Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, Noble and Mage, ran.
"This isn't meant to happen. This isn't meant to happen."
All she wanted was to prove herself. Prove she wasn't a failure. Prove she wasn't a Zero.
So how had a simple summoning spell ended with... this?
This orcish creature behind her laughed.
Small, with greyish skin and sharp, jagged teeth, the creature had seen her within moments of her failed summoning.
It made no sense. Why had the summoning taken her here? What purpose could it have? The spell was meant to summon the familiar suited for the mage, but...
She had failed. That's it. She had failed the summoning spell so much, it had taken her to here...
Why?
The creature had immediately attacked her, with magic, and knocked her wand away from her hand.
Why?
She has to run. She has to get away. She has to-
The blast of magic blasts into her legs, knocking her over.
No... No!
She tries to get up, but the thing gets to her first, and hits her with it's staff.
Why?
With a cry of pain, Louise crumbles to the ground. The thing chuckles, and kicks her.
Why?
Why was the creature attacking her? Why was it chuckling? Why Why Why Why Why Wh-
Because it could, she realised. It didn't need a reason.
Louise feels the tears running down her face.
"Mirath! Genlock!"
The arrow hits the small, orc-like monster through the skull, splattering her in it's blood. It turns and screeches.
Impossible. No beast should be able to survive an arrow through the skull.
No living beast...
A second arrow hits it's skull. The creature raises it's staff and fires.
What was the point? The thing hadn't even tired itself to subdue her, and the arrows-
A third arrow hits the monster, and it grunts in pain.
Pain.
Whoever was fighting the creature had hurt it.
It could be hurt. And if it could be hurt...
Coughing, Louise starts crawling to where the creature had thrown her wand.
The thing can be beaten. She just needs to get to her wand. She just needs to...
The creature turns to her and jabs it's staff.
Fire consumes her, and she screams.
"Shem'len!" The archer shouts in surprise.
The fire, it burns. It burns. It burnsitburnsitburnsitburnsitburns.
She wants to stop. To die. The pain...
Mother wouldn't stop. Mother would keep trying, even if it was hopeless.
Mother would want her to do it.
Just get the wand... There.
Turning, she see's the creature firing at the archer. She just has to aim...
"Firball!"
The orc-thing shrieks as the explosion tears through it.
Missing an arm, the monster- how is it not dead yet- turns to her and-
-And is impaled by twin daggers.
"Alas Genlock." Hiss's a different- and female- voice.
The creature flails around a bit more, before it's attacker pulls one of the daggers out, and beheads the creature.
Vision blurring, Louise calls out.
""H-hel..."
Someone- the archer, she thinks- rushes to her as she losses consciousness.
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Darkspawn.
Mirath had heard the rumours of a Blight, of course, but all the sightings had been near the Korcari Wilds. For Darkspawn to come this far north...
"The Shem'len is alive." Calls Tamlen, snapping Mirath out of her pondering.
"How is she?" Asks Mirath.
"Injured. We might have to take her back to camp, so the Keeper can heal her wounds."
"Are you insane?" Snaps Mirath. "Taking a Shem back into the camp... Even if the Keeper agrees to it, we have no idea how the others will react. And this is assuming the Shem'len doesn't attack us the moment she wakes up."
"Aren't you curious?" Asks Tamlen. "Shem'len do not usually have pink hair."
He... Has a point, Mirath admits. Even if it's just some sort of Mage thing, it's still odd.
"Fine." Sighs Mirath. "But let's check the ruins first. There was a Genlock in here, and there could be more Darkspawn."
Tamlen nods, pouring a Healing Poultice down the Shem'len's throat, and picks the girl up.
"I'll scout ahead." Says Mirath, fading into the shadows.
There was only one more room in the ruins, as it turns out. And in that room was a mirror.
The mirror was large, with two faceless statues on either side.
Tamlen laid the Shem'len on the ground, and went to look at the mirror.
"Admiring yourself, are we?" Asks Mirath.
"Can't you see that?"
"See what?"
"That. In the mirror. It's like some sort of city..."
"It's also Tainted." Comes a voice from behind them. The two elves turn.
"Greetings. My name is Duncan, Grey Warden of Fereldan."
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Duncan scans the room.
Two Dalish elves, one dangerously close to the tainted Mirror, the other standing near an unconscious, pink haired human...
This was going to be one of those days, wasn't it?
"What do you mean it's tainted?" Asks the male elf.
"It's got the Darkspawn taint all other it." Replies Duncan. "I'm sure your Keeper has told you about the Darkspawn taint."
The female elf frowns. "...That explains the Genlock..."
She pauses, and then turns to the Warden. "My apologies. I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Mirath, and this is Tamlen."
Duncan smiles. "A pleasure to meet you, Mirath."
"What about the city?" Asks Tamlen. "In the mirror. It's some sort of fancy city..."
Duncan walks towards the mirror, feeling out with what Alistair often called the 'Warden-Sense.'
Sure enough, there is a city in the mirror. And judging by the feel...
"An Eluvian." States Duncan. "Old Tevinter artefacts, although I cannot recall their purpose. That city... It looks like the Deep Roads."
Although... Did the mirror just change? A blue haired man with an emotionless expression...
No, it's the Deep Roads. It must've been a trick of the light.
Drawing his blade, Duncan turns to the elves.
"Such a tainted device is to dangerous to leave lying around intact."
With a swing of his arm, Duncan smashes the mirror with the hilt of his blade.
As the Eluvian collapses, a fragmented view of a golden haired man with a staff could be seen for a single moment, before vanishing just as quickly as it had appeared.
Duncan sheathed his blade. "Now, can someone tell me about the pink haired girl?"
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Marethari sighs.
Darkspawn had been sighted, Tamlen had almost touched a very, very Tainted item, and a mysterious Pink haired Mage had appeared from no-where.
Usually, the Dalish Keeper would have been confused. However, Duncan is in the area, so it all made sense.
In fact, since Duncan is in the area, the series of events of events so far have been rather tame.
The odd thing was, the girl has an enormous presence in the Beyond, and yet has attracted no Demons. Almost as if the girl has some sort of Divine Protection...
Merrill, the First, is currently watching the girl. Looking over, Marethari notices that some elf children were braiding the girls hair with flowers.
Hopefully, the girl would remain unconscious throughout the process. Marethari knew how most Shem'len acted around elves, and if she lashed out with magic...
Marethari shakes her head. This was all Duncan's fault.
Well, at least it isn't as bad as The Potato Incident.
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Louise groans.
The dream was horrible, she decides. More like a nightmare.
Still, she can't let it deter her. Just because she had a bad dream about her summoning going wrong doesn't mean she will avoid the ritual-
What, who's playing with her hair.
Opening her eyes- Why does the sun have to be so bright?- Louise looks at the sight before her.
...What happened to her room? Why is there a forest near her? Why is the elf smiling at her? And why is the- wait.
Elf.
Elf.
Elf.
Reaching for her wand, Louise screams.
