My eyes snap open, and I shudder involuntarily. I'm looking up at the ceiling in the apprentice dorms. The templars must have killed me again.

"Lexen?" Gellert says. "What are you doing?"

"Gellert, I think I'm possessed," I murmur.

Gellert snorts softly. "You are not possessed."

"How can you tell?"

"Because you'd know if you were possessed, you wouldn't just think it," Gellert points out.

"Then I know I'm possessed!" I snap. "I took a pride demon back in time with me!"

Gellert's face darkens abruptly. "Okay, yeah, that's not good. Well, I don't think you're technically possessed so much as that the demon managed to bond itself to you. So, did you get anything good out of the deal?"

"I didn't-" I start to protest. "Er..."

"It couldn't forge a bond like this against your will," Gellert says. "Don't tell me that it actually tricked you? Please tell me that you actually got it to agree to give you something for it?"

"He offered to tell me everything he knows about the Fade," I say.

"Excellent!" Gellert says brightly. "I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd actually make a deal with a demon. Well, I guess the main problem now is surviving your Harrowing or avoiding it somehow. Maybe now would be a good time to try to break in and destroy the phylacteries. I think I know where they're being kept..."

I rub my forehead. "I did not intend to make a deal with a demon and would like to just remove this bond!"

Gellert blinks at me. "But didn't you just say he offered knowledge?"

"I didn't realize he was a demon."

"What the fuck did you think he was, then? A bloody angel?"

"Well, no..." I sigh. "First he said he was an apprentice, but he'd forgotten his name, so he asked me to call him Mouse, and he said he'd had to hide because the templars killed his body... Bah, never mind. You can call me an idiot all you like."

"No, I'm calling you an idiot for making a deal with a demon, accidentally or otherwise, and then wanting to go back on your end of it and betray said demon before getting everything you can out of the arrangement."

I flop back on my bed and cover my face with my pillow. "This was not how I intended my Harrowing to go."

"What's done is done," Gellert says. "I say, we should take advantage of the situation however we can."

"I'm going to need to have a little chat with our new friend to see if we can avoid the templars killing me," I mutter. "If that doesn't work... I don't know."

Another hour passes nervously, and a mage comes to take me for the Harrowing again. I'm not even listening to what Irving and Greagoir are saying anymore. I don't care anymore, and I've heard it all before.

Back in the Fade, "Mouse" isn't even pretending to be a mouse or a man anymore. He looms on the path ahead of me, waiting for me, all spikes and shadows.

"What is happening here?" the pride demon says. "Explain this, mortal!"

"I already did," I say. "I'm a time traveler. I go back in time when I die. And you're coming with me when I do. That means if the templars kill me, we're both stuck going through this Harrowing again."

"Can you not use this power of yours to go to a different point?"

"I can, but it's more difficult and I'd really rather not have to," I say. "Quit possessing me and making the templars kill me, and we can get out of this loop."

"You agreed to allow me into you!"

"I agreed to let you out of the Fade and into the material world," I say. "And you agreed to teach me about the Fade. I will keep my end of the bargain, and I will hold you to yours."

"Yet if I possess you now, then the templars will slay your body, and we will repeat this again."

"Exactly," I say. "So let me complete my damned Harrowing now, and I will let you out afterward. Alright?"

The pride demon seems to think on that for several long moments before finally saying, "Very well. That is acceptable."

My vision goes blurry and my head spins, and then the world goes away.


I wake in the apprentice dorms. What happened? Did the templars kill me anyway? Did I fail my Harrowing yet again because of this foolish agreement? Surely Irving had no way of watching what I was doing in the Fade. Or did he? I have no idea.

"You're finally awake!" Jowan says next to my bed. "I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up, after the templars brought you back from your Harrowing."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. It's another day. I've passed my Harrowing. "How long was I out?"

"You've been asleep all day!" Jowan says. "It's almost time for dinner."

I have to chuckle softly. Considering that there have been times in other lives that I was out for several days because of something unfortunate happening, being out for a few hours isn't really much cause of concern for me.

