Author's Note: Dragon Age and all its awesome goodness belong to Bioware, I own nothing. I changed the last name of the mage from Amell to Rhoman, but catagorized it under character Amell in case people were searching for a player mage story. Malicefent Rhoman is kind of a "witch," be forewarned. This is my first story published here. I've written short one page stories for the entertainment of my guildmates at Lost Order of Akalabeth before, but nothing like this, I sincerely hope you enjoy it. I would also like to thank the authors of the stories here, it is in reading your works I found the inspiration to do this; especially Kataliani, author of The Warden Twins, for taking liberty with Ser Gilmore's part, it gave me my ideas for Cullen.
Gazing out one of the windows in the higher levels of the tower Malicefent Rhoman wondered again what it would be like to be truly free. Free of rules and restrictions, free of the ever watchful eyes of the Templars. The Circle Tower, a beautiful, gilded cage where the magi were only ever brought out on the leashes of the Templars, then returned with the door shut tight behind them. Massive doors of which it took four grown, able bodied men to open one, and they were manned by guards in massive plate armor with mighty swords.
She had been brought her when she was only six. She remembered her family in the only way she could, through the eyes of a child. They had said they didn't want her to go, that they loved her. With teary eyes she had been carted off by the Blessed Templars, away from her family and the small village in which they had lived. That was fifteen years ago. She had hoped to possibly see her family again some day, but all hopes had been dashed two years after she had come to Tower. She would never forget the look on First Enchanter Irving's face as he told her the village had been claimed by a pox. There were no survivors.
Now, and not for the first time, Malicefent entertained a ridiculous fantasy that with her resemblance to Queen Anora, she might escape the Tower. Though Malicefent's hair was lighter, her eyes dark brown where Anora's were blue, and not only were her lips slightly fuller than the queen's; she liked to keep them stained darker. Those differences would likely go unnoticed initially, people often saw what they wanted to see. Regardless, no one would ever believe that Queen Anora just happened to be wandering about Ferelden alone without so much as a single lady in waiting…and in mages robes.
"Malicefent, they're ready for you," the voice of one of the other apprentices broke her out of her reverie.
"Thank you," Malicefent said crisply as she brushed past the other apprentice, on her way to the Harrowing Chamber.
As Malicefent topped the final stair and stepped into the Harrowing Chamber she saw First Enchanter Irving, Knight Commander Greagoir and several other Templars, she noticed one of them was Cullen. She allowed a brief break in her forming concentration for an inner wistful sigh at the sight of him. There would be more time for tingly feelings after this was done.
"Magic exists to serve man, never to rule over him," Greagoir began.
Oh, this again! As if it had not daily been drilled into their skulls, Malicefent thought. She concentrated on building her focus for the task to come as Greagoir droned on. Malicefent didn't begin listening again until she heard the First Enchanter's voice.
"This is why the Harrowing exists. The ritual sends you into the Fade, and there you will face a demon, armed with only your will," he said.
Now she understood why it had been kept a secret, but she was not daunted. "I am ready," she replied with all reverence due to man of Irving's standing.
"Know this apprentice," Greagoir was admonishing her again, "if you fail, we Templars will perform our duty. You will die."
Malicefent wondered if Greagoir hoped for failure, would he like to kill all mages if he could?
"This is lyrium. The very essence of magic, and your gateway into the fade." Greagoir added.
First Enchanter Irving stepped in front of Malicefent, blessedly blocking her view of Greagoir. With a fatherly smile Irving advised, "The Harrowing is a secret out of necessity, child. Every mage must go through this trial by fire. As we succeeded, so shall you. Keep your wits about you and remember the Fade is a realm of dreams. The spirits may rule it, but your own will is real."
"The apprentice must go through this alone, First Enchanter." With his stern voice and face the Knight Commander announced to Malicefent, "You are ready."
Oh, thank you! Knight Commander of the Obvious! He just heard her say to First Enchanter Irving she was ready, Malicefent thought as she glared at him. It was a good thing she couldn't reduce him to ash with just a look. She had nothing to say to Knight Commander Obvious, he could eat demon ass for all she cared.
Proudly defiant, Malicefent strode to the font in the center of the room and dipped her hand in. As she was examining her glowing hand there was a brilliant blast of white light, a strange voice that she could not make out the words of what it was saying, and then she was in the Fade.
The first thing Malicefent noticed, after the brilliant blast of white light, was that everything looked watery. An after effect of the light perhaps? It had been blinding. After a moment she was sure the watery appearance was the appearance of the Fade itself. In a world of dream where very little is substantial, it made sense.
"Well, best get on with it then," Malicefent said to herself as she began walking.
Passing a bizarre looking statue, she encountered three wisps. The wisps could do damage, but on their own they rarely got much done aside from being annoying. Usually, they would try to jump in on the side of a larger foe, and then they could be real trouble; either by distracting you from the real threat, or pelting you with small lightning bolts and increasing your pain. Malicefent quickly dispatched the annoying wisps, relishing killing them she couldn't help but to exclaim, "How delightful!" upon the death of the third.
It was only a few more steps before she came toe to face with a…talking rat? She heard him before she saw him. "Someone else thrown to the wolves. As fresh and unprepared as ever. It isn't right that they do this, the templars. Not to you, me, anyone."
Fabulous, first wisps and now a whiny rat.
"I will succeed, right or not," was her terse reply.
"You say that now. So have many others before you. Look at me, look at what can happen." The rat sighed before he continued on, "It's always the same, but it's not your fault. You're in the same boat I was, aren't you?"
