Alrighty, so the HP story I did is done so I'm bouncing between only two unfinished stories at the moment.
Heres a new chappy for Dragon Age! Yippie!
Edit: 05/01/2015 to fix errors and flush things out
I try to pic the Chant of Light verses that fit the chapter. please let me know what you think!
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Chapter Two: It's a Trap!
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Passing out of the world, in that Void shall they wander;
O unrepentant, faithless, treacherous,
They who are judged and found wanting
Shall know forever the loss of the Maker's love.
Only Our Lady shall weep for them.
-Threnodies 12:5:2
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You know, I'd tried dwarven ale once, a couple years ago. Godwin, another apprentice, had some contacts in Orzamar and was often able to obtain small gifts of dwarven works for people for trade. Most everyone in the Circle turned a blind eye to his little 'operation' because everyone, even Gregior and Irving, got something because of it. Their 'gift' was dwarven made, and runed, items that helped them with small things around the tower. Anyway, the ale Godwin had obtained for our little group of apprentices one day had tasted like mushrooms and dirt. A single SMALL cup of the stuff left most of us with hangovers that made it hard to think and breath that would have felled an Ogre.
That's how I felt when I opened my eyes and then immediately shut them due to the bright light filling the room from the nearby window. I groaned in pain as the light lanced through my skull like a spear and put my hand to my head.
"Look who's still with us!" Came Jowan's far too cheery and far too loud voice.
"Quiet... down... please... Oh Andraste's Tits," I rubbed at my forehead and let out a whimper as I squeezed my eyes as tightly shut as I could.
"Wow, you're acting like you have a hangover," Jowan's voice was pitched to an acceptable whisper now, though it held a teasing lilt to it. "Is that the Harrowing? Casting spells while getting drunk?"
"Gotta avoid gettin' possessed by a Pride Demon..." I murmured without thinking.
I blanched as I realized what I said and sat up abruptly, almost bashing my head against Jowan's. He'd pulled back just in time but the look on his face was shell-shocked.
"Ah... forget I said that," I pointed a finger at him and hissed like an angry feline. "Seriously, FORGET that I said that. Don't ASK about it. Don't even THINK about it."
He held up his hands in a defensive gesture and I realized that little sparks of electricity were dancing wildly over my fingertip.
"Ask about what?" Jowan said with a grin, getting my meaning and turning the conversation elsewhere despite the worry blooming in his eyes. "I'm just jealous you're a full mage now."
"Gah... right," I fell back against my bed with another groan. "Gonna have t' pack."
"Yup, on to the big-boy rooms now! Who do you think you'll be bunked with?" Jowan asked.
I grumbled something under my breath that even I couldn't understand and rubbed at my head again as I tried to will the headache back. Sadly I couldn't seem to focus enough to bring my magic to the fore, which tended to be true for all mages with major migraines. Jowan touched my arm and I felt the faint touch of his weak healing energy. The headache eased to a bearable level and I let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks 'Wan... that helped," I muttered with a sigh.
"I may not be that strong when it comes to casting magic but I know my spells," Jowan flashed me a weak smile and I patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"You'll get called soon enough. And you'll make it," I said reassuringly. "I know you will."
"I suppose," he shrugged and then flashed me a slightly nervous look. "Look, I... want to talk to you about something later but Irving wanted to see you right away. He said to send you up as soon as you woke up. You'll want to go up to talk to him."
"A'right," I stood up slowly and sighed.
I started for the door and then stopped to look back at Jowan. There was something I needed to talk to him about but with the lingering headache I just couldn't remember what that 'something' was. I shrugged and decided to leave it until later when he needed to talk to me. No use trying to struggle to remember something and potentially having my only reward being that the headache flares back to full strength.
I started down the circular halls, passing by a few of the youngsters practicing their spells. I had to stop for a moment to watch as one of them practiced their shield spell while an older mage lobbed weak fireballs at him. I grinned when I realized the older mage was Tobrien, a surly old elf who felt that a youngster would learn better by doing and what was better then learning to keep a spell up when you faced injury or death from a fireball to the face? I noticed that the kid he was working with was a quivering mess. He was barely keeping his shield up. Yet another youngster terrified of his own magic.
I sighed softly and wished yet again that I could do something about the paranoia surrounding magic. Yes, it was dangerous. Yes, there was risk of possession or becoming an outright abomination, HOWEVER the biggest danger came from outright ignorance. People who heard the word 'Mage' and immediately thought 'Demon'. I shook myself suddenly and forced myself to move past the group and up the stairs to the next level. No use dwelling on things right now. Irving needed to see me.
