Bioware owns Ferelden, Thedas, Dragon Age characters.
This story contains spoilers for Dragon Age.
Summary : A short story, containing a different ending for 'Tied by Destiny', branched from chapter 18th.
Warning : You need to read chapters 1 to 17 from story 'Tied by Destiny' in order to understand the events described in the following chapters.
Dedicated to Anders from the story 'Tied by Destiny'.
Many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many … infinite thanks to my Beta Reader Zeeji!
Chapter 18 : Maker's Mercy
"Open thy gate of mercy, gracious God, My soul flies through these wounds to seek out thee." - William Shakespeare
As Anders entered the Fade, he was greeted by two desire demons that were standing there, close to the entrance, like they had been expecting him.
"Well, well, look who's coming! My sweet mage, I've missed you, my dear!" said one of the demons smiling to Anders, then it started to take Elissa's form.
"Hey, you're the demon from my dreams!" said Anders surprised.
"Yes, it's me, dear, I told you that we'll meet again, sweet mage", whispered the Elissa-demon.
"You look like you've been expecting me!" said Anders.
"You just fell into our little trap, sweet mage!" said the other demon.
"And you've found a friend! How nice of you!"said Anders looking at the other desire demon.
The other desire demon smiled at Anders, then shifted to Alistair's form.
"She's found an ally, mage!" said the Alistair-demon.
"Really? And who are you?" asked Anders raising an eyebrow.
The Alistair-demon smiled wickedly at Anders, taking on Elissa's form for a few moments only to shape-shift again into Alistair.
"I'm their demon! I'm Alistair and Elissa's demon!" said the Alistair-demon.
"Really? You're their demon? I've never heard of such a thing … maybe you're a confused demon … you didn't decide yet which form you want to have?" said Anders in a sarcastic tone.
The Alistair-demon laughed. "Their souls are connected, tied together by the Maker Himself! I was feasting on their delicious desire for each other for almost a year, tormenting both their dreams … feeding on both of them at the same time … until you showed up, mage! You ruined everything!" said the Alistair-demon.
"I've told you not to interfere with them, sweet mage! He's a very powerful demon, my friend here! You should have listened to me; you should have accepted my offer!" said the Elissa-demon.
"Oh, please, let's just prepare for battle, shall we?" said Anders as he started to cast a spell.
"You cannot win this fight, sweet mage! Just listen to our offer!" said the Elissa-demon.
"I don't make deals with demons!" yelled Anders.
"We shall break you and then I shall make you mine, sweet mage. Then my friend here will possess your beautiful wife!" said the Elissa-demon.
"Never!" yelled Anders.
"I shall torment you until you'll accept me inside you, sweet mage!" said the Elissa-demon.
"I'd ratherdie!" he said.
"I don't want to kill you, just use you!" said the Elissa-demon.
"I won't let you!" said Anders.
"Let my friend inside you and I shall spear your beautiful wife, I shall possessAlistair instead!" said the Alistair-demon.
"No!" said Anders.
"If you die, then my friend here will still get out and possess your wife, sweet mage! Listen to me, make the deal! Let me inside you, I promise I won't harm you, we shall bound and I shall see the world of the living through your eyes!" said the Elissa-demon.
"I don't like this 'bonding' idea!" said Anders.
"Or my friend here can hold you while I possess you forcefully, but this will hurt … badly, let me in willingly and I promise you won't feel a thing!" said the Elissa-demon.
Anders looked at the two desire demons in front of him. They were both very powerful, he could feel their strength. And there were two of them. He could defeat one, but two of them at the same time, hardly.
"You said this was a trap?" asked Anders, trying to buy some more time to think about a solution.
"Yes, we've made a deal with Thomas, the mage that sent you in. We gave him a cure for Anora's sickness. He was supposed to capture you too and deliver you to us, but I think he tried to double-cross us!So, we watched and waited for him to tear the Veil. Then we blocked the opening, knowing he would have to send you in to unblock it. I don't think he realized exactly what he did!" said the Alistair-demon laughing.
Anders took a deep breath and thought hard about his options 'They can possess me forcefully … but I simply cannot let them!' he thought looking at the two demons in front of him. 'There is only one way out of this situation!' thought Anders and prepared to cast a spell.
"I guess he wants to fight!" said the Elissa-demon preparing to attack Anders.
