Three chapters in less than a week. I feel like I'm on a roll here! I just hope that y'all are enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing it!
A big thank you to edboy4926 and Apollo Wings for leaving a review on the last chapter. An another big thank you for those of you who added this one to your favorites or alerted to it
Please please please leave a review! I love hearing what y'all think! Be it good, or advise, or suggestions so please feel free to leave a review! Reviews are certainly a good way to get me motivated to get the next chapter out quickly.
Chapter 3
Staying at least a full two paces behind Cassandra, Mahanon dutifully followed the shemlen up the mountain path. The cold mountain wind cut through the tattered remains of cloak chilling him to the bone. For not the first time since he left his Clan he wished that he'd brought more than just two sets of traveling cloths. Worse yet, their trek up the mountain path had led them right into battle against two more groups of demons. By the time Cassandra had finally announced that they were drawing close to the Rift the two of them were covered in platters of demonic ichor and frozen water.
As they crested yet another rise in the path Mahanon felt his hand immediately begin to ache. But unlike before where the pain in his hand was nearly unbearable, this was nothing more than a dull ache. "We're nearly there." Cassandra said as they started walking by what might've once been a grand tower.
Mahanon's ear's twitched as he caught the sound of steel ringing and men shouting. "There's fighting up ahead!" He shouted pushing past Cassandra and following his ears.
He had no love for the shemlen, but not even they deserved to be left to the devices of the demons.
Rounding the edge of the ruins Mahanon's steps faltered slightly. Before him was…well he wasn't sure how to describe it. A crystal like object hung suspended in midair amongst a throng of battling men and demons. He could almost taste the Fade spilling out from the crystal. This must be the tear in the Fade, this Rift, which Cassandra had been talking about.
"Don't just stand there!" Cassandra shouted running past him while drawing her sword. "We need to help them!"
The stone woman's shout was enough to shake him out of the stupor that'd been induced by seeing the tear in the Veil and he was less than half a step behind Cassandra in drawing his sword and leaping into the fray.
Shade demons and a demon that struck Mahanon as a horribly deformed and shrunken sylvan slithered about circling the tear in the Veil. Intermingled with them were a handful of shemlen armored in a similar fashion to Cassandra trying their best, and failing, to hold back to stream of demons that were clawing their way out of tear.
Charging up to the first shade demon he brought his enchanted flaming sword up ready to cleave it in two, only to have his sword hit nothing but air as the demon's head snapped back due to the sudden appearance of a crossbow bolt taking it right between its eyes. "Sorry about that! But Bianca gets a little excited at times like these!"
Not bothering to see who had taken his kill, Mahanon moved onto the next nearest demon, one of the sylvan demons. Ducking underneath a wide swing from razor sharp claws, Mahanon slashed upwards leaving a deep inflamed gouge in the creatures arm. Before the demon could recover he reversed his slash taking the creature across its chest before finishing it off with a quick lunge right into the demon's heart. Or at least where he thought the creature's heart was.
Letting go of his sword he spun around the dead demon, readying his magic in between his hands all the while. Righting himself he lashed out with his magic at the next nearest demon, a shade like creature that Cassandra was holding at bay with her shield. Lashing out with his lightning he struck the demon right in its hooded head, sending it head over heels through the air and crashing into the side of the mountain with bone crushing force.
As he turned to find his next target he felt a hand roughly grab his left. Turning he was ready to attack whoever dared grab him, but was stopped as his hand was thrust towards the crystal like tear. The green light in his hand sprung to life as if recognizing the tear in the veil. Pain, not nearly as bad as earlier but still on the same level as his vallaslin ceremony, made his hand tremble.
Just as the light grew to the point of being painful to look at, it shot forth from his hand and struck the tear. For a moment he and the tear were joined by green lightning and in that moment he felt, truly felt the Fade. It was…sickening. A vile disgusting twisting evil that made his guts want to curl into knots. But at the same time…he could feel peace, tranquility. A heart lifting hope that forced him stand up while simultaneously strengthening his resolve. Such contradictory feelings…it was so strange. But at the same time, it confirmed everything he'd ever thought or been told about the Fade. It was not a land of evil. It was a land of both good and evil in constant flux.