"What was it like?" Jowan says, wringing his hands nervously. "The Harrowing, I mean. I know you're not supposed to talk about it, but can you at least give me a hint?"

I rub my eyes. "A hint? They're fucking hypocrites and the Harrowing is an insanely stupid idea. I can't believe they do this."

"Was it that bad?" Jowan whispers.

"Maker, don't ask me about it," I say. "I don't even want to talk about it."

"Alright," Jowan says, face falling. "First Enchanter Irving said that he wanted to see you as soon as you woke up."

I frown. Did he know about what happened in the Fade after all? Or is this just the typical post-Harrowing pep talk? If they knew I'd made a deal with a demon, would they decide to make me Tranquil instead? I can't help but be paranoid.

"I'd better head up to see him, then," I say with a sigh.

I get up and leave the dorm, and run into Gellert in the corridor outside. He casually puts up a privacy spell and steps in beside me. "I take it things went better that time?"

"I told our new friend that we'd let him into the material plane later," I say.

Gellert nods. "I'll see about getting a demonic summoning ritual set up for tonight."

"You know way too much about demonic rituals," I say.

"What can I say?" Gellert says with a shrug. "I was a Dark Lord. Have fun with Irving." He turns and heads off, parting ways with me at the First Enchanter's office.

There are voices coming from inside the office, and I step through the door. First Enchanter Irving and Knight-Commander Greagoir are inside, along with a dark-skinned man wearing strange armor and entirely too many belts.

"Many of the senior mages have already gone to Ostagar for the war effort," Greagoir is saying. "Uldred and Wynne have already left. How much more would you have us commit to fighting the darkspawn?"

"It is good for them to have a chance to get out and use their Maker-given powers for a good cause," Irving says. "Or would you prefer to have them remain firmly under the thumb of the Chantry at all times?"

Greagoir's offended response is cut off by the odd foreign human, who says, "Irving, I believe there is someone here to see you."

"Ah, yes," Irving says. "Duncan, this is Lexen, my star pupil, the one I was telling you about. He completed his Harrowing last night in record time."

Tension floods out of my body at that. They're not going to make me Tranquil. They're praising an congratulating me. What a relief. Praising me for entirely the wrong things, but I'll take what I can get.

"We will speak later, Irving," Greagoir says, leaving the room.

"Lexen, this is Duncan, of the Grey Wardens," Irving says, gesturing to the well-armed man.

I give a bow toward Duncan. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I fear I am not too familiar with the Grey Wardens, however, beyond myths and legends in old books."

"We are an ancient order dedicated to combating the threat of the darkspawn," Duncan says. "I will speak tell you more later if you wish. I believe Irving had some things he wished to say to you first."

"Yes," Irving says. "This is a joyous day for you, Lexen. Today, you have a become a full member of the Circle of Magi. Your phylactery has been taken to Denerim for safe-keeping. I present to you your robes, staff, and a ring bearing the Circle insignia. Bear them proudly. The day is yours, to do with as you please." His eyes twinkle in a positively Dumbledore-like manner. "Although, I don't think I need to tell you, of all people, to do as you please."

I chuckle softly, and take the items he hands to me. "Thank you, First Enchanter."

"Before you do, however, could you do me a favor and escort Duncan to his quarters?" Irving says. "They're down the corridor and on the left. I must speak with Greagoir now."

"Of course," I say. I slip the ring onto my finger, tuck my new robes into my bag for the moment, and heft the staff. I always did prefer swords to these clumsy chunks of wood, or at the very least, a wand. You can't do delicate spellwork with a staff very easily. It's like trying to paint a mural with a roller brush. But I can appreciate the bit of extra power.

I head out into the corridor, Duncan strolling along beside me. I'm not quite sure where precisely the guest quarters he's staying in might be, but I'm not too concerned about that at the moment. I want to talk to him, most importantly. He's a stranger, an outsider, dressed oddly, and therefore interesting.

"Have there been darkspawn problems lately?" I ask. "I read that they were all destroyed for good centuries ago."

