Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age 2 or any of the characters, neither do I earn any money writing these stories.

Author Note: I don't even know why I let myself being talked into writing this second chapter. I guess some of it already existed in my head and after receiving a request I decided to give it a go. I am not as happy with it as with the first part but I suppose it is needed for the third scene that will eventually come up.

It'll depend on my inspiration as well as my time and the feedback and comments. It's just no fun if nobody comments and tell me if they like the stuff or not. Even if I wrote for myself in the first place - let's face it, when publishing we seek feedback and encouragement.

I also have to apologize for typos and the likes since I currently don't have any beta readers. I'll read through it again and again in different times and try to fix the mistakes I find.

Setting: This part contains a good bit of personal ideas and thoughts that are not connected to the BioWare lore. I spent a good while thinking about them and considering them and I do like them. So unless you are totally fixed on existing BioWare lore... maybe you can give it a try.


It had been some hours since Aveline and Donnic dragged Carver away from the rest of the group – standing watch ever since. The former Templar had barely moved, he looked drained.

What they didn't understand was why Justice had not gone after the lad. Carver had certainly given him a good reason with the things he had yelled but there was nothing. Instead, Anders had swallowed some of the sleeping draught, telling them to stand watch.

When Anders had returned two or three hours later, he appeared to be shocked? Confused? A little of both and as soon as he could stand and walk again, he approached Carver. He put his hand on Aveline's shoulder and nodded once and a few moments later he sat next to former Templar – alone.

"What I said... I" Carver started but the mage only shook his head.

"It's alright – I know why you did it, but I'm not sure how you knew what to do." Carver let out a low laugh after hearing that.

"Some of it – from the Templar education but the final idea came from you." He admitted and he chuckled again when he saw the astounded face of the blond man next to him.

"When we first met you – when we went after Karl... he said that you brought a piece of the fade with you. I was hoping it could work the other way as well – that you might see what Justice can."

"Smart lad" Anders was actually impressed and surprised. It was interesting to see the younger Hawke actually caring for his older brother and being something else than a stuck up arse.

"He is still there... isn't he?" The question was fearful, so was the look on his face and it felt good to Anders that he could nod and tell him that Gaian Hawke's spirit had not yet left. At this time, he wasn't sure just how much Carver knew about the fade. A stuck spirit... it was not necessarily a good thing.

"He is – and something seems to keep him to his body but I... I just don't know what."

"Can't you just – I don't know, put his spirit back into the body? Isn't that what reviving does?" All of a sudden Carver seemed to be much younger again, a frightened boy with an endearing naivete confronted with the death of loved one.

"More or less but usually, there has been no more than a few minutes since the death. When the body is still warm, when the blood hasn't dried yet, the muscles haven't begun to go stiff – then it may possible. It is a small reverse to put it simple and even then it costs a lot of energy. But a body that has gone cold, that has started to change... it is no small fix and I cannot mend dead flesh."

First he cringed at those words and then Carver shifted his view to the sky, seeing a few stars between the high tree branches and they seemed just as far out of reach as his brother.

"What does that mean? Isn't there anything you can do? Did you speak to him?" His words became whispers.

"I'll be honest – I have never seen anything like this before and I am not sure what I can do. In the fade I could see him and I am certain that it is your brother but I couldn't approach him. There is something that kept me at a distance and this barrier seemed to grow thicker even while I was looking at it." Anders looked at the black haired man next to him and when he saw the desperation he quickly added "I'll keep trying and searching for ways to reach him."

"Swear it. Swear that you'll do whatever is in your power!" That urge in his voice didn't leave Anders any choice. He nodded and reached out his hand which Carver took right away.

"I'll do whatever I can for your brother – I promise!" While saying those words, other thoughts crossed the mage's mind – something that worried him a great deal but it was nothing Carver should be bothered with at this moment.

"Go and get some sleep – I'll sit down with the others and talk with Merrill, maybe the Dalish know something that can help" Carver opened his mouth when he heard the name of the elf woman but he closed it again without speaking a word.