Pushing himself harder he felt a pulse of magic leave his left hand, travel through the connective lightning, and slam into the tear in the veil.
The effect was immediate. Any remaining demons that'd come through this tear suddenly screamed in agony and fell still, giving the few remaining shemlen the time they needed to run them through. The Rift flashed brightly once in defiance before going dim and then disappearing entirely.
Still feeling the weight of someone's hand against his wrist he roughly twisted his arm breaking the grip of whoever was holding onto his arm. The tongue lashing he had ready for the shemlen that dared manhandle him died on his lips as he got a good look at the man. It was no human, but an elf. An elf who lacked a vallaslin. So a Chantry cowed elf then. But at least an elf.
"So I was right." The elf said rubbing his jaw and glancing down at Mahanon's left hand before turning to face Cassandra. "The mark can close the Rifts. I believe with the appropriate amount of power, it will be able to close the Breach as well. I will need to guide him in the correct channeling techniques, but I believe that this will end soon now."
Mahanon felt himself growling at being talked about like he wasn't even there. Obviously this man – elf – was the expert that Cassandra had mentioned earlier. "I do not need nor want your help Chantry elf."
The elf snapped towards Mahanon as if he'd been slapped. The two mages eyes locked the briefest of moments before the other mage broke the connection and stared at his face. No doubt the Chantry elf was looking at his vallaslin. "You are one of the people." The other mage noted, surprising Mahanon. None but those amongst the Dals referred to their people as such. Was this elf one of the People as well? If so…then where was his mark. "I am no Chantry elf; I am in fact an apostate who has volunteered my services to help stop the Breach."
Slight movements in the corner of Mahanon's peripheral vision made both elves turn as one and raise their hands and began pooling their magic into the palms of their hands. One of the demon's wasn't quite dead and had apparently decided to launch one last attack while their back was turned. No matter how quick the two were though, there was one who was faster than the both of them. Before the demon could even get with two arm's length of the mages it was thrown backwards as a well-aimed crossbow bolt appeared in-between the creature's blackened eyes.
"Huh, seems like it's a good thing I decided to stick around eh?"
Three sets of eyes turned to watch as a dwarf sporting the oddest crossbow Mahanon had ever seen marched up to them. "Sorry about stealing two of your kills elfie, but ol'Bianca here, she gets more than a little restless with demons scurrying about."
Sharing a quick look towards the other elf and Cassandra, Mahanon swallowed before turning back towards the dwarf. "Well um, that's okay. And eh, nice crossbow."
The dwarf just chuckled. "Ah, that she is. Bianca and I have been through the Fade and back, nearly literally. AH, but where are my manners, Varric Tethras, at your service. Story teller extraordinaire, scholar, explorer, and occasional unwelcome tagalong."
"You're not coming." Cassandra growled stepping up between the two elvhen mages. "I have more than enough trouble trying to keep Solas and this one out of trouble. I don't need the addition of you to my problems."
So the other elf's name was Solas. A traditional Dalish name, not one of the diluted names given to the Chantry cowed flat ears. Maybe his current company wasn't so bad after all. "Hahaha, you don't get it do you Seeker? You'll need all the help you can get to undo Blondies mess. And I'm here ready and willing, despite the fact that it's raining demons out here."
While Mahanon had no idea who this Varric was referring too, the truth of the matter was he was a better shot than most of his clan. And he was not about to turn down help when it was freely offered. "It's never a bad idea to have another bow along with us." He cut in before Cassandra could say anything further on the subject. "Especially as our new friend pointed out, 'it's raining demons out here'."
Cassandra glared at Mahanon and he just glared right back. "This argument is pointless Seeker." The other elf, Solas, added. "In order to seal the Breach we are going to have to get this da'len close. Which means fighting demons. Any and all help will be needed."
Mahanon glared angrily at the elf. Da'len? This Solas looked no older than he. "Fine." Cassandra murmured angrily. "But put one foot out of line dwarf and I will throw you right back into the hole I pulled you out of."
"Back to the Hangman? Can't go wrong with that one. You'd be doing me a favor Seeker!" The dwarf, Varric, shouted out at her retreating form before turning back to him. "Women eh? Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. So what's your name my friend?"