I paused to waive at Owain and the youngsters near him. He was, as mentioned earlier, our resident Tranquil. The youngsters nearby who helped him out were those that were contemplating Tranquillity for themselves as most were either too terrified of getting possessed or had very weak magical skills like Jowan. Gregior had them work along side Owain, and sometimes a few other Tranquil who might be passing through or staying with us for a while, so that they would have a better idea of what their life would be like without emotions. The lack of emotion normally scared most of them out of that idea and they would return to their studies with a renewed fervor and dedication. This tactic also tended to increase the survival rate of those who took the Harrowing when they were bolstered by the motivation of both physical and emotional survival. After a few moments of watching them I turned and left them to their work, continuing past the stock room.
I started to pass Cullen on the stairs with naught but a nod when he held out a hand to stop me.
"Darren. I... I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're alright," he said with an embarrassed murmur. "That was the first Harrowing I had to go through and I... I'm glad..."
He stuttered off into silence and shrugged at me helplessly.
"It's alright. It needed to be done," I shrugged slightly. "With the way things are it is one of the limited ways we have to make sure someone has the strength of will needed to not make a deal with a Demon."
"I makes you wonder though..." Cullens tone went thoughtful and I raised a brow. "Could an abomination be walking amongst us even now?"
I face-palmed and bit back a curse.
"Honestly is that the education you've been getting?" I looked up at him and saw him bristling slightly. I waved my hand at him to prevent him from talking and went into 'lecture mode'. "Abominations by definition and appearance are a unholy physical mesh between a person and a demon, you literally cannot see an abomination and confuse it for a person. Possession is a different kettle of fish. ANYONE can end up Possessed, against their will or not, mage or not, but they may not ACT exactly like that person normally does, which is one of the biggest signs of possible Possession. Mind you, someone not acting like they normally do can also be a sign of some kind of head injury or inebriation by alcoholic drink or mood changing drugs. So check with a healer, like Wynne or myself, first. Anyway, only when a person stops fighting the Possession, giving in completely to the Demon, would they then become a true Abomination. You can free someone from Possession but CANNOT free someone when they become an Abomination."
"Ah... right," Cullen had the grace to blush. "I t-think... I r-remember now..."
"Are the classes that dull?" I asked curiously, I'd found my Demonology/Spiritology classes very enjoyable... especially since there were actually quite a few different ways to counter them and their offers. Sometimes something as simple as punching them in the face would surprise them enough to make them back off. Anders' again for that tidbit if you're wondering.
"Loci was teaching..." He murmured.
"Ah... well then. Fair enough," I said with a blink.
Loci was one of the oldest mages in the tower, older the Gregoir or Irving, and he tended to drone on constantly whenever he was called upon to teach a class. Thankfully that wasn't often, but if he was called to substitute it was definitely used as a time to catch up on one's sleep. I felt sorry for anyone(myself as well, believe me I've TRIED to stay awake when he teaches if only to write notes for the others... nothing works.) who had to go through one of his lessons. The teachers never tried to cover what he'd taught once they came back, no one would admit to sleeping through the lessons, so there was a knowledge gap for some people when it came to the subject of Demonology/Spiritology.
"Look, how about we make time to meet up in the library at some point and I can go over the books with you," At his look I laughed and said with a smile. "I promise I wont put you to sleep with my talking."
"W-well I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he said a moment later with a weak smile. "I-if I don't know what to l-look for, what good will I be as a Templar, right?"
"Exactly!" I smiled at him and got another nervous smile in return. "Anywho, I've got to get upstairs. Meeting with Irving!"
Cullen gave a half-hearted wave as I darted up the stairs, rushed now since I'd been distracted with our talk. It would not do to leave the Senior Enchanter waiting.
I had to dodge a few roaming apprentices as I made my way up the stairs but reached Irving's office without any incident. I took a moment to stretch my legs and slow my breathing before entering the office.
"Senior Enchanter? You wanted to see me?" I called.
Irving was sitting at his desk writing busily on parchment. He looked up at my call and smiled. He indicated for me to wait a moment and moved to clean and put away his writing quill before pouring a light amount of sand over the parchment to help the ink dry swiftly. He stood once done, a small groan escaping him and I noticed the small bit of healing glow at his hand as he rubbed the base of his back. I was careful not to mention it. Irving was, like Gregior, loathe to show weakness. They both felt that they needed to appear strong at all times for those in their charge.
He moved over to me and then placed both hands on my shoulders, patting them gently as he looked me over.
"I am very proud of you my boy," he said finally. "You did well this morning. Now, tell me. Did your hypothesis work? Are we moving towards the grounds of proven theory?"
"Yes," I said with a laugh. "It went very well actually. If you concentrate you ARE able to create a manifestation of a weapon to aid you in the Fade. I believe that if you know the weapon well enough, like I know my glaive, then it will hold the same properties in the Fade as it does on this side of the Veil."