"Such a waste," said the Alistair-demon preparing to attack Anders too.
But Anders's spell did not attack the demons, he aimed for the portal that was linking the Fade to the world of the living. He destroyed the exit, sealing the rift into the Veil from inside.
"What have you done, sweet mage? Now you're trapped here, too!" said the Elissa-demon.
"And now thatyou're of no use to us, we'll just kill you!" said the Alistair-demon.
"You can definitely try!" said Anders preparing to cast another spell.' He will take care of them! He promised me!' thought Anders thinking about Elissa and Ela.
The demons transformed in their natural shape and started to attack.
"Leave him alone, demons!" said a spirit shaped in the form of a warrior, who appeared suddenly from behind the demons.
"He's ours! Don't interfere, spirit!" said one of the desire demons.
"This is not your business, spirit!" said the other desire demon.
"Leave him or die, demons!" yelled the warrior-spirit.
"Justice, is that you?" asked Anders as he recognized the voice.
"Yes, it's me Anders!" said Justice to Anders, placing himself between the mage and the demons.
"Why are you protecting this sweet mage, spirit?" asked one of the desire demons.
"The Maker sent me! It is His will! Leave of die, demons!" said Justice drawing his weapon.
The demons got closer to each other, whispered something to one another for a few moments, then they both turned to look at Justice again.
"Very well, then, we shall leave!" said one of the demons and then they both disappeared.
"Uh, thanks, Justice!" said Anders smiling to the spirit warrior in front of him.
"You're welcome, now follow me, the Maker is expecting you!" said Justice as he startedto walk into the Fade.
"Really? The Maker? Why? Is He going to send me back?" asked Anders surprised, as he followed Justice through the Fade.
"Yes, Anders, The Maker, and yes again, She … I mean He's going to save you." said Justice.
"Really? Wait … you said He is a She? That would explain a lot of things!" said Anders smirking, "Well, I hope She's hotter than Andraste!" said Anders with a grin from ear to ear.
"It's neither a 'He' or a 'She'!" said Justice in a harsh tone.
Justice and Anders walked in the Fade for some time, until they reached a big closed wooden door, decorated with some ancient symbols.
"Go inside, Anders. The Maker is expecting you!" said Justice.
Anders opened the door and stepped inside. It was a huge, almost endless room, without windows or other doors. The room was empty, except for a round, shining energy form located near the entrance.
"Hello … Maker!" said a surprised Anders looking at the glowing energy.
"Hello, Anders!" answered the entity with a loud voice, followed by an echo. The voice had a neutral tone, neither male or female.
Anders looked curiously at the entity in front of him, trying hard to see its form. But he was disappointed that the energy had no features to see.
"So, you're the Maker!" , said Anders raising an eyebrow,"Where is Andraste?"
The entity laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, Anders!" said the entity giggling.
"Well, I've seen the statues … I wanted to see the original too … just to make sure that they match!" said Anders smiling.
The entity laughed again. "Anders, that is not the reason I've called you here!"
"Well, can't blame me for trying!", said Anders smirking ,"So what's the real reason you've summoned me here, Maker?"
"I wanted to tell you that you will return into the mortals world to your family and live happily ever after with your wife and daughter," said the entity.
"Wow, thanks Maker!" said Anders smiling happily.
"Don't mention it, Anders! I owed you one!" said the entity.
"Really? How come?" asked Anders raising an eyebrow.
"That's … another story … just take my word for granted!" said the entity.
"Very well, Maker! As you wish!" answered Anders, then smiled wickedly and said "Maker, can I ask you something? Are you really a 'She'?"
The entity laughed. "No, Anders, I'm neither a 'He' or a 'She'! I can take any form I want!" said the entity.
"Then can you take Andraste's form for a minute?" said Anders smiling wickedly.
"No, Anders! And I think it's time for you to get back, they are waiting for you to wake up!" said the Maker. Then the globe of energy exploded, lighting the entire room as Anders felt like he was being dragged somewhere. He couldn't see a thing, only the pure shining white light that overwhelmed his vision.
"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
The woman was running fast through the castle's hallway, holding a sword in her right hand. Behind her, a warrior wearing heavy armor was following her, hardly managing to keep pace with her.
'Pain, deep pain. Worry. She's afraid that he's dead. Despair. She loves him. Pain again. Hope. Pure hope. She must be praying now, I should pray too. Maker, please Maker, don't let him die!' thought Alistair while he was following Elissa on the way to the library. They were very close to the library, when they were stopped by a group of royal guards standing in front of the entrance.