"I don't know, Anders" Merrill tilted her had a little, her large eyes resting on the body in front of them. "It is no demon's work that is all I can say." She paused a moment and shifted her view to the other mage.

"I know you want to keep looking but as long as you don't find anything within a day or two – we have a problem!" She kept her voice low, it was something they didn't want to share with the rest of the group just yet.

"I know but my abilities are very limited. When I was still in Ferelden, a friend once told me about an old rite of the Dalish" Anders felt this stomach turn, he knew that this was their only hope. If Merrill wasn't able to perform this rite, or something similar... there wasn't much they could do.

"The Uthenera has not been performed in many ages – there was no need as we do no longer live that long" Merrill explained and Anders' shoulder slunk down in disappointment "however – that does not mean that some of us haven't studied it. But it is only theoretical knowledge!"

"It's all we have, Merrill. He isn't supposed to sleep for a hundred years – just long enough until we have figured out what is going on and what to do about it."

"The problem is that he isn't sleeping – we are trying to preserve the corpse" she whispered the last word, sighed and twirled a finger in her hair. Suddenly her head rushed up and there was a glow in her eyes again.

"In the old days, during the war – our people had to hold out in the wilderness for days – sometimes hide for weeks. They developed a ritual that didn't demand a cave or steady resting place like the Uthenera, instead it was developed for the woods. The forest and the earth would – well take them in, hide them and sustain them for a long time. In the old days, the tribute was a little lifeforce, nothing major considering the length of our lives." She paused, making sure that Andes was listening very closely.

"I believe we could compensate the costs – but you're not going to like it."

"Bloodmagic" Anders knew that she was right. Usually, the energy for difficult spells and rituals could come from mages or lyrium – however even if this would work here, they lacked both. The two of them would not be enough and to get their hands on heaps of lyrium was impossible – besides, it wasn't even clear if it would work that way.

"There is one more thing – I might need 'help' with this. Sacrificing years or month... I don't think I have that much blood in me to compensate that!" A little smile was on her lips and to see her like that gave Anders hope.


Days had passed since Merrill performed that ritual successfully – at least that was what they hoped. The blood everyone had given soaked into the earth almost instantly and only moments later, the ground began to move, roots, and vines had breached the surface and covered Hawke. Minutes later, they could barley see anything of the body anymore, instead it was a collection of plants, ferns and moss covering a human sized mound.

Nobody dared to go digging – even days later, so instead they just hoped. It was the only option really – to believe that it had worked. The entire situation had been difficult on Carver. Despite everything – he had looked at the body as his brother even though he knew that there was no more pulse – but to be told directly that it was only a corpse now and that it needed to be protected from decay was too much. He had stumbled backwards, fell to the ground, remaining there. The shock, the lack of sleep, the sorrow and the guilt he felt were all playing a part in it.

The only good thing about his collapse was that his companions had been able to get him to sleep a little and Aveline even got him to eat after he had woken up. They all had needed their strength for the ritual – especially Carver.

Ever since – he had barely moved away from the mound – always keeping watch and only sleeping when he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore, only eating when his stomach hurt and the growling was no longer ignorable. It continued like that for almost a week and only then was Fenris able to get him off his butt to do some sparring. For some reason the elf found just the right words to motivate the younger brother.

As for the mages, Merrill stayed in the mortal realm, keeping watch over her spell and tried to commune with nature as best as she could and she made sure that the price for the ritual was continuously paid.

Anders on the other hand, spent almost full days in the fade, looking for answers, trying to find ways to break through the barrier that kept Hawke away from them. Even spirits, dreamers and some lesser demons he encountered could not help him. Every now and then he heard screams and sobs, cries that made him cringe and he knew it was their friend. But no matter how much he wish this macabre motivation would help him succeed, it didn't.