"Good, good. This means more research you know," Irving chuckled when I grimaced suddenly. It's not that I didn't like researching things, I just didn't like writing down my own hypotheses/theories. "Now, this is for you."
He took my hand and placed a small gold ring into it. I looked over the ring, feeling the small boost of magic from it and recognized it as a Mage's Ring of Study. I smiled at Irving and slipped the ring onto the middle finger of my left hand.
"Thank you Irving," I said with a humble bow of my head.
"Pah," he waived his hand dismissively. "I'd have had a new staff for you as well but your current glaive is made just for you. The ring is the least we can do to acknowledge your newly earned status, my boy."
"I could always use another staff," I said with a cheeky grin which caused Irving to raise a brow at me. "I can always sell it later for a few silver you know."
Irving snorted softly with laughter and I would have joined him, but something stopped me. It was the sound of Someone Else's laughter, someone unfamiliar. I spun around and shifted into a slightly defensive stance, not out and out hostile, but ready for an attack. I didn't have my glaive on me, true weapon that it was it was still stored down in the training room, but that didn't mean I couldn't fight.
A man stepped out of the shadows and despite the easy smile and laid back stance, there was a serious appraising look in his eyes as he looked me over. He was about a half of a foot shorter then me, heck most people were shorter then me. While I'd gotten overall mothers' fair looks I Had inherited fathers's height as well as his eye colour. As the man looked me over I did the same in turn and even my inexperienced eye could tell that this was Not a man you wanted to mess with in any serious confrontation. This was the kind of man you wanted fighting on your side.
His skin was darkened by long periods of time spent under the sun, a stark contrast compared to most of the mages in the tower who had pale skin from spending most of our time indoors. He had dark brown eyes, brown hair and a thick beard and mustache. More then that, what stood out was the fact that he was LEAN. Not skinny, not by any means, but lean and sleek like a cat used to hunting for its' own food. And like the mousers in the tower he gave off the sense that you wouldn't notice him unless and until he wanted to be noticed. All in all he reminded me of the stories I'd read and the descriptions therein on Rogues and Thieves and Bards. Irving's voice drew my attention only in part as I tried to keep half an eye on the strange man... that attentiveness didn't last though, as Irving's words finally registered to my brain.
"Wait... WHAT?!" My head turned toward Irving so fast that I'm surprised I didn't end up breaking my own neck from the speed inherent in the movement.
Irving chuckled softly at my reaction and repeated the introduction he'd given. "This is Duncan, the Grey Warden Commander here in Fereldan. Duncan this is Darren."
My mouth opened and closed a few times, the only sounds that escaped being a few squeaks which drew amused chuckles from both men. Honestly a whole Harem of Desire Demons could have popped up in front of me and I wouldn't have noticed in my sudden shock and awe.
"I do believe you broke him Irving," Duncan, The Grey Warden Commander, said with a twinkle in his eyes.
"The lad has a good head and is a skilled mage, my old friend," Irving responded with a similar look in his eyes. "But oft times you will find him with his nose buried in one of many books of High Adventure."
"Hey!" I said, eloquently.
I then proceeded to splutter out a few more words that were nothing more then nonsensical sounds before I fell silent again, mouth shutting with an audible click of teeth. I could feel the heat that creeped up my cheeks in a blush. The two older men shared a look and another laugh at my expense before Irving waved his hand as if clearing the air.
"Ah, I do apologize my boy. Pardon an old man for his taste in humor, hm?" I nodded with another faint unintelligible grumble. "Now, Duncan is here to recruit for the Grey Wardens from our most promising Mages. For the moment though, he is tired from his journey here and needs to rest. Would you take him to one of the guest quarters my boy?"
I saved myself further embarrassment and simply nodded my head before indicating for Duncan to follow me. He fell silently into step a few paces to the side and behind me. I kept glancing over my shoulder every few moments, much to his apparently growing amusement, but I held my tongue. It was mainly because I didn't know what questions I should ask first and didn't want to sound like an idiot by stumbling over my words in my haste to ask as many questions as possible. I knew already that since the Gray Warden's return to Fereldan, they would send someone once a year to visit the Circle and check for any potentials. Only Harrowed Mages would get reviewed for their potential as a Warden though, so I'd never been able to catch a glimpse of them on their brief, usually a single day and night, visits.
We finally reached the small guest quarters and I cleared my throat nervously.
"Well, here we go. Um... how long will you be staying?" I asked.
"Just the one night," Yep, as I thought, just the usual visit. "I will need to move on tomorrow to Ostagar regardless of my success or failure in finding a recruit. At the very least I hope to borrow a few mages for the upcoming battle," A strained look passed through his eyes.