Mahanon couldn't help but like the dwarf. While the shemlen had rightfully earned the ire of the Dalish, the durgen'len had suffered just as much under the rule of the shemlen. "I am Mahanon Lavellan, First of Clan Lavellan."
Varric, and Solas, seemed mildy impressed by his title. "A First eh? Known a couple myself. Maybe when this is all over I'll introduce you two."
"I am Solas," the elf said introducing himself for the first time. "But I'm sure you heard that. It is hard not to hear the Seeker's voice when she is aggravated. I am glad to see that you are up and around finally after three days."
Mahanon blinked. He'd been asleep for three days? That was new. "What he means to say is that he's glad he no longer has to watch over you night and day making sure you're still alive." Varric added shouldering his strange crossbow.
Turning towards Solas he gave the elf a curious look. "You – you've been looking after me?"
Solas merely nodded. "Yes. When they first brought you in you were wounded and it was feared you wouldn't survive the night. I healed your wounds and took the time to try and figure out the mystery of the strange mark on your hand."
Holding up his left hand he felt a wave of gratitude wash through him towards Solas. But as he spied the few fading scars on the back of his right hand, his gratitude quickly shifted to anger. "You were there." He hissed glaring at the other elf. "You let them torture me."
The elf didn't even look the slightest bit ashamed at having let the shemlen torture one of his own. "In their defense, you did lash out with your magic unprovoked. You nearly killed one of the guards. It took me two hours to heal the burns to hi-"
"I don't care about these pathetic shemlen." He hissed stepping up to the other elf. "They can wallow in halla shit for all I care. I woke up chained and bound surrounded by shemlen who looked ready to kill me. How was I supposed to react?"
One of the elf's eyebrows' rose. "And yet here you are. Helping these same shemlen that you say you don't care about."
"I'm only helping them because if this tear in the Veil isn't closed our people will suffer as well." Mahanon answered quickly taking a step away from Solas. "Once the tear is sealed I will go back to our people. And you, you will continue to be nothing more than their pet, elvhen'alas."
Mahanon didn't see Solas move, but he certainty did feel his magic. The wave of magic hit him so hard and fast that even if he had managed to get a barrier in place, it would've been blown aside. After sailing through the air, slamming into the stone ruins, and falling face first into the ground below he was ready to teach this flat ear a lesson. But again before he could move he felt an invisible hand slam down onto his back and pin him to the ground. "Listen well da'len. You may be the younger, but you are not the wiser." Solas said, his voice still the same constant calm as it had been throughout their entire confrontation. "You name the humans shemlen, but so far that name is a far better descriptor for yourself. You need to stop and think. This is not a time for petty rivalry or past grievances. All people of Thedas; be they elves, humans, dwarves or kossith must learn to put aside their differences and work together or the Fade shall swallow all of the land in darkness. Set aside your petty anger da'len. The past cannot be changed, no matter how much we wish it. Learn from the past, but always keep your eyes on the horizon."
Hearing the crunching of snow as Solas walked past him, Mahanon let out a breath of relief as the magic that'd been holding him in place disappeared completely. But even with the magic gone he didn't get up. He felt angered, embarrassed, and humiliated all at once. He hadn't been taken to task like that since he first began his apprenticeship under his Keeper.
Hearing a pair of heavy footfall's next to his head, he pushed himself up just enough to see who'd witness his humiliation. Thankfully, Varric was not staring down at him with anger or pity. "Well, one of these days I'm going to meet two of you elves who can at least act somewhat civilly towards one another." Varric said helping Mahanon to his feet.
"I'm sorry." Mahanon said brushing the dirt and snow off his front. "You are not seeing me at my best."
Varric simply shrugged his apology off. "The worlds gone to shit kid. I don't think anyone is at their 'best' at the moment. And besides, I'm not the one who you need to be apologizing too in the first place."
Turning in the direction he heard Solas walk off towards he spotted the elf half way down a narrow path with Cassandra waiting at the bend. "You're right." Mahanon breathed.
"Hey, buck up kid." Varric teased giving him a playful slap. "We got plenty of demons to kill. So let's get a move on."
"My name is Mahanon." He said marching beside the dwarf towards Solas and Cassandra. "Not kid."
Varric fixed him with a crocked half grin. "And once you stop acting like one, I'll stop calling you it."