After yet another long day, Anders returned from the fade, and as soon as he entered his body, he was aching. They had fortified the camp a little and had set up different tents. But even that could not make the makeshift beds any more comfortable. Staying the entire day in one of them did nothing good for his back and the unfriendly weather did not help either. It was chilly and a mist had crept through the trees and over the ground, providing an ever present clamminess and the only place where it seemed to be less intense was close to the fire.

As soon as he had his senses together he grabbed a blanket, pulled it tightly around himself and made his way exactly there. Maybe he was lucky and he would get some food – maybe even some hot stew or soup. Before all this started, it had usually been him and Hawke who had prepared the meals but neither one of them was capable to do so now and that meant that the food was edible – most of the time, but nothing of incredible taste.

The downside of leaving the tent and sitting down at the fire was that he had to face his friends, once again shaking his head and bringing them the bad news that he had still made no progress. It was draining – in more than one way. They had lingered in this one place for too long – and since they couldn't leave – they had started to keep watch and always have someone out in the woods as scout. It kept them on their toes, gave them something to do and brought back a little bit of an everyday routine.

It was Donnic's turn to roam the forest, Aveline was sparring with Fenris and Carver had taken responsibility for the evenings cooking after he had seen how Merrill was about to add tree bark to the stew. He wasn't afraid of poisoning but he couldn't stand the bitter taste of it. When he noticed Anders he stopped and looked at him with dim hope and when Anders shook his head, he only nodded and resumed the preparations. The first days had been bad – everyone was kind of expecting a quick solution for this... problem but it wasn't so. With each passing day, the expectations shrunk but the hope never died.

"Only a few more minutes" the former Templar informed the mage with a calm voice and Anders nodded gratefully. He turned his back towards the fire, trying to get rid of that shivering.


"Someone found us" Donnic entered the camp, followed closely by a figured dressed in thick woolen robes and a hood dragged deep in his face to keep the uncomfortable cold at bay.

"And you brought him here? Are you crazy?" Carver barked and while doing so, everyone was on their feet.

"I'm not here to cause troubles. I'm here for Hawke" Anders recognized the voice right away and so did Carver a little later. When he pulled the hood back, the half-elf was smiling at them. His looked older – no, he looked more mature and his hair had grown longer. Besides that, he had turned to wearing robes, certainly looking like a mage.

"Feynriel?" Anders felt utterly relieved – without knowing how much help he would be, the simple fact that another mage – a special one at that – could provide a new insight was the best news in days.

"I'm sorry it took me so long" he responded and the two blonds embraced each other in a friendly way.

"I thought you went to Tevinter... who did you bring? Hunters? Magisters?" Fenris was tense, the hand resting on the hilt of his weapon.

"I was in Tevinter but when I realized something happened, I left! And I did not bring anyone. This isn't about you – it's about Hawke. I'm here to help!" He looked steadily into the eyes of the elf.

"Fenris! My brother trusted him... and he is no normal mage. He might be Gaian's only chance!" Carver had placed himself in front of the white haired elf, something that had never happened again since the day they had met.

"I didn't see anyone else" Donnic added and though Fenris looked as if he didn't want to take that as a guarantee, he eventually nodded.

"I will watch you, mage" he snarled but he sat down again.

"You do what you have to do – but Hawke is my friend and I'll do whatever I can to help him!" Suddenly he looked around – realizing that Gaian was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?"

"It's complicated" Anders answered. "Here, you can leave your things in my tent, there is still some space left and sit down and eat, you look hungry. We'll tell you what we know."

Feynriel followed the invitation, leaving his stuff in the appointed tent and joined the rest of them for the meal. While they ate Anders explained what had happened.


"I wrote him once I had left, to tell him of my progress and because he was the only I trusted – still do. Unlike your assumption – I did not enjoy my stay in Tevinter" he directed at Fenris. "Rejecting the Circle does not automatically mean embracing bloodmagic and having seen it used so openly... I just strengthened my will." Maybe it was the sincere disgust displayed on his face, maybe the clenching of his fist into the woolen coat – whatever it was, it kept Fenris from arguing.