"My king!" said one of the royal guards bowing.
"What happened?" asked Alistair breathing heavily.
"The Tevinter mage … he tried to escape. Something strange happened … the rift sealed itself from inside! The mage tried to take advantage of this distraction; he attacked us and ran away! Some men are following him right now!" said the guard.
"And Anders; what about him?" asked Elissa.
The guard sigheddeeply and said "My lady … he's … unconscious … like in a deep sleep!"
Elissa dropped the sword on the ground, quickly pushed the guard out of her way, and ran into the library. As soon as she entered, she saw Anders's body laid on a couch. She ran to him and checked his heart beat. She listened to his chest for a few moments and heard some weak heart beats. She closed her eyes and screamed his name … suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her. She smiled back and bent over him, kissing him slowly.
Alistair followed her inside and saw Elissa and Anders kissing slowly. He swallowed hard, then turned and left the room. He immediately felt an overwhelming feeling of happiness and love.'She's happy! She loves him! She deserves to be happy!' thought the king, trying hard to hold back his feelings of jealousy and sorrow. Then he smiled, as her happiness was running through his body now, making him forget about his own emotions … and he felt genuinely happy too.
Anders took Elissa into his arms, held her closer and ran his hands through her hair.
"My darling, I was so afraid that you might have died!" she said after she ended their passionate kiss, hardly holding back the tears.
"Hey, I'm alright now! The Maker saved me!" said Anders happily touching her face slowly.
Elissa raised an eyebrow suspiciously."Really?The Maker?"
"Yeah, the Maker Himself! Or Herself? Did you know 'He' is also a 'She'?" said Anders.
Elissa laughed. "You must have hit your head or something! Everybody knows the Maker is a 'He'! ", she said smiling , "It's written in the 'Chant of Light!'"
"Well, I've seen Her or … Him! Whatever!" said Anders very serious.
Elissa smiled and examined closer Anders's head, searching for a wound "You must have a wound there, somewhere! Let me check!"
"No, I'm fine! Really! How are you?" said Anders.
"I'm fine, too," said Elissa examining Anders for wounds.
"Where is Ela? Is she alright?" said Anders worried.
"She's fine, she's with Leliana and Duncan," said Elissa.
"I was so scared that something wrong might have happened!" said Anders holding Elissa closer to him.
"Yes, me too!" she said putting her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat, feeling so happy that he was alive. He ran his hands through her hair, held her closer and kissed her forehead.
And this is how Zevran found them, as soon as he returned into the library, after he had chased and killed the Tevinter mage: Anders was holding Elissa close to his chest and they were both smiling happily. Alistair was standing outside the library, leaning against a wall, his face all full of happiness. Zevran looked suspiciously at the happy king … he could not understand the reason for the look on his face.
"Are you alright, Alistair?" asked Zevran doubting the king's sanity.
"Yes, I'm fine, Zev, thanks for your help!" said Alistair smiling.
"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Zevran suspiciously, studying the king for injuries. He was afraid the king might have been poisoned, but could not think of anything that could produce his overt happiness. There were some herbs he used to take to extend his pleasure, but no, this could not be the case here.
Alistair saw Zevran staring at him, suspiciously then nodded and said, "I'm alright, Zev!"
"You look drugged, my friend. Did you drink or eat something … suspicious?" said Zevran, not giving up.
"No, I'm not drugged, Zev! I'm just happy!" said Alistair smiling happily.
"Oh, you're definitely happy, my friend! But I don't understand why!" said Zevran staring at Alistair.
"I'm happy because Elissa is happy … Anders is alive," said Alistair smiling.
"You're really so happy because of that?" said Zevran frowning at Alistair, not understanding how that could make him so happy.
No, Zevran could not understand … nobody but Alistair could, but he also did not know the reason for his strange connection between him and Elissa.
After a few moments, Leliana and the children arrived. Ela ran to her father, who took her into his arms and kissed her joyfully. Then Fergus appeared, his face full of disgust and sadness, carrying Anora's journals in his hands.
The king ordered his men to burn Anora's castle down. He left for Denerim, together with Duncan and his guards, while Elissa, Anders and Ela left for Vigil's Keep together with Leliana and Fergus.
"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"