After three more demonic encounters, including one more Rift sealing, the group of four finally reached the camp Cassandra had been leading them towards. Although to call it a camp was an understatement in Mahanon's opinion. Shemlen in dirty and bloodied armor rushed around trying to offer any aid possible to those who were lying on the cold stone bridge moaning in agony. Following silently behind Cassandra, Mahanon couldn't help but look at one poor soul who was now missing one of his legs from the knee down and had a crude bloodied bandage wrapped around his head to cover his eye.
The sight was…unnerving. Even for one such as Mahanon who had vowed that if he ever came across a shemlen dying of thirst he would empty his water skin onto the ground before him.
"What is he doing here?!"
Mahanon had been so enthralled by the level of suffering be brought upon these shemlen that he hadn't even noticed that Cassandra had stopped moving until he nearly ran into the back of her. Looking around he saw that all eyes were on him, including the cool blue eyes of Leliana and another shemlen clothed in the red and white robes of the Chantry and was glaring at him with near frothing rage.
Instead of giving the angry shemlen the honor of acknowledgement he instead turned his attention to Leliana. Somehow the woman had managed to traverse the same path as them, but where his cloths were torn, covered in blood and demonic spume; she was still in the same immaculate shape she'd been when she left them. "Did you manage to avoid the demons?" He asked nodding towards her clean attire.
Instead of being offended by his words, the blue eyed shemlen merely smirked and spread her arms. "I took down three demons on my way here. I'm merely that much better than you, no?"
Mahanon felt himself nearly smile. Nearly. He wouldn't give a shemlen the benefit of knowing he found her amusing, even if it was the truth.
"I demand to know why the prisoner is outside of his cage where he belongs! And where are his bindings? This heathen should be chained and bound in a carriage and on his way to Val Royeux right now to face execution for the murder of the Divine!"
This time Mahanaon did acknowledge the annoying shemlen. Embracing his magic he took a threatening step towards the annoying little man. He'd learned long ago that embracing his magic in such a way made his eyes come alight and gave his skin a slight glow. It wasn't dangerous, or even useful in a fight. But it did its job to frighten the da'len or shemlen who thought themselves his better.
And it appeared to work just as well on the members of the Chantry as the pompous man took a few steps backwards in freight. He was a little disappointed when none of his other temporary companions moved in fear, but at least he made the little priest piss himself.
"Listen here little shemlen, cause I will not lower myself to repeat this to you." Another side effect of holding onto his magic was that it altered his voice slightly. Not by much, but again it was more than another to make the Chantry fool take another step back. "I did not kill your precious Divine. And I have no idea who did. And if my word isn't enough for you, then I don't care. Because I do not recognize the supposed authority of the Chantry."
As the power began fading from his voice and eyes the shemlen priest apparently regained his spine. However worthless it might be. "You dare! I am-"
"Peace, Chancellor." Leliana said stepping in-between the two of them. "These are trying times for all of us. And we must keep our heads if we are too see the end of these dark times, no?"
"The prisoner is here under my guard Chancellor." Cassandra added stepping up beside him. "He is the key to closing the Breach. We have already proven as such by closing the two Rfits that littered the path between this camp and Haven. Leliana, how is the path leading up to the Breach?"
"Not good." Leliana answered motioning towards the mountain top. "Commander Cullen reports at least two more active Rifts near the summit. But with Mahanon's help we should be able to-"
"He won't be doing anything!" The pompous shemlen shouted waving his arms about widely. "He is to be taken to Val Royeux immediately! As High Chancellor I hereby demand it!"
"Who invited this pompous windbag in the first place? Shouldn't you be back down the mountain counting pieces of paper or whatever it is you shemlen priest do?" Mahanon asked looking around at the other people on the bridge.
While Mahanon didn't necessarily think his offhand comment was too terribly funny, the interesting shade of red that it made the pompous windbags face turn certainly was. "Why you…heathen! I am High Chancellor Roderick! And I will not be talked down to by a barbarian!"
"You are nothing but a glorified bureaucrat!" Cassandra yelled stepping between the two of them before Mahanon had the chance to turn the Chantry priest into a puddle of blood and guts. "And you do not give me orders! Our appointment as the Right and Left Hand comes directly from Most Holy herself!"