"Sooo..." I coughed again and looked up at the stone ceiling.
"If it helps, most youngsters ask about the Griffons first," Duncan said, humor in his voice.
I flushed again, this time at being compared to a youngster and then looked to him while I rubbed at the back of my neck.
"Well, I know you guys don't HAVE Griffons any longer... but... well do you know WHY? Was the reason recorded? I mean, was it an illness or poor breeding or too many lost to fighting the Darkspawn? Were they all slaughtered by the Chevaliers of Orlais out of jealously? Were they one of the primary food sources for Dragons at the time and thus when they were all gone so too did the Dragons disappear into hibernation until a new, viable food source showed itself?" I took a breath and tilted my head. "One of the more wild beliefs here in the Circle, is... is that Griffons were Mabari intelligent, sentient and they knew their numbers were getting too small to remain a viable breeding species, so they left to try to carefully rebuild their numbers and will one day rejoin the battle against the Darkspawn."
The more I talked the higher Duncan's brows rose. Again, I somehow knew he was holding back laughter. I clamped my mouth shut and waited for him to respond. Finally, without laughing but with humor in his tone, Duncan spoke.
"Quite a few different ideas there. The last two are clever, I admit, but I am afraid it is the simplest answer that is recorded in our records; Illness. A plague tore through the ranks of Griffons everywhere, reducing their numbers to the point where they would have been too few to breed without birth defects of some sort. Even then the scribes at the time listed that such a last ditch effort was in vain; those that the plague did not kill were left sterile."
"Were no other creatures affected?" I asked, the healer in me was curious.
"A few species of larger birds are listed to have died out at the same time as I recall reading. It led the healers of the time to believe that, had the Griffons not had an avian nature, they would not have been affected by the plague that destroyed them."
I nodded at that and tapped my chin. "True, plagues that affect Elves do not always affect Humans. By Andraste, Dwarves hardly catch the illnesses that affect either Human's or Elves, only the most virile of our plagues can dent their sturdy immune systems. It's not all that surprising that an illness tied to avian species would have had the potential to lay low the Griffons."
We fell into somber silence for a few moments before Duncan raised an expectant brow at me.
"No more questions?" he asked.
"Hmm?" I started out of my thoughts. "Oh! No, no. I know that there are a lot of things that cannot be spoken of unless you are an actual Gray Warden, so I wont bother to ask about that."
"No asking to join? No questions about the Joining? You are an unusual young man," Duncan grinned at me again.
"Nah, you'll choose who you wish to choose, if you pick anyone at all that is. Besides the Joining itself is kinda an open secret in the fact that most of us here know there's a chance that one might not survive it." Duncan's face took on a look that could only be described as annoyingly bemused.
It was a widely documented fact, at least widely documented by Mages and Scholars, that quite a few people who had volunteered or been conscripted to the Gray Warden order had simply 'disappeared' after the Joining. Most simply took that to mean that the individual had been reassigned to another country for the term of their service but for those willing to look between the lines, like most bored Mages, curious Scholars and most in the upper escalon of power, you ended up finding a distinctive pattern. Add to the fact that this was not the first time the Gray Wardens had visited and the fact that Gregior(he fought tooth and nail from what I'd heard about previous visits, always forcing the visiting Gray Warden to resort to outright conscription by denying them the ability to take the mage in question otherwise) and Irving always got everyone all together to say goodbye to a chosen Mage which led to tear-filled farewells that gave off a funerary air... well, one could connect the dots if one wanted to take off the blinders, yes?
"Anyway," I said with a grin. "I'd best off. A friend of mine wanted me to meet up with him."
"Ah, of course. It was good to meet you Darren Amell," Duncan smiled and then turned to enter the guest room.
I started off toward the library where Jowan normally hung out at and then froze suddenly. Irving only gave Duncan my first name when he introduced us.
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It took me a few moments to get moving again. I reasoned to myself that I was being a bit foolish. Of course Irving gave Duncan my last name, probably early on in their discussion over prospective recruits. I was reacting strangely for no reason what-so-ever to him suddenly spouting off my last name.
With my current state of mind I actually passed Jowan by without seeing, or hearing, him. He had to resort to grabbing my arm and wrenching me around. There was another flash of a vision when he did that. Fighting living armor along side someone skilled at dual wielding daggers, the sound of broken glass, blood staining the floor, a woman's' cold smile and voice, cold and cruel saying 'And now we can show them all!'
"Hey! Dare! Come on man, you alright?" Jowan gave me a small shake and I blinked at him.
"Yeah... fine... just a flash of something," I said as I shook my head.
