark if we want to make it to the camp by tomorrow."