Dragon Age: Ascend

by drcoates93

The Veil that separates the Fade and the mortal realm is weakening with each passing Blight. The Champion of Kirkwall must enter the Fade, much like the first Imperium mages did, and enter the Black City where the secret of the taint, the darkspawn, and the mystery surrounding the Staff of Parthalan await him. All of Thedas rests in his hands.

1. Prologue

"There has to be more to the Champion's story," the Seeker urged as she paced back and forth, her dark tan skin lit by a single beam through a window. She placed her hand on her head, tense and confused about all that the dwarf she was questioning was telling her. "Why would they tell us different?" she asked herself.

The dwarf sat up in his seat arrogantly. "I'm not so sure what your Chantry is telling you, but I do know that my tales are true, no matter what you believe," he scoffed as he crossed one leg over the other.

"There must be more. There just has to be more," the Seeker pressed, taking a step forward.

"Well," the dwarf began as he contemplated on his journeys with the Champion of Kirkwall, "there was that one time when the Champion entered the Fade."

The Seeker fixed her hair and closed her eyes. "That is not noteworthy. Anyone except you dwarves can enter the Fade with ease," she said blankly.

"I guess…that didn't come out the way I meant it to come out," the dwarf stated simply. He took a deep breath. "The Champion entered the Fade while awake," he stressed. The Seeker had begun pacing again, but stopped in her tracks at the dwarf's words. She quickly turned around.

"Impossible," the Seeker gasped as she passed under a ray of light.

"But wait; there's more. The Champion also entered the Black City," the dwarf affirmed.

"Now I know you are lying. No one has ever set foot in the Fade, let alone enter the Black City, since the first magisters of the Imperium," the Seeker asserted. "Even then, those mages became the first darkspawn and began the First Blight. There is no way that the Champion—the Champion, of all people—could have survived a journey into the Black City," the Seeker emphasized, becoming obviously flustered with the grand audacity of the dwarf's story.

"Well then, Seeker," the dwarf, Varric, started before a slight pause. "You're in for a hell of a tale," he boasted as he relaxed in his seat, clasping his hands together. "Let me tell you the tale of how the Champion entered the Black City and learned the secret of the taint."