"One of your visions?" Jowan started to lead me toward the Circle chapel.
"Yes, it was really vague this time. Just disjointed flashes," I saw his eyes flick toward me in worry.
"Didn't you tell me that when that happens the vision is about something in the immediate future?" He asked with a concerned lilt to his voice.
"Yeah... within a few hours," Jowan led us to one of the side rooms in the small chapel. A girl stood up from her prayers, short red hair, light colored eyes. She flashed Jowan a gentle smile. I frowned slightly as I looked her over. She looked familiar. I shrugged it off after a moment and turned to look at Jowan.
"Who's this?" I asked.
"This is Lily," Jowan said with a love-sick smile that caused me to raise a brow at him. "She's a Sister and my love. This... is part of why I wanted to meet with you."
I blinked at the two and then with a growing feeling of dread looked souly at Jowan.
"You want to go after your Phylactery," I stated more then asked.
"I... yes!" Jowan smiled at me, glad that he didn't have to explain the whole thing for me. "We want to leave, find a farm somewhere and live quietly."
"Yes," Lily spoke up with a small smile as she took Jowan's hand. "We can't have a family, not trapped here. I would risk everything for my Jowan."
"We just need to break into the vault and, well, we would need a Rod of Fire to melt the lock," Jowan shrugged at me. "Only a Harrowed Mage can request a Rod of Fire."
"Jowan..." I shook my head. "Why? Why not risk a quiet relationship? If you're careful..."
"It wont work!" He blurted out. He then looked down, fear stretched across his face. "I... I..."
"They are going to make my Jowan a Tranquil..." Lily said softly as she wrapped her arms around my friend. He hugged her close, burying his face in her shoulder. "There are rumors going around that Jowan has been reading the books on blood magic, outside of the strict classes that allow study for alteration and without Irvings' strict approval."
"Many have tried to study the books, if only to see if there is any healing alterations to be found," I said with a frown.
We, all of us in the Circle, knew that the Phylacteries themselves and the tracking Ritual that was used were Chantry approved Blood magics. Because of this, many Healers opted to ask for permission from Irving to study the books on Blood magic to see if there was anything to modify to put toward use in the healing arts. Ways to clean the blood of poison, illness or alcohol for example. It was also how many modifiable spells were created for battle that didn't involve using blood, most Entropy class spells had been carefully made to mimic certain blood magic spells without the need for blood sacrifices(Walking Bomb for example).
"Even then, as a first offense, you get scolded, time in isolation," I continued.
"I've already seen the papers," Lily said sadly as she shook her head. "Irving's signed them because people have come forward saying that Jowan is PRACTICING the spells, not just reading the books."
My eyes widened at that, her words jogging my memory on the vision I'd had just before going through the Harrowing. My eyes narrowed in realization and I grabbed Jowan's arm gently and steered him a few feet away from Lily.
"Have you been reading the books?" I hissed softly.
"I... Dare..." Jowan looked confused and a little nervous by my sudden mood change.
"Hush, this is serious. I had a vision last night, I just remembered it and I need to know the answer! I don't want you dead!" I hissed at him softly. I wanted Jowan to understand the seriousness of the situation but I also didn't want to let Lily figure out that I knew something was off about her.
"I... yes...?" Jowan said with a small whisper. "But, I haven't Done anything, honest! I was just studying them because I wanted to find out if there might be a way to make a modified infusion spell. Like if someone caught the measles and lived, you know? Try to pass the gained immunity to someone else."
"Do you keep any blades on you?" I hissed again, ignoring his admittedly clever idea and moved instead to block Jowan from Lily's sight subtlety.
"J-just the one, the carving knife I use for carving practice runes into wood when I can't sleep."
"Give it to me," I held out my hand for the blade.
"B-but..." More confusion filled his eyes.
"If you trust me, if you trust my visions, give it to me," I said firmly.
"I-I trust you Darren," he said softly as he handed me the knife.
"Look," I said, speaking loud enough for Lily to hear me. "I understand. I'll help you out with this. Give me time to get the Rod of Fire and we can move on this today."
"Thank you! Thank you!" Lily said as she rushed to hug Jowan. "Oh, you were right my love."
Jowan smiled and hugged Lily tight, but frowned at me in confusion over her shoulder. I shook my head at him and left the Chapel without another word.
And headed straight for Irving's office.
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I entered the Senior Enchanters office and immediately asked Irving to summon Greagoir, quietly and waited. I couldn't sit still so I ended up pacing while waiting for the older Templar to show up.
"I'm here. What's going on Irving?" Greagoir said with a frown as he shut the door behind him.
I cut off Irving's beginning reply.
