Chapter One: Spirits, Demons and Blood Mages, Oh My!
I am not entirely sure how long have been in the fade. Time is twisted and almost non-existent. Gwen, a spirit of wisdom, has become my closest friend in this place. Along with a spirit of compassion, whom I have dubbed as Adelaide. Adelaide was the spirit who brought me to see wisdom. I think my situation frustrates Gwen. We have been through every one of her books. I have learned a lot because of this, as it turns out I didn't even have to read the book to obtain the knowledge inside it. I think that's the way she made them, though. I ended up touching a tome about elven arcane warriors. I learned everything an arcane warrior spent their lives learning in just a matter of moments, it left my head pounding for what felt like a lifetime. Gwen scolded me for touching her books, but after I explained that I wanted to help her find a way to get me back instead of her doing all the work she calmed down some. After that, she started bringing me or possibly making me, books that my mind or spirit could handle at one time, that and I could read them. I learned a lot about magic this way, I even learned elvish and Orlesian.
I flopped onto a couch, Gwen made it after I had told her what they were made of and what they were for, and opened a book. I was currently reading a book about Ferelden history. My memories about the world of Thedas were becoming faded and harder and harder to remember as time went on. If not for the book, Gwen was really patience with me in this matter, I made I would most likely have forgotten my life back on earth. When I was not learning something I was reading it. It was most likely the only thing keeping me sane.
About half way through my book, Adelaide came in with another spirit, one that I didn't know. I closed my book waved Adelaide over.
"Adel, who is your friend?" Adelaide huffed at my name for her. Both she and Gwen didn't like the names at first. Then I told them the basis of the names and the grudgingly accepted them.
"I am a spirit of Valour! Why is it that you call Compassion something that she is not?" He was loud. I blinked a few times at the sound of another male voice and the fact that he almost made my ear drums pop if that was possible.
"Nice to meet you Valour, I call compassion Adelaide so that I can tell the difference between her and other spirits of compassion. Adelaide means 'noble kind' I thought it fit rather well." I defended my intentions. Before Valour could do any more harm Adelaide told him enough.
"Zachary, I brought Valour here in hopes he would teach you how to fight." I nodded my head in understanding, magic, in theory, was good and all, but in action, I haven't done it yet. "He agreed so long as you prove yourself." At that, I blanked. That might be a bit of a problem. I am a little coward. I smiled at Valour after a moment.
"I can try."
Training with Valour was interesting, to say the least. He was always pushing me to my limits, and seeing as that I don't have a body to feel pain with it was when I started screaming in frustration.
"Face your fear, do not hold back!" Valour yelled at me from the sidelines as I unleashed a fireball at a despair demon. In my anger, I screamed at the thing, lifted the sword Valour made for me and removed its head from its shoulders. I huffed for a moment, the silence was getting a little tense.
"You called me Victor." I licked my lips in thought.
"Did I?" Valour nodded his head once. I pondered it a moment. "Well then, Victor it
is."
I think Victor likes having a name other than Valour. I mean every time it comes out of his mouth he smiles. I might have to mix it up every now and again because I really don't want to deal with a fear demon, the idea of that just gives me the willies. Then again I think spirits within this world feel more than just what they call themselves, but only little hints of them. Nothing too extreme, after all, they are the extreme of the emotion they claim to be. Then again, you know what I am just going to stop trying to understand, I'll give myself a headache.
"Something feels different," I mumble as I look around, my eyebrows came together in thought, where or what is causing this. I turned to Gwen, who sat next to me, her brow knit together just like mine.
"I feel it as well." I watched as she stood. "Someone is coming." I took that as a bad thing, normally Gwen and I would only get our spirit friends as guests, but this felt different. Powerful, not that Gwen wasn't powerful, this just felt... Negative... A demon! I pulled out my sword and my quarterstaff, to be honest, I felt a little like Gandalf and waited. Out of habit, I took a deep breath. Soon enough Adelaide and Victor came tumbling into the library looking a little frazzled. They both barely had enough time to move our way before a demon of Desire and a few Rage demons at her heals. I dislike Desire demons, and I don't like Rage demons all that much either. Both of my friends that have arrived stand in front of myself effectively blocking me from their view. Gwen takes a step forward.