Malicefent had about as much she could stand when she was about to step over him and continue her task, but before she could step he turned into a man with the same watery appearance as the Fade.
"Allow me to welcome you to the Fade. You can call me…well, Mouse."
Rat, thought Malicefent, but what she said was "Not your real name, I take it?" No sense in burning bridges when he might be of some use to her after all.
"No. I don't remember anything from…before. The templars kill you if you take too long, you see. They figure you failed, and they don't want something getting out. That's what they did to me, I think. I have no body to reclaim. And you don't have much time before you end up the same," Mouse said.
"That's not going to happen to me. I am confident in the strength of my powers," is what she gave voice too. Internally she added, and by all means if I don't have much time, please do keep me standing around to hear about your plight. As acerbic as Malicefent was, it did not escape her notice that Rat seemed unsure of his story, as if he was adding bits as he went.
Mouse said, "That has been said before. But you don't know the danger."
He was trying to drag her down! Get her to give up hope…or he was testing her. Yes, there was much more to weak little Mouse than it seemed. He went on a bit more about the demon contained here, just for an apprentice like her, and how if she didn't resist and defeat it the templars would kill her when the demon used her body to escape the Fade.
"I don't know why this test is so feared," Malciefent responded, haughtily. After all, she could enter or leave the Fade when she chose. She thought of demons as weak, since they could not leave or their own. She was sure there was an exception to this rule, there was an exception to every rule. Only when she found the exception to this one would she begin to be concerned.
"You would be a fool to just attack everything you see. What you face is powerful and cunning."
Fine, let this weakling follow. He had said nothing is as it seems, did this rat think she was so foolish as to believe this did not extended to him as well? She would use him if she could, and by letting him accompany her she could keep an eye on him.
Following the only path available there was little of note in this strange place, things seen in the distance, but they couldn't be made out, or they shifted just before she figure out what it was. Malicefent was wondering where this demon could possibly be, it wasn't a large area she was in so it couldn't be hiding in too many places. Could it be Mouse was trying to waste her time here so that the templars would kill her physical body? Maybe it was time to step on the rat and see which bones creaked. As she pondered this she saw a fire, with something gleaming white in front of it…it was in the shape of a man. Was this her challenge?
"Another mortal thrown into the flames and left to burn, I see."
No, no, no. She was not going to have another long winded conversation, and be whined at for help.
"Your mages have devised a cowardly test. Better you were pitted against each other to prove your mettle with skill, than to be sent unarmed against a demon," the spirit knight said.
Perhaps this wouldn't be as a painful a conversation as she thought. She quickly learned she was speaking with one of the warrior spirits, the Spirit of Valor. And she did agree that this was a cowardly test. Valor forged, or rather brought into being spirit weapons in the Fade. He said he would give Malicefent one if she could best him in a duel. She wouldn't call it easy, nor would she say hard, but she did have a fine spirit staff with which to best the demon with.
She walked on Mouse and came across the most hideous bear she had ever seen. This bear it turns out was a Sloth demon, and he was certainly living up to the sloth part of his name. Yet this still wasn't the demon she was to battle, she could have screamed.
After helping the rat learn a more suitable form for battle, which she wasn't sure was necessarily the best idea, but it helped her in the meantime and she was sure she could still best him, she met her final encounter.
A Rage Demon emerged from the ground in front of her. Making threats of claiming her body for its own so it could leave the Fade. Then it turned to Mouse and said "So this creature is your offering, Mouse? Another plaything, as per our arrangement?"
She knew it! That rat bastard would pay when she was done with the Rage Demon. Then suddenly the rat seemed to find a backbone, oh what an actor he was!
"Come get me – if you can!" Malicefent taunted the Rage Demon.
Being true to its name the demon attacked her, and more wisps showed up to add to the annoyance of the entire process. She, and rat now in bear form, made quick work of all of them. Rat was awed that Malicefent had beaten the Rage Demon, as if she had ever had any doubt it could go any other way.
"The ones you betrayed before me, what were their names?" She spat at the rat.
Rat sputtered, "What? They were not as promising as you. It was a long time ago. I…I don't remember their names."
"You don't remember, or don't care?"
"I don't even remember my own name. It's the Fade, and the templars killing me, like they tried with you."
The templars hadn't tried to kill her, at least not yet. Malicefent had had enough of this game. "So what is it you think you can get from me?"
"You defeated a demon, you completed your test. With time, you will be a master enchanter with no equal. And maybe there's hope in that for someone as small and as…forgotten as me. If you want to help. There may be a way for me to leave here, to get a foothold outside. You just need to let me in," Mouse said.
"Not my problem, Mouse." The last part was said so sardonically, she was surprised that the contempt of it hadn't physically formed in the air and dripped into the ground.
"Quickly now, the templars are going to kill you. Can't you feel the sword at your neck? They believe all magic evil, the Fade evil. Once you are here, you become what they fear." He was pleading now.
"Like you?" She scoffed. "Were you ever really an apprentice?"
"What? Yes! Of course! I mean, I think I was. Isn't that enough? It should be enough! …for you." The desperation quickly left Mouse's voice and was replaced with a certainty. "Maybe they were right about you. Simple killing is a warrior's job. The real dangers of the Fade are preconceptions, careless trust…pride." Suddenly little, weak Mouse was an abomination towering above her, and his voice was nothing like Malicefent had ever heard. "Keep your wits about you, mage. True tests never end."
Before Malicefent could react with anything more than a blank stare, the brilliant blast of white light returned and she was gone.