"I've had another vision. We have to be quick, it'll come to pass today and I wont have that BITCH screw my friends life up!" I hissed softly, just enough for them alone to hear me.
Both men shared a look and then frowned at me.
"Darren, you never speak such about a woman, you have always been respectful. What has happened my boy?" Irving said in confused concern.
"Jowan isn't a Blood mage," I hissed at them.
"Darren... there have been witnesses..." Greagoir started and I slashed my hand down.
"A rune carving knife. He hasn't been sleeping well and when he doesn't sleep well he practices his runes. He admitted to studying the books, just as I've done, to see if anything can be alerted for use without blood," I held up a hand to stop Irving from speaking. "Yes, he should have gotten permission. I know that. But he is NOT a Blood mage!"
Greagoir sighed. "Perhaps it would help if you told us what you saw. We could come to the point faster if you did so."
I explained the visions to them. The flashes from today and the more solid vision that I recalled from last night. I told them everything from the broken Phylactery up to the point of Jowan holding out his carving knife. There I changed things to where he was threatening anyone who would harm Lily with it instead of using it on himself, if they caught a hint that he actually might use the magic he'd studied I would doom him just as readily as Lily's machinations. I told them of Lily's cold smile of victory as she stared at Jowan's back, of her fighting with two daggers with a skill that belied a Sisters' pious nature.
"I think she is here to stir up trouble. We are a quiet Circle! Many of those who come here were hurt by other places, by the Templars and the Chantry elsewhere. They find peace and healing and TRUST again here because of our ways. We aren't like the other places! We release trusted Mages to tend to the lower Lord's and Lady's with only two Templars as a guard when most other lands have five or more watching over a single Mage and that's if they are even allowed the chance to leave the Circle! We help Mages recover from the horrible things that happened to them and give them a family!" I stamped my foot down. "I think someone wants to change that!"
Irving and Greagoir both shared a dark look and sighed at the same time.
"It seems we will have to move carefully. You were right old friend," Gregior said softly.
"I told you the others were acting oddly, fearfully, as if someone were feeding old hatreds and cutting open old wounds," Irving said sorrowfully. "I had hoped you were right and that I was jumping at shadows, but it is just as likely that this vision is tied to the growing fear in the others."
They shared another look and Greagoir nodded once before he then turned to me. Irving moved over to his desk started scribbling out something on one of the forms.
"You are to help them in their quest," Greagoir said with a nod of his head. "We will find out for certain if there is truth to this situation. You are allowed to grab your specialized glaive if you feel you need it."
"Here Darren, for the Rod of Fire you need." Irving held out the parchment and I nodded. "For now I will hold off on the decision against Jowan until we confront your group as you leave the storage rooms. If he reacts with Blood magic..."
I nodded my understanding and left to get the needed item. Lily, if that was even her name, would not doom my friend to Tranquility with her machinations.
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Well now, due to that little adventure I had developed a new list of things I hate. I hate fighting living armor, I hate fighting ghosts and I especially hate giant spiders! Seriously, I had a signed form and everything, FROM IRVING HIMSELF, when I went to get the Rod of Fire but Leorah just HAD to make me clear out the store rooms for her first before she would hand the bloody thing over. Then when we made our way down along the path to the cold storage rooms we had to fight the living armor that I'd seen flashes of, along with a few ghosts, actual ghosts of former Templars and Mages, which I had NOT seen. Lily also proved herself to be VERY adept at using her blades. When there was some distance between us, with her in the lead I'd questioned Jowan a bit, trying to prepare him.
"So... a Sister? And she fights like that?" I quipped softly.
"Well... it's not like everyone who joins the Chantry starts off with an easy life. She grew up on the streets."
"Hmm... how old is she by the by?" I asked.
"Lily? Oh, she's eighteen. Why?" Jowan shot me a befuddled look and I shrugged in response. She looked a might bit older then eighteen to me.
"Something seems off is all," I stayed quiet for a few moments then asked. "You still trust me right?"
"Of course I do!" He said. I said nothing further to him, instead I walked ahead, leaving a confused Jowan to follow behind me.
The door we meant to go through wouldn't let us pass of course, anti-magic wards prevented us from going forward. Lily's 'I didn't know' attitude seemed especially fake to me but Jowan was quick to reassure her. After that we found a storage room full of odd things and we had an interesting conversation with a Tevinter statue to which Lily kept trying to push us to move on and leave it be. Jowan and I both joked around a bit, trying to keep the atmosphere laid back and finally moved on to use one of the statues to break down a weak wall behind a bookshelf. I'd actually seen a few item's I'd wanted to pocket but held my magpie nature in check.
Finally we found his Phylactery in the cold room and he reverently picked it up.
"Such a little thing. Just... I just have to drop it... and I'm free."
