It has been ten years since the events at Adamant, and the Grey Wardens are still trying to recover from the false Calling that almost destroyed their order. You are a one of the few that was either recruited or conscripted into the order, and who has not undergone the Joining. You and couple others are tasked to into see what is happening in the Deep Roads. There were reports that people are gathering there, and that the Darkspawn is doing nothing to the crowds of people. Something strange is going on. Strange demons are appearing, and they are even more vicious and dangerous than the ones mages are used to dealing with on a day to day bases. They have to find a way to deal with them, without having to get the Inquisitor and the Inquisition involved. Some of the mage recruits and conscripts started to have very livid and life like dreams, unlike what they were used to having, about these new kinds of demons. They are not the only ones who have been having these dreams.
A/N: This story will not mention Trespasser or any of the dlc for Dragon Age: Inquisition. This was written before the Jaws of Hakkon dlc, so no flames about how I forgot about the dlc at all. And I know that I probably messed up of how long the Grey Wardens live. I kind of forgot, and for the sake of this story, they are going to live for about forty years...give or take a year or two. I don't own anything except my own characters. If you see any mistake or something, leave a comment or a pm telling me what as long as it is criticism that will help me improve. This is all an result of my over-reactive imagination. So here we go.
"Where am I? This isn't what I am used to seeing the Fade as. It's way too normal." A voice echoed through the mountains that they found themselves in. They were standing in a small clearing with a great forest just behind them. The Fade never looked like it was just a normal area of anywhere in Thedas, but here they are. They couldn't even see the Black City in the distance. The sky turned black, and a sudden storm suddenly formed as an earsplitting screech echoed through the trees, and it caused them to look behind them. Hands gripped the trees, before shadows grabbed their feet and started to pull them down into the darkness that formed around them. "What are you going to do with me?!" Whatever was pulling them down ignored the question, until they were almost consumed by darkness.
"You will be mine. Regardless of whom you belong to…"
A large half human, half goat like creature walked out of the shadows, taller than the tallest tree in the distance. It crouched down and grabbed an arm that the shadows had not yet consumed and pull them out of the thick substance. They opened their eyes to see that they were eye level with the strange creature, and solid black eyes stared back at them. "What do you want with me?! I am not yours,-"
"Let me go!" Waking up suddenly, she swung a large stick at the person who ran to her side, and it connected with the side of their head. A grunt was the only thing that she heard, but when her vision finally cleared up, she felt guilty that the person she struck hard against the side of the face was her brother. There were others who looked at her strangely, and some of them had their weapons out. Being the only mage in the group made her self-conscious about being more aware of her magic. They were with the Hero of Ferelden and Warden-Commander, Thornevald Cousland, when they got a message that something strange was going on in the Deep Roads. It wasn't that there was an increase of activity of Darkspawn, but something else. Being both a Qunari and a mage unnerved people where ever she finds herself at, but it could be that word got out that she was a smuggler of sorts, or they caught a glimpse of her doing blood magic. "The demon trying to possess you again? Jastri, I know that I sound like a parrot, but making a deal with a demon, just so you can learn blood magic is not a good thing. Your nightmares are getting worse." Her brother finally got her to stop thinking about the strange looks the others were giving her. The forming bruise and swollen eye caused her to wince at the thought of how hard she must have hit him if his eye was already swollen. "Jait-…" "No. In case you forgotten, Jastri, I learned how to ignore pain given to me ever since I became a berserker…though I thrive on pain when I decided to become a reaver. It is nothing, not anymore. Anyways, Commander Cousland needs to talk to us. He needs us to do something. I don't know what we can do if we haven't even undergone this Joining yet." The two walked over to where the others were standing before Thornevald threw Jastri her staff. It was clear that he still don't fully trust her, yet he still conscripted both her and her brother before the Inquisitor had a chance to pass judgment on her, for the smuggling of red lyrium, and on Jaitheia, for killing several of her soldiers. At lease, she was reasonable, to a point. Made her agree that she would never be found out that she was smuggling lyrium, particularly lyrium of the red kind, again or she would be forced to either kill her or make her tranquil.
"Hey, Qunari, wake up and pay attention. As I was saying, I want to find out what why there are people in the Deep Roads, and what they are doing. Don't want the Inquisition getting involved unless there's no choice. Might just see the Inquisitor and some of her people, if they were told about this too, in the Deep Roads. Have to be crazy to go into the Deep Roads if the only thing you have to worry about is the Darkspawn and getting infected by them." Thornevald said as he pulled out a map of the Deep Roads that shows locations of sightings. He looked at Jastri and sighed. She must have looked like she barely got any sleep for a long while, which is true. "What kind of dreams have you been having? I heard you muttering in your sleep. Didn't sound like any dreams I've heard of." Everyone that gathered around looked at her, waiting for her to describe or even explain what happened in her dream. Some of them looked like they were waiting for her to suddenly become an abomination for no apparent reason. It was something that she didn't want to tell anybody about, but it appears that she has to now.
