9:11 - 9:25 Dragon
Chapter 2
The Warden
Kozmotis Pitchiner, even as a young child, had never much cared for human companionship. He found it difficult to forge bonds or connections to people, which was why he wasn't overly upset when his magical powers emerged and his father, a minor noble, handed him over to the Circle of Magi. There was no sense of abandonment or longing when Kozmotis entered the Circle of Ostwick, most likely never to see his family again.
His studies into magic offered him no comfort, as he required none, but Kozmotis was a dutiful and willing pupil nonetheless. His teachers would often praise his efforts and results and while Kozmotis felt pride in his accomplishments, he didn't feel any satisfaction over the acceptance he received from the other mages. He didn't feel it was something he needed.
The area of research most fascinating to Kozmotis was the research on the Fade, rather than any specific School of Magic. The only downside was how scarce such research was. There wasn't much research done on the realm of dreams that could be shaped with a thought and was inhabited by the strange creatures that ancient writings called the Maker's First Children.
When Kozmotis exhausted the tomes dealing with the Fade itself, the knowledge-hungry young man directed his attentions to the inhabitants of the realm. And to study the spirits of the Fade, one would eventually turn their attention to the schools of Spirit and Creation.
Kozmotis took to Spirit magic with ease and the young man furthered his skills and knowledge quickly, and used his gathered knowledge to help himself master Creation magic faster. Kozmotis was able to attempt his first Summoning spells within a year of starting his studies thanks to the Spirit arts strengthening his will enough to draw the energies from the Fade with ease.
Of course, summoning Spell Wisps and the like was fine for making himself a more formidable mage, but Kozmotis had not started his studies for something as simple as mere power. Kozmotis' real goal was something far deeper and something he would work tirelessly to reach. Above everything else in the world, Kozmotis Pitchiner wished to speak to the spirits of the Fade, and to do that, he would need to become a spirit summoner.
Summoning spirits was a greatly more complicated procedure than calling forth swarms of ethereal insects which was the highest form of simple summoning Kozmotis could learn before starting to specialize in summoning. And it was indeed far simpler to summon fade insects than it was to summon fade spirits.
Kozmotis had to face many trials before the spirits of the Fade deemed him worthy to approach. They were a suspicious lot, not trusting anything of the material world. Kozmotis entered the Fade and sought out its spirits many times in his sleep, and answered queries on his persona disguised as riddle games.
Kozmotis' motivations for seeking out spirits weren't exceptionally alluring to spirits of Justice or Valor. The truth of the matter was, Kozmotis simply felt more connected towards spirits than humans. Kozmotis couldn't bring himself to grow interested in the daily goings on of the people around him, be they family or strangers. Spirits, however, were beings Kozmotis could understand; they were driven by a singular goal in their existence, the core that was their essence.
Kozmotis wasn't seeking fame for himself or for others. He wasn't looking to right a wrong. He was incapable of connecting with other people; therefore he could not show compassion. Most of the sprits, while as curious to ask about Kozmotis' unchanging world as Kozmotis was about the ever-morphing Fade, wouldn't add their power to Kozmotis' for the simple purpose of seeking knowledge.
For Kozmotis, however, that wasn't a simple purpose. It was the only purpose worth anything. These spirits insisted that the waking world was static simply because it couldn't be altered at will like the Fade. But it was in a constant flux thanks to people and events outside of people. Perhaps there was more to the relationship between the realms other than their roles as each other's opposites.
One day, when Kozmotis grew tired of the constant rejections he faced from the spirits, the man, already having reached the position of enchanter within the Circle, told the inhabitants of Fade of his thoughts. More than that, he shouted them with conviction and passion and more emotion than he'd thought himself capable of. He'd thought the spirits would argue – they enjoyed debating existential matters with Kozmotis – but they spirits of Justice, Valor and Compassion grew silent and stepped aside.
"You have such faith," the new spirit that the others made way for had spoken. "In both the underlying order and the chaos that permeates everything, in a power that keeps the world in order." The spirit had given Kozmotis its hand and it was the first time the spirits had allowed Kozmotis to touch them and so Kozmotis grasped the offered hand almost greedily.
"You have faith in us." At this the gathered spirits all bowed their heads in thanks for the compliment in his regard. But the spirit of Faith, because what other spirit could it be, was still speaking: "Above all, you have faith in yourself, Kozmotis Pitchiner. I will follow you into your world, add my strength to yours, use my knowledge to further yours as you will no doubt further mine, and your faith shall guide me."
"I accept." How could Kozmotis not? This was all he had ever wanted and with this his work was far from over. Indeed, here was where his true research on the two realms could begin.
Of course, all great thinkers must be vilified by their time. To study the very makings of the Fade, to try to deconstruct a creation of the great Maker, was heresy of the highest order. Well, according to some of Kozmotis' fellow enchanters it was. But, really, enchanters argued over scriptures and teachings all the time. To Kozmotis, man-set limitations should never stop the study of the world, much like how the world could never truly be stopped or controlled by man.
But Kozmotis has never understood the complex emotions that control man. Jealousy, fear and protectiveness over their religious structures were all possible reasons for how the other enchanters turned on Kozmotis. Kozmotis' peers accused him of conversing with demons instead of spirits; they called him a maleficar and branded him a traitor while they were the ones who betrayed him.
There was also another possible reason, one that became clear to Kozmotis when the first enchanter's declaration of the decision to have Kozmotis made tranquil was interrupted by a tall man in heavy armor storming in with a face like thunder. The first enchanter released a string of curses when the armored man spoke of something called the Right of Conscription.
Kozmotis was intelligent enough to gain a great deal of useful information from the argument that followed between the new arrival and the first enchanter, with the knight commander attempting to mediate. The new arrival was Warden Commander Lunanoff, who had approached the Circle of Magi due to being interested in recruiting Kozmotis into the Grey Wardens. Apparently Kozmotis' talent in magic had reached some far away ears for the man to travel all the way to Ostwick personally. And apparently Kozmotis' skill was highly regarded by the mages as well, if they'd rather destroy him than hand him over to an outside organization.
Truly, Kozmotis didn't know nearly as much yet as he would like. Between the choice of losing both his magic and personality in the Rite of Tranquillity and being conscripted into an organization like the Grey Wardens, Kozmotis was going to pick the one that allowed him to keep his connection to the spirits. So Kozmotis had rather willingly followed the Commander of the Grey out of the Circle, even if a group like the Grey Wardens would only want him for his power rather than his intellect.
According to the Chantry, the darkspawn originated from the Fade. Therefore the creatures most likely at least had some form of connection to it. That might be worth looking into, and what better way to do so than by becoming a part of the group most familiar with the darkspawn?
To be continued...Notes: There are three confirmed Circles of Magi in the Free Marches, and they're in Ostwick, Starkhaven and Kirkwall. The third one will also show up.