"What is it that you want Desire?" I am not all that surprised that Gwen is so calm in this situation, it also might add that this is her domain and she could put Desire in a maze with so many tricks and riddles that it would make her want to go back the way she came.
"Oh, don't play dumb Wisdom it doesn't suit you. You know very well why I am here. I want that human soul you have been keeping as a pet for the last little while. You see I was summoned to find a soul to fill a body with." I didn't like the sounds of 'summoned' or 'fill a body with' for that matter. It sounds an awful lot like blood magic and I don't like blood magic. Adelaide held out her hand to me, I brushed the back of my sword hand against it and felt the instant emotion of calm.
"Hm, who summoned you?" Gwen asked I don't think she would ever command for anything even if it was just answered.
"A blood mage, the pathetic thing really, I intend to take over his body after." Yep-nope, not good. Don't like demons. It was amazing how Gwen could get all this information out of a demon without it lying to her, then again what would a demon gain from lying to the other spirit? Nothing. That is when I saw the rage demons, while Desire was keeping us distracted, they were slinking around us. I tapped Victor's leg with my quarterstaff gaining his attention. I nodded my head towards one of the flaming creatures of rage. He scoffed.
"Do you think such cowardly tactics will work on us Demons! Do not take us lightly you fools! I will not let harm come to Zachary!" He bellowed I don't kid he bellowed it out like a battle cry. He readied his massive two handed sword in preparation to fight, Adelaide pulled out a set of daggers at the same time as Victor. Gwen was now next to me. I watched as the surrounding area became a maze. I lifted my middle finger to make a rather rude gesture at the Desire demon as the wall blocked her off from the four of us.
"We do not have much time before the find a way to get to us," Gwen stated she turned on her heel to face behind us. I did the same. "You must leave, go to where Desire was summoned. They only way I know of for you to get out of this without someone controlling you or dead is to enter the body on your free will. No demons in the matter." Gwen started to move forward and at a fast pace that I wasn't so used to having her use.
"Gwen, the way your talking, it's like you don't intend to come with." She stopped in her stride for just a moment but kept walking.
"I will not be. This is my domain, I will not leave it for demons to squander around in. I would rather the knowledge I have gathered be lost rather than used for their deviant ways." She placed her hand on a wall making a door, more like a portal. It probably was going to take us to where we needed to go.
"I will stay with Wisdom." I turned to Victor. He faced Gwen and then spoke again. "It is not within your nature to fight, so I will fight for you. May my sword and shield protect you." I should have expected that one, I nodded my head to him.
"If you stay with Wisdom, I will help Zachary. I think it fitting really, I helped him when he arrived and now I shall help him as he leaves." I smiled a little sadly. I had to leave, I had to leave these wonderful people, fuck what the Chantry thinks, these people are the most amazing people I will ever know and now I had to leave. If I could cry I probably would be.
"Thank you."
I groaned out loud as I gained consciousness. I wasn't in the fade any longer, that much I could feel. I lay where I am for a while as the last few memories of my time in the fade come back to me. Adelaide died, she died, and for all, I know Gwen and Victor could be dead as well. I could feel the tears running down my new found flesh, I could feel my nose start to stuff as the tears continued to flow blocking the stench of blood. I opened my eyes to come face to face with a madman grinning from ear to ear, he could win a prize for a Joker imitation. I glared at the man, I don't even think he is worthy of being called a man, he is defiantly a monster. I looked past his head with a glare still on my face. The ceiling was defiantly French, I should say Orlesian, in style. Either that meant I was in an older house in Ferelden, or I was in Orlais.
"You're awake!" The man spoke in French, defiantly Orlais, he jumped up and down as if he had just done an act of god. Technically he did, but I won't let him know that.