"I can't really explain it. What I can explain is that I was standing in a small clearing in the mountains, but there was this forest behind me. Everything doesn't seem like it was a typical dream in the Fade. It was too life like…too real for it to be a dream. You were supposed to see the Black City from anywhere in the Fade…It wasn't even there at all. A clear blue sky…too bright if you ask me. It wasn't until I heard this earsplitting screech that the sky turned black and suddenly got stormy. Hands…I don't know how many hands it was, but they just appeared from the forest and shadows, I think, grabbed me by my ankles and started to pull me down into this pool of liquid darkness. I panic and I shouted at this demon thing, whatever the Maker damned thing was, what it was going to do with me. I don't remember what it said to me, and then I woke up with a start and hit my brother right in the left eye with a large stick and gave him a swollen black eye. It's a reoccurring dream. Had it from before I got caught by Inquisition soldiers when I was smuggling lyrium to an unknown client. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Seemed like it goes on for hours though." Jastri added very quickly as an afterthought. That was something that she didn't want to explain whatsoever. Saying that she couldn't remember what the thing said was absolutely a lie. Thornevald looked at her like she suddenly grew an extra pair of horns, which would be strange enough as it is, she already have six horns already. 'You know what was said to you, and what it means. It wants you, but…then again… No, I won't let it have you! You know what you offered to me if I was to teach you blood magic…' Suddenly she was grabbed by the wrists when she finally noticed that she was to cut her wrist open in order to use blood magic. Jaitheia and Thornevald was the only two that knows about her strange relationship with Hauklin, and the tension between her and the others would be worse than it already is.
The wind suddenly picked up and strange shadows appeared on the ground and on surfaces shadows shouldn't be at during early morning hours. Everybody grabbed their weapons until they had to back up with the trees at their backs. Trees weren't moving in the strong winds, before shadowy hands grabbed Jastri's wrists and ankles, forcing her to her knees. Some of the group scattered when deathly ill looking man appeared out of nowhere, and threw fire from his hands to scatter the shadowy hands clearly looking angry. He crouched close to the ground as he looked around until his gaze stopped on Jastri, who was still on her knees. "Well, well…" His hand touched her cheek gently until several blades touched his back. "They are summoning demons that we haven't even saw or heard of. Why they are doing it in the Deep Roads, I don't even know. A little bird told me that these dreams, which also occur in non-mages, turn into nightmare that they swear that they actually happen, but they are exceptionally worse in mages. I also heard that our lovely Inquisitor is having nightmares so extreme that both of her little pet spirits can't help her through it. Compassion…always meddling in things that they don't have a understanding of. Might need to ask her about it, even though she's not going to be happy when she sees these two." Thornevald frowned while he looked over to Jaitheia shaking his head before he go into one of his rages. It appears that they might have to change a course and talk to the Inquisitor just to see if they could learn anything. Jastri shivered when the man leaned closer and whispered something in her ear that clearly upset her.
"It's about damn time that we made it to Skyhold. I am freezing, and I swear if my ears get any number that they are going to fall off with barely a touch. How can you Qunari stand not being able to cover your ears is beyond me." A recruit named Kane muttered when the group finally made it to Skyhold. The strange man, who introduced himself as Hauklin, walked next to the twins until he suddenly disappeared. A very young woman stood in front of them and surprised them by walking up to Jastri to touch her arm. "Why did I do this? I never should have made that deal, and now I'm living with the consequences. Never am I using the blood of others, and if I should always be in pain by the wounds I inflect on myself, then so be it. You regret ever making a deal with a demon, when you could have learned it from another blood mage…Sorry; it's not my place to pry." Jastri noticed that the young woman was shorter than the shortest member of their group, and she was crazy that she was wearing a thin knee length white dress in this weather. What disturbed her most that as she was rubbing her arms, identical wounds appeared on her arms, and even some of the more severe wounds Hauklin inflected on her. It was clear that she was feeling everything she felt to the point of having old and new wounds on her body. "Raven…you just can't do this to every newcomer. Let them get used to you first beforehand. I'm sorry Warden-Commander Cousland, both she and Cole are getting better at that. Ten years, but it takes time when you're working with spirits." Raven looked like she was caught taking something sweet from the kitchen before dinner when the Inquisitor walked up to them. Muttering start up among the humans in the group before they stopped when Thornevald glared at them. A couple of healers corralled Raven into the infirmary and left the group in front of the gates. "Where's my manners. I never really had a chance to talk to either of you since the circumstances were different than it is now. I'm Zaikeil Adaar, and Raven introduced herself in her own way." They all, especially Jastri, took noticed how it looked like she didn't get any sleep in the pass few day. "Are you having nightmares, aren't you?" Jastri blurted out before she could stop herself.