Chapter I
"Hawke!" a voice cried out from the middle of the crowd. It was a female voice that shouted, slightly rounding the vowel sound of his name before stopping it with the sharp punch of a consonant. She pushed her way through the crowd, straightening her black corset that she wore over her loose white shirt. A blue bandana was over her long black hair that she kept tucked under.
"Isabela?" Hawke said as he turned around. His beard shifted with the breeze and he scratched his mustache. His dark brown hair was kindly swept to one side. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he adjusted his armor.
"We've got a problem," Isabela said in her Rivaini tone of voice.
"Tell me something new," Hawke quipped with a laugh.
"Not funny, Hawke," Isabela countered. "It's a serious issue. One that could potentially threaten all of Thedas."
"Well then. Let's get going," Hawke said calmly as he reached over by the pillar he was leaning on and grabbed his stave.
Hawke followed Isabela from the financial district in Hightown to Darktown. Hawke's adventures had placed him in Darktown many times, first stemming from when he met Anders, a runaway Grey Warden. It was decrepit, dank, dirty, and just full of suspicious people. As the Champion of Kirkwall followed Isabela, he noticed that there weren't many people around. In fact, the area of Darktown he was in was oddly empty.
"Where is everyone?" Hawke asked as he looked around, walking briskly. The two came to the top of a staircase overlooking an opening.
"Look for yourself," Isabela stated with an outstretched hand. In an opening near the middle of Darktown was what seemed like all of the inhabitants entranced in a circle around a single young boy. Hawke took a few steps forward, a look of confusion growing on his face.
"What is this?" he asked as he reached over his shoulder and took hold of his staff. It was the Staff of Parthalan, a mage's staff handed down for generations in his family. It quivered slightly as if something was disturbing it. Hawke noticed this, something that usually did not happen.
"I came down here to get my daggers sharpened and I noticed that no one was at the shop where I usually get it done. That's when I noticed there was absolutely no one around," Isabela explained as she stood next to Hawke. "Then I came here. They've been like this for hours, Hawke."
"And how exactly does a boy hypnotizing people threaten Thedas?" Hawke asked Isabela, becoming slightly less worried.
"The boy is possessed by a spirit from the Fade. This spirit pointed me out, called me over, and simply said that I needed to get you and that it threatens the safety of Thedas," Isabela tried to explain, throwing her hands around in frustration. "You've got to believe me. I wouldn't be making this shit up even if I could."
"If you are telling the truth, we first need to see if this is blood magic. Go get Anders. And get Varric; he'll love a good story," Hawke ordered as he took a seat. The people appeared harmless enough; they were simply quiet, staring longingly at nothing in the direction of the center of the circle. A young boy stood there, hands by his side, his head looking into the sky. Isabela had gone off to fetch Anders and Varric, returning as quickly as she could.
"Have they done anything else?" Isabela asked as she returned roughly an hour later.
"What in Andraste's name is going on?" Anders asked as he stood next to Hawke. The Grey Warden looked at the circle of people and placed his face in the palm of his hand.
"Is this blood magic, Anders?" Hawked asked as he looked over to him.
"No. This isn't blood magic," Anders said after staring intently. "At least I don't believe it is. This is possession and a damn powerful one." Anders started walking towards the circle of people, staff in hand.
"What in the Maker's name are you doing, Blondie?" Varric asked as he scratched his head.
"Relax, dwarf. If the spirit is malicious, then it will defend itself should I intrude. But I believe that this spirit is trying to tell us something," Anders explained as he walked amongst the people and closer to the young boy. Suddenly, Anders felt a shift in the air around him as if something moved and was startled.
"You. Grey Warden. Why do you approach me?" the spirit spoke through the young boy as the head jerked towards Anders.
"I mean you no harm, spirit. I simply ask why you possess this young lad," Anders bargained.
"Understood. I have taken refuge in this body because the Fade is in danger of collapsing," the spirit explained in its otherworldly voice.
"The Fade is collapsing? That's something you don't hear every day," Varric joked as he, Hawke, and Isabela walked up behind Anders. The air shifted again as if provoked.