"You are nothing more than a thug." The man, Roderick countered making Cassandra turn red. "But I thought that you were a thug that served the Chantry. This man is more than likely responsible for the death of the Divine. He must be brought before the other Grand Clerics to face judgment."
"And in the process the Breach will continue to grow, sending out more Rifts and allowing more demons to enter our world until everything is consumed." Solas added stepping forward. "Right now he is the only one who can seal the Rifts. We can't waste time by allowing him to be carted off."
Roderick bit his lip for a second before throwing his hands up in the air. "Even if you he can seal the Rifts, it is impossible to reach the base of the Breach. Demons are running rampant, cutting down everyone in their path. You've seen their devastation yourselves! We are…overrun. Our only hope is to fall back and come back later with the armies of the Chantry."
Cassandra though wouldn't back down. "And in the meantime more and more demons will come through. We have a chance to possibly end this Roderick. And we are not going to let it go to waste just so you can play politics."
Mahanon could see the vein's running down his face he was so mad. It was actually pretty funny."Did you not hear me Cassandra? The pass is overrun and we don't have the man power to retake it! Even with this…criminal's help."
"There is another path we can take." Leliana added in quickly as Cassandra and the Chantry fool continued to glare at one another.
Mahanon, grateful for the chance to end the pointless clucking of the shemlen, sighed in relief. "What is it?"
Leliana motioned up towards the side of the mountain. "There is a path that leads through an old abandoned mine. A small group of us could take it and flank the demons while the bulk of our army keeps their attention."
Mahanon looked around at the blank faces of those around him. "What are we still sitting here for? If it gets us to where we need to go, then let's get a move on."
Not bothering to see if anyone was following him, Mahanon roughly shouldered his way past the Chantry fool and headed for the opposite end of the camp. "Wait Mahanon."
Sighing at hearing Solas's voice, Mahanon turned back around to see what the elder elf wanted, and had to keep himself physically restrained otherwise he might've killed every last shemlen on the bridge. Clutched between Solas's hands was his staff. His staff. Not one of those pathetic Chantry made pieces of halla dung, but the staff that he himself had crafted from a piece of iron bark under the watchful eye of his clan's master craftsman and Keeper.
Walking towards Solas with slow steps he reached out and carefully took the staff from the elf as if he were talking ahold of a new born babe. The staff was exactly the way he remembered it. The delicate ruins carved into the iron wood, the twisting of the branches one end, and finally the iron bark blade that he fastened to the opposite side. So the shemlen hadn't destroyed it. He was more than slightly afraid that they would've upon waking and finding himself in their care.
"Thank you." He said twirling the staff between his fingers, rejoicing at having his faithful companion back at his side.
"It is not me you should be thanking." Solas explained shaking his head. "It was Sister Leliana who insisted on its protection in case you decided to aid us."
Turning slowly he eyed the Chantry sister. He was about to ask why, but when his eyes fell on her bow the words died on his lips. Her bow was a beautifully carved recurve long bow. But it was the wood it'd been made of and the intricate designs running its length that caught his attention more than anything. Iron bark and elvhen patterns. That was a bow that only a Master Dalish craftsman could create. And the dalish did not simply sell those types of weapons to shemlen.
"I was gifted this bow by a clan of dalish elves during my travels with the Hero of Ferelden, Alim Surana." Leliana explained, although he couldn't help but notice as her right hand quickly touched her left as she said the heroes name. "We aided them by helping cure a terrible disease. Their master craftsman gifted me this bow as thanks."
Mahanon felt his opinion of the shemlen involuntarily shift. At least where the blue eyed woman was concerned. No dalish craftsman would gift such a bow upon someone unless they thought them worthy of respect.
"Not that this isn't fun and all," Varric added nodding towards the sky. "But that Breach isn't getting any smaller."
"Right." Cassandra announced stepping forward, but not before casting a withered look towards the Chantry fool. "Let's move out. Leliana, head back to the main camp and bring whoever can still lift a sword here and aid Commander Cullen in the valley. I will take our guest through the mine path and-"
"Send a runner for reinforcements Cassandra." Leliana said quickly. "You'll need me to guide you through the mines."
Cassandra looked as if she was about to press the matter, but quickly decided against it. "You're right Leliana."