I closed my eyes then as he dropped the vial and winced at the sound of breaking glass. I opened my eyes with a gulp and prayed that my plan would work. Jowan was like a brother to me, I did not want him to die! I would not let him die.
We started back for the main body of the Circle, Jowan talking excitedly AT Lily about his plans to build a farm house and make a nice garden of roses for her. She simply smiled at him and nodded when he looked down at her. I watched her closely, wanting more and more to simply zap her but I managed to reign in my temper. I had a long fuse, but when I blew up it tended to be 'the stuff of legends' according to Jowan and I only really blew up when my friends were hurt. Normally it was a scathing lecture of the sorts that could impress Irving and Greagoir, but sometimes it ended up physical... after I goaded the other person into throwing the first punch that is. This time 'round, I wanted to act first and ask questions later.
As we entered the main room I saw Irving standing side by side with Greagoir, a contingent of Templar's standing near the door way. Surprisingly Duncan was there as well, standing to the side and watching the events that were about to unfold silently. No swords had been drawn and I let out a soft breath of relief at that. Jowan gaped at the scene and Lily let out a faint squeak, several moments AFTER she saw the Templars, giving me one more sign that she had been expecting this result from the beginning. Jowan whirled to face me, an accusation on his lips but I cut him off coldly.
"Do you trust me?" I asked.
"You.. this! . . ." He fell silent and looked at me closely before tightening his grip on Lily.
"I wont let anyone hurt her. I wont!" He started to reach for his belt and then faltered, remembering suddenly that I'd taken away his carving knife earlier. He looked at me with widened eyes.
"Dare...?" he asked slowly, mournfully.
"Step away from her. Come here," I held out a hand to him.
Lily latched tightly onto his arm at that.
"No!" She cried. "Don't leave me alone!"
"Shut up," I hissed softly at her, not breaking away from Jowan's gaze. "Jowan, brother, Trust Me. Please!"
"I... I do trust you but..." He turned to Lily and smiled gently. "It's alright my love, we tried."
She stared tearfully up at him and then let his arm go, backing away slowly. As soon as she was a good distance away I grabbed Jowan and pulled him away swiftly, putting myself between the two.
"I don't understand!" she cried out.
"This is what happens when you come to a Circle that has a Seer," I hissed at her. Lily bristled and her eyes narrowed on me in rage. Irving held up his hand and I fell silent, biting back the tirade I wanted to loose on the woman. Lily, who had been about to say something herself, closed her mouth and hunched in on herself, hiding her face from view.
"It has come to my attention that I have received false reports of one of my charges. Not only that but trusted friends will no longer look me in the eye and are reacting fearfully when near a Templar. I will not stand for malcontent to be spread in such a manner within our home! Lily, WHY are you here?"
"Answer him," Gregoir growled as he signaled for two of his men to grab her arms.
"I... I..." Lily raised up a tear-stained face to the older men, penned now between two Templar's. "I had to! They were going to kill my family!"
"Lily!" Jowan tried to move forward and I blocked him, holding him in place and did not allow him to move closer.
"Who child?" Irving asked, voice gentle but eyes guarded.
"I... I don't know. They... they said to request transfer here and to... to try to make one of the mages fall in love with me and try to escape. You have to understand, my mother, my little brother...! I couldn't...!" She fell forward, letting out gasping sobs.
"You will tell us everything you can. I will send out my men to find your family and protect them. You have my word that we will do everything to keep them safe," Gregoir said calmly. "However, you will be sent to the mages' prison, Aeonar, for this blatant transgression of seducing someone when you have taken vows and for sowing seeds of ill will!"
The others weren't watching for it but I was. Her trembling shoulders seemed to slump in defeat but the flash of a grin across her lips made me growl and I moved toward her with the speed of a striking serpent.
"Lying little...!" I grabbed her arm, just as Jowan tried to pull me back.
I was caught suddenly in a new vision. 'Lily' was reporting, under the light of a full moon, to a group of older women and men of her attempt at subterfuge within our Circle. The talks that resulted from her report, while unable to be heard, hinted to me of their designs of power and manipulation. Words came through at one point clear as day concerning a planned Lyrium shortages. A flash of her bright red hair being shorn off and growing back to a natural blonde. A flash of her going to a city with two huge statues of crying slaves in chains. Kirkwall? A large group of Kossith who followed the ways of the Qun suddenly appeared within the city, isolated near the docks. Lily, in the vision called by a different name, leading people to attack those of the Qun just because they were different and do not follow the ways of Andraste and the Maker. The Qunari's retaliation. Blood flowing in the streets like a river let loose from a dam. A single hawke flying into the sky with a hunting cry and diving down straight at the eyes of the largest Qunari...