"You. Mage. You wield the staff," the spirit spoke as it turned towards Hawke. Hawke took a step back in awe at the fact that the spirit was speaking directly to him.
"This is a family heirloom passed down for generations," Hawke explained as he pulled the staff from behind his back and pointed it towards the young boy.
"You come from a long line of mages, staff wielder. A long, hated line," the spirit stressed. "But my world is in danger. If mine is in danger, then so is yours."
"What do you mean?" Hawke asked as he took a few steps forward, staff in hand. The young boy walked towards Hawke. His eyes were a dull white and the air around him was cold.
"Your staff caused the First Blight, mage," the spirit began to explain. "Long ago, when the Maker first crafted your world and mine, there was a grand city called the Golden City. It was to be the final resting place for spirits. But mages from the Tevinter Imperium came into the Fade in mortal forms, something that has long been considered forbidden and impossible."
"Yes, this we know, but what does this have to do with Hawke?" Isabela asked impatiently.
"When the mages first entered the Fade, they came in search of a deadly and powerful staff that had the power to usurp the Maker and destroy the Fade," the spirit explained further.
"Why would you place something that could destroy the Fade in the Fade?" Varric asked. "It makes no sense."
"Because spirits cannot wield the staff. Only a mortal can wield its power and the Tevinter mages wanted that power," the spirit answered.
"With a direct connection to the Fade through the staff, the wielder would have unlimited power," Hawke suggested as he looked down at the staff he held in his hand.
"The staff was placed in the Golden City. The mages entered the city searching for it. When they found it and removed the staff from its resting place, the city turned a deathly shade of black. The mages were punished, given a horrific corruption that would taint anyone that was unfortunate enough to be near them for too long," the spirit continued.
"The first darkspawn," Anders said with a sigh.
"When the darkspawn returned to this world with the staff, they caused the First Blight. The Grey Wardens were created in order to combat against them. A mage Grey Warden who had fathered a child took the staff and handed it to his son. Eventually, all of the Grey Wardens perished, but not before ending the First Blight and successfully establishing the Order of the Grey Wardens," the spirit further explained. "The staff was handed down for generations before eventually falling into your hands, mage," the spirit said to Hawke.
"Spirit, who are you?" Anders inquired. There was a brief silence between everyone as the spirit, through the young boy, spoke again.
"I am the first Grey Warden. I am the mage that took the staff," the spirit calmly stated.
"I am descended from you?" Hawke remarked.
"Yes."
"Such an interesting development we have here," Varric twitted.
"But that still doesn't explain why this threatens Thedas," Isabela argued as she shrugged her shoulders.
"With each passing Blight, the Veil between the Fade and your world weakens. The staff must be returned to the Black City. That is the only way to end the Blights," the spirit explained.
"But only mortals can wield the staff. We can only enter the Fade when we are asleep," Anders objected.
"Not entirely true, Warden. I know of how the first Imperium mages entered the Fade. You will do the same," the spirit countered. "But be warned: journeying through the Fade in your mortal form makes you more susceptible to possession."
"What I want to know is why all of the people in Darktown are in some sort of crazy trance," Varric grunted. The spirit explained that each of them was forced to fall asleep, then possessed by a very weak spirit. The sheer number of weaker spirits in one area weakened the Veil to the point where travel between the Fade and the mortal realm was possible in that area.
"So all we have to do is go into the Black City, return the staff, and hope we don't come out as darkspawn and begin another Blight. Sounds simple enough," Anders groaned.
"Quit your whining, Blondie. This'll be fun," Varric bantered as she gave Anders a slap on the back. Hawke nodded his head and looked at the spirit, determined to do what must be done.
"What happens if we fail, spirit?" Hawke asked.
"The Veil will collapse, the Fade and the mortal realm will merge, spirits will pour out and possess anyone and everyone, the darkspawn taint will grow more potent, and a never-ending Blight will be all that remains," the spirit cautioned.
"No pressure, right?" Isabella nervously added.