"Anyway, I wrote him a few times and I was surprised when he wrote back. It helped me a great deal and I continued to keep him up to date, told him what I had learned and what new abilities I had discovered. After a while it was his idea that I should use my abilities to manipulate the fade and come visit him in his dreams." Feynriel's eyes seemed to loose focus as he stared into the flames and a little smile crept over his lips.

"I was utterly proud when I succeeded in creating a bridge between him and me and it was so good to see him again. We talked for long hours about magic and everything else really. He told me of the events in Kirkwall and what all of you had achieved during the last two years. We also spoke about our worries and fears and comforted each other over the bad things we had seen." Carver wasn't sure but he thought he saw the half-elf glance at him for a brink of a moment and once again the guilt of his decision after being left out of the deep road expedition returned to him.

"When things got really bad in Kirkwall, when Meredith began abuse the Rite of Tranquility more often, Gaian approached me with a bidding. I refused at first but he reminded me of what I had been willing to do to get away from the Circle and Tranquility." Nobody talked, or asked questions, they just continued to look at Feynriel and so they noticed the change in him. It suddenly seemed like he was uncomfortable or maybe even afraid to continue but eventually he cleared his throat.

"He wanted me to do something I had never done before. Maker knows I warned him, told him that I didn't know how it would turn out but he insisted. He said he believed in my abilities and he even begged me to do it. I owe him life – I owe him my mind, everything really so I couldn't turn him down."

"Spit it out already!" Carver's patience was getting thin – every moment they sat here was a wasted moment.

"He wanted me to manipulate his essence in the Fade. He wanted his two threads to be intertwined" but before he could finish it, Merrill's mouth opened and Anders jumped up.

"WHAT? And you did it... didn't you? Maker's ass you did... " the blanket slipped down from his shoulders, his eyes were wide open in shock but he and the petite elf were the only ones who seemed to have any idea what that meant.

"There are magic-free people present..." Varric noted. Anders started to pace around in little circles, he had forgotten about the physical exhaustion he had felt only a short while ago.

"Body and Mind – that concept means something to you, yes?" Without waiting for answer the blond mage continued. "Good – so they are two forces, two energies and both of them are chained to the core being of a person: the spirit and the lifeforce. Now, you know what happens when the spiritual link is cut!"

"They become tranquil" it was Aveline who answered.

"Yes. When the thread is severed the spirit is cut loose and is dispersed or destroyed, leaving the person without emotions. It works the same way with the life thread – just that it happens more often. When this one is cut, the lifeforce is lost and what follows is death."

He stood still for a moment, trying to figure out if everyone understood and also to calm his nerves a little.

"Now, usually those two threads or chains or whatever you want to call it are only visible in the fade and only if you know what you are looking for but they run parallel and independent of the other. What he did" he pointed at Feynriel "is to combine them."

"Why? I don't understand it..." Donnic looked a little confused and it was once more rather obvious that he had never spent too much time with mages, not that most people ever would.

"The brand would no longer only sever the spiritual thread but also the life thread" Feynriel explained carefully "meaning that every attempt to make him tranquil would result in his death."

Carver's hands were shaking. He was angry at this mage for doing what he did, and at the same time an old disgust for the Order he had once chosen, returned. Feynriel was right, deep inside he knew it and he hated himself for having looked away the last years. They pretended like the mage was given an option... but it really wasn't so. Death or tranquility... death was rarely offered. A few Templars could easily overwhelm one mage – bloodmagic or not, and only those mages that gave in and became abominations would be slain on the spot. He hadn't witnessed those forced rites himself but he had heard the cries and pleas of mages, begging to be killed instead.

Gaian had made one more step – he had freed himself from the dependency of a Templar's mercy. If they had captured him, had prepared the iron for the brand and had attempted to threaten or intimidate the mage – Carver was sure his brother would have laughed, knowing that he wouldn't give the Templars what they wanted.

Without saying another word he got up, turned around and made his way into the forest. He had not gotten far when he felt sick and had to throw up, the trembling of his body increasing every time his stomach cramped.