"Of course I am." The blue eyed sister added playfully. "Now come, let us go. We have a lot of ground to cover and every moment counts."
Their trek through the mines was, to say in a word, uneventful when compared to what the small group had encountered on their way to the forward camp. With Leliana acting as their guide they navigated the darkened tunnels with no problems and emerge back into day light at a very familiar location. They were right at the base of the Conclave at roughly the same location that Mahanon had used to sneak into the temple.
And as soon as they stepped out into the light Mahanon's sensitive ears picked up the distinct sound of metal striking against metal. Whirling his staff into his fingers Mahanon took off at a dead run towards the sound. At the moment he didn't care that he was more than likely about to aid shemlen, he merely wanted to put an end to these demons.
His hearing proved true as Mahanon rounded another bend and came upon a small band of soldier's that were trying, and failing, to hold back a wave of demons. Although they might've been succeeding had it not been for the glowing green Rift that was situated almost directly above the shemlen's heads.
Flooding his staff with his magic Mahanon slammed the bladed end into the ground sending a shockwave of lightning through the ground and catching all of the demons unaware.
With his lightning still coursing through them, the demons were powerless to help as the shemlen that'd been battling them, and Mahanon's own ragtag group fell upon them with swords, arrows, and staffs. Seeing that the demons were well in hand, Mahanon turned his attention to the Rift that was hanging above him, taunting him.
Feeling a slight twinge in his left hand, he looked down and saw that his hand was once again glowing and had little wisps of green smoke drifting from his palm. Well, it worked before, no reason why it wouldn't work again.
Trying to remember exactly how it felt the last time when Solas forced his hand towards the Rift, Mahanon did his best to recreate what happened. And was rewarded as once again green lightning shot forth from his hand and impacted the Rift. And just like last time it felt as if the Rift was pulling all of his magic, all of his life force, our of his body through the mark on his hand. Just before his strength left him the Rift pulsed, and then imploded and was no more.
Shoving the blade of his staff hard into the frozen ground, Mahanon leaned against his oldest friend trying hard to regain his bearings without appearing weak in front of the shemlen.
"Oh, thank the Maker you arrived! If you hadn't come…Maker I don't even want to think about it."
Even turning his head a fraction took more than a little out of him. Creator's, if sealing just one of these small Rifts could drain him so…than when he tried to seal the Breach. Mythal guide him, he didn't think he would survive.
"Sir, are you alright?"
Finally regaining enough of his composure he eyed the woman shemlen that was standing next to him. Her arms were raised as if she were about to help him upright, but she froze the second her eyes landed on his face. 'Typical shemlen. See a pair of pointed ears and vallaslin markings and immediately label the barer a heathen.'
"I'm fine." He grunted, straightening and staring straight into the woman's frightened eyes. "What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of the shemlen down the hill?"
The woman swallowed hard, and unable to hold his gaze she started looking around widely. "Lady Cassandra! Lady Leliana! Why are you – oh, excuse me. I mean it's good to see you both. Thank the Maker you both arrived when you did."
Mahanon would've snarled if he wasn't used to such treatment. He'd just saved their pathetic lives and not even the slightest bit of gratitude.
"Mahanon here insisted we come through the mine path." Cassandra explained to the scout, but Mahanon was beyond caring and moved over towards the spiraling ruins that were once a spiraling temple.
Leaving his so called 'guards' behind him he made his way over towards where he roughly believed the entrance to the temple had been. And as he came upon a flat area filled with rubble his feet refused to move any further. Littered amongst the toppled and smoldering ruins were what looked like small statues. Only they weren't statues. At least they hadn't been.
Dozens of people, it was impossible to tell whether elf or human, were frozen in time by stone prisons. Most were still smoldering. Standing there staring out at devastation and brutality of what had happened Mahanon tired, he truly tried, to find something, anything, in his memory that could explain this.
Mahanon hadn't even noticed that he'd been moving forward, one foot in front of the other, until he was kneeling before one of the smoldering statues. While it may have been impossible to tell whether or not this poor soul was human or elf, Mahanon's keen elf eyes could pick out the subtle curves of the hips and chest that could only mean one thing. The woman was kneeling on the ground, one arm near her middle and the other held outwards as if she were trying in vain to stop whatever magic had done this too her. But it was what was within her arm around her middle that demanded his attention. A small form, barely half the size of the woman, was clinging to her chest. Creators have mercy. It was a child. A simple child. Creators mercy.