Perhaps I would have seen more, but Jowan had pulled me away and the world seemed to spin wildly under my feet as I stumbled backwards. I growled and held a hand to my forehead as my thoughts spun.
"Darren, you will control yourself!" Gregoir snapped.
I pulled free of Jowan and stalked a few steps back toward 'Lily'.
"Tell us the truth, 'Sister Petrice,'" I hissed out in her face as I kept my hands to my sides.
"How did... I-I mean what are you talking about?!" She was looking up at me with wide eyes. She was truely startled this time.
"Did you not hear me earlier? I'm a Seer you foul woman," I said firmly. "Where ever you travel you sow seeds of violence and war in the name of the Chantry! Why?!"
She stood straighter then, eyes narrowed on me coldly as she calculated her options. She shrugged as if to herself and a sneer came to her lips that caused Jowan to gasp sharply behind me, a murmured 'Lily?' escaping him.
"Monsters like you would never understand," Her voice had lost all semblance of kindness, replaced now by a vile harshness that made me shiver with disgust. "Magic is a plague upon Thedas and we will see it purged. All who deny His Light will fall!"
"Lily? What...? My love?" Jowan started forward a few hesitant steps, hand held out in an intreating gesture.
"'Love?!' Do not make me SICK," she slapped his hand away.
"No.. Lily.. I... d-don't say things like that..."
"To love you would be as if I had lain with a beast! You are nothing but a means to an end so silence your bleating!"
I saw a light flicker out in Jowan's eyes as a cry escaped him. A burst of uncontrolled magic escaped him in his grief and sent many in the room stumbling to their asses as he fled from the room wailing and ran down the halls. The two Templar's holding 'Lily' had managed to keep hold of her arms even as she struggled within their grasp, the chance for her to escape disappeared the longer they managed to keep hold of her. Irving was helped to his feet by Greagoir and he sighed softly as he looked down the hall. He held up a hand to stop Greagior from turning to his men.
"Give him some time Greagoir. He will be fine," Irving said in a sorrowful voice.
"Irving, he is vulnerable right now!"
"As would anyone be when they find that the one they loved is not what they seemed. Give him time to get over his shock old friend."
"He's going to hate me," I said to myself as I slowly got to my feet. I moved very carefully toward the struggling 'Sister'.
"Your visions helped to reveal her treachery my boy. Better this then what might have happened."
Several other Templar's were still struggling to their feet, their heavy armor interfering with their ability to stand quickly. Even Duncan had been caught flatfooted and had started to move over to the two men I saw as 'fathers' to me. I smiled slightly, a sad smile.
"Not what I meant. This has to be done. Greagoir, you'll want to stock up on Lyrium for the Templar's," I said.
While they were distracted by that seemingly random comment I jerked forward suddenly, closest as I was to the struggling woman and pulled Jowan's carving knife from my belt. I jabbed it up into 'Lily's' lower ribs with a glare.
"I will not let you start a war with the Qunari!" My voice had started at as a hiss and shifted steadily into a rage filled shout. "Magic wont be what kills you, you'll be no martyr for your hate filled cause by dying to magic. Just a stupid, plain, simple carving knife will do the trick!"
With that I slammed the heel of my right palm against the hilt of the blade to drive it up and into her heart. I felt the bones in the palm of my hand break and shatter as a result of the force I'd just used. I may have hit the hilt wrong, but it still did the job and sent the blade right into her dark heart. Her eyes widened in shock and she stared up at me, her mouth moving in shock.
I heard the shouts of shock from the others at my actions. I felt the others as they grabbed my arms and pulled me back from her falling orm. Pain flared up my arm due to the damage I'd done to myself. Irving moved forward trying to heal the villainous woman while Greagoir put his sword to my throat, disappointment and shock warring in his eyes.
"What have you done?" He asked in a strained voice.
"Hopefully stopped a war," I said as I looked up at him. I fought the pain pulsing in my hand and closed my eyes for a moment before I tilted my head back. "Maker forgive me, but she would have been freed from Aeonar within a week of arriving there if my vision was right, maybe a month. The moon was full in the vision. She smiled when you said that was where she was going to be sent, you know? I made my choice Greagoir, but I did not kill with magic, please keep that in mind when you make your report. Don't let her be a martyr against magic."
"My boy..." Irving sad sorrowfully as he bowed his head, having turned away from 'Lily's' body.
"Hold!" Duncan moved forward now and stopped Greagoir from bringing down his blade by grabbing his wrist. "I hereby invoke the Right of Conscription. Sheath your blade Knight-Commander."
What? I thought with a blink.
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Alrighty, this chapter has been updated. please let me know what you think everyone!