Reaching out his hand he gently ran his fingers down what would've been the hair of the child. "Hamin da'len, hamin mamae. May Falon'Din guide you to your god's side. May you know the peace that was stolen from you in this life. Ir abelas."
"She died defending her child." Mahanon didn't need to look behind him to know that it was Leliana who was now standing next to him. "If we do not put an end to this now, this will continue."
"I know." Mahanon said giving the entombed child one last caress before standing and facing the Sister. Leliana's eyes were moist as she stared down past him at the mother and child. And although he wouldn't admit it, Mahanon felt his own eyes starting to grow moist as well.
This insanity needed to be stopped. Even if it meant that he was saving shemlen. Even if it meant he would more than likely die. He needed to stop this madness before it could spread to the elvhen. Hearing the shifting of rumble he looked over his shoulder. Cassandra and the rest of the ragtag group had caught up to him, and they weren't alone. Accompanying them were at least another dozen or so shemlen soldiers. Probably the remnants of the group that were attacking the horde head on.
"Sister Leliana, I'm glad to see that you were able to guide them through the passage safely." A blond haired shemlen said stepping forward.
"Thank our friend here." Leliana said motioning towards him. "If not for his help, the Rifts would still be open."
The blond haired man turned to him and, surprising enough, gave Mahanon a stiff salute. "You have my thanks stranger. I'm glad to see that Cassandra and Leliana's trust in you was not miss placed."
"Yes, well," Mahanon start shifting his weight, unused to receiving praise, even backhanded praise, from a human soldier no less. "Let's just get this done."
The blond human nodded and motioned for them to head into the ruined temple, although to call it a ruin was more than little generous seeing as how the only thing still standing were the few odd walls. But once inside the walls Mahanon felt his will power faltering. There was nothing. Just a giant crater in the ground. And in the center of the crater standing like a small spire was a single piece of red crystal. Even from their current distance Mahanon could feel the pull, the temptation, of lyrium coming from the red crystal spire. But that couldn't be right. Lyrium wasn't red.
"That's red lyrium." Varric hissed stating the obvious.
"Yes, that's what we assumed as well." Cassandra answered while barking out orders to her soldiers.
"But what's it doing here Seeker?" Varric pressed, gesturing around the sides of the crater were dozens of other red lyrium deposits were present.
Choosing to stay silent, Mahanon started to silently chanty. 'O Falon'Din, Lethanavir. Friend of the dead guide my feet, calm my soul, lead me to my rest.'
"The Rift is closed, albeit temporarily." He heard Solas say.
Shaking his head his heart started beating widely as he saw where they were. He had been so distracted reciting his prayer over and over that he hadn't even taken note of their decent into the crater. And now he stood before the red lyrium spire and a single Rift far larger than the previous two he had already closed. So this was it. This was the Rift that was tied to the Breach. This was where he was going to die.
"If it's closed already wouldn't it be for the best to just leave it be for the time being?" The blond human asked while moving his soldiers around in preparation for what was about to happen.
Shaking his head Solas turned to address them all. "No. The Rift are like doorways leading from the Fade and into Thedas. While this one is closed, it is basically 'unlocked' if you will."
"Then how do we seal the damn thing?" Varric asked holding his crossbow tightly in his hands.
"Mahanon will have to use his mark to force the Rift open." Solas explained motioning for him to step forward. "Once he does, he will be able to properly seal it. But be warned, opening the Rift will draw attention from the Fade."
"That mean's demons." Cassandra finished drawing her sword and readying her shield. "Everyone prepare yourselves! No matter what comes through this Rift we will hold our ground!"
Swallowing past the lump that'd been steadily building in his throat, Mahanon stepped up so he stood side by side with Solas before the Rift. "How do I…well open the Rift?" Mahanon asked, wincing as the mark on his hand started to ache in reaction to his close proximity to the Rift.
"I do not know." Solas answered truthfully. "But hold your mark towards the Rift, and I'm sure that the answer will come to you."
Taking one last deep breath in a futile attempt to settle his nerves Mahanon thrust his hand towards the closed Rift. 'Please Mythal, let this work.'
The Rift began shifting in response to his mark. Gritting his teeth he fought against the waves of fatigue that racked his body as once more lightning arched out from his hand and struck the closed Rift. "Believe in the Maker men!" He heard Cassandra shout as the Rift started shifting faster. "And you shall have no fear of whatever is too come!"
Without warning the connection between Mahanon and the Rift severed when the Rift sent out a powerful pulse that knocked him off his feet and straight onto his backside.
The Rift was indeed now open. And the denizens of the Fade were trying to make their way through. Shades and sylvan demons clawed and clamored trying their best to get through the narrow opening even as the archers lining the crater did their best to keep them at bay. "That's it men!" Cassandra shouted holding her sword high. "Keep the pressure up! Mahanon! Seal the Rift now bef-"
The Rift pulsed again, this time sending all of the nearby soldiers spiraling away from it and forcing the archers to take cover. As the green light settled the spots slowly dissipated from his vision, Mahanon stared up in horror at what had managed to get through. A demon, three times taller than the humans around it, stood looking around slightly almost as if it was confused as to how it got here. Horns and spikes, too numerous to count, littered the purple skin of the demon making its massive appearance appear even more menacing.
A Pride demon. One of the most powerful demons in the Fade. And it was now standing upon the rocks of Thedas looking down at the humans as if they were nothing more than bugs to be crushed beneath its foot.
Seeing the demon take a step towards where Leliana and Cassandra were laying, Mahanon acted. Slamming his staff into the ground he channeled as much magic he could through his staff and into the ground. The ground between the demon and the shemlen responded to his commands, as spikes, composed of the rocks and rubble of the ruins, formed up creating a wall preventing the demon from reaching the shemlen, but at the same time trapping him with the demon.
The demon stopped, took one look at the wall, and then turned towards him. Its beady black eyes blinked as if trying to understand what it was seeing. But that confusion only lasted a moment as the demon let out an ear piercing cry before charging at him.
"Oh shit," Mahanon shouted diving out of the way as the demon charged passed.
Rolling back to his feet Mahanon lashed out with his staff sending a wave of lightning at the demon. But instead of striking, searing, and wounding the demon like he expected, the demon just simply shrugged off his attack as if it were nothing.
"Double shit." Mahanon muttered backing up while keeping his staff before him. "Okay, new plan."
Slamming his staff back into the ground Mahanon dug deep into his magical reserves trying to create another wall like the one he brought up between the demon and the shemlen. But with his power faltering he was only able to create a small cage that barely went up to the demons waist. The demon looked down at his pathetic attempt and casually swatted away his cage as if it wasn't even there.
Shifting his staff to his right hand only, Mahanon dug deeper into his magical reserve than ever before. The air around him shimmered and started to glow as a he tried to hold the magical barrier. It wouldn't save him, but it might just buy him enough time.
While still focusing his magic into his barrier, Mahanon thrust his left hand out blinding in the direction of the Rift. He immediately felt the mark on his hand connect with the Rift and he couldn't help the cry of agony that escaped him as he was drained from both ends.
The demon, apparently catching onto his ploy, let out a sudden cry and rushed him. Raising its massive fist Mahanon was powerless to do anything but watch as the razor sharp claws the size of a wold descended on his barrier.
The light protecting him flung the demons attack back, but not before faltering more than slightly forcing Mahanon to pour every last ounce of power he hand into it.
Feeling his legs give out he feel to his knees. His hold on his staff and his connection to the Rift the only things preventing him from falling face first into the stone rubble.
The demon roared again as its massive claws descended once more. This time when the claws struck the shield they cut clean through, shattering his barrier, but having their path altered just enough so they narrowly avoided Mahanon.
With no magic left within him, and the Rift constantly draining what little life he had left. Mahanon could do nothing more than watch as the demon raised its clawed hand once more. "Emma shem'nan. Halam sahlin." He muttered feeling the Rift the pull on his being one last time as the claws descended on him.
The felt the searing pain as the tip of the beast's claws dug into his skin just above his right eye. And then there was nothing but blissful darkness.
Again please please review! Please don't make me beg...See y'all in the next chapter!