"If only they had been," Duncan says. "But no, they always seem to come back no matter what we do. They have been amassing a horde to the south of here, in the Korcari Wilds. I believe another Blight may be starting."

My eyes light up at that, and I have to restrain the urge to smile maniacally. If I could get out of this tower and join up with the army at Ostagar, I could have a chance to kill things that everyone agrees are bad! Sure, I've never actually seen darkspawn before, but it's always nice to be able to slaughter without consequence, even being praised for causing destruction.

"Do you think they'd let me go fight?" I ask.

"Perhaps," Duncan says enigmatically. "We'll see. So eager to see combat, are you? The darkspawn are a serious threat. This would not merely be a vacation outside of the tower."

"I know," I say. "Being in the tower has been something of a vacation, for the most part. But I was always better at offensive spells."

"Ah, here we are," Duncan says, turning and stepping into a side room. "Thank you for escorting me to my quarters. I'm sure you have other things you wish to be doing today than talking to the likes of me, although perhaps we will speak again before I leave."

I give a nod. "Have a nice stay. I hope you find the support you're looking for."

I head back out into the corridor and make my way back to the apprentice dorms. I make it all the way back there before I remember that I should be being moved to the mage quarters upstairs.

Jowan is here, and he approaches me. "Are you done talking to Irving?"

I nod. "Is something wrong, Jowan?" I flick my fingers and put up a privacy spell out of long habit and paranoia. I like to have that spell up even if we're not talking about anything sensitive. It only takes one slip, and our cover is blown.

"I don't feel comfortable talking here," Jowan says, peering about suspiciously.

"I do have a privacy spell up," I say. "And the way you're acting so nervously makes you look incriminating. Relax."

"Still, can we go somewhere more private?" Jowan says.

"Sure," I say, shrugging.

Jowan leads me off upstairs, and into the tower's small chapel. I haven't spent a lot of time hanging out in here, aside from obligatorily and for research purposes, to help me blend in to this world by learning about its major religion. However, since I haven't seen any sign that its priests have been granted any real powers by the Maker, or that the Maker actually does anything at all, it has been a purely academic interest.

Jowan leads me over into an alcove and stands next to a woman in Chantry robes. "Alright, we should be safe here."

I raise an eyebrow, absently shifting my spell to include the priest in it. "Jowan?"

"Remember a while back, that I told you that I met a girl?"

"No, you didn't," I say.

"Didn't I?"

"I think I would have remembered that," I say. "Considering the rest of us are all gay. We would have all thoroughly mocked you for the rest of the month and changed your nickname to the Straight Man."

"What about Kirlin?"

"I haven't seen her express interest on anyone of either sex," I say, shrugging.

"Maybe she's just more discreet than some of you," Jowan says.

Meanwhile, the priest is looking mortified. "Jowan did mention that he had... interesting friends. I see what he means, now."

Jowan clears his throat. "Anyway. Lexen, this is Lily."

I chuckle softly, and say, "Nice to meet you. So, Jowan, you have a thing for priests? A hankering for forbidden romance? I had no idea."

"Lexen, they're going to make me Tranquil!" Jowan says. "It's not just paranoia. I know for certain now!"

"How did you find out?" I ask.

"I saw the document on Greagoir's table," Lily says. "Signed and authorized already."

"Why would they do such a thing?" I wonder.

"There have been rumors spreading that I've been dabbling in blood magic," Jowan says.

"So, have you?" I ask.

"No, of course not!" Jowan quickly protests. "I've been sneaking around to see Lily, so they must have thought I was doing something forbidden. Well, I have, but a different forbidden thing."

I snort softly. "We've all been sneaking around, ever since we arrived at the tower as children, and of all our group, you're not exactly at the top of the list to be likely candidates for blood magic."

"You and Gellert get all the praise because you're better at magic, though," Jowan says. "I'll never be half as good as either of you."

I sigh. "Alright. So we're going to have to do something about this."

"I can get us into the repository," Lily says. "The first door can only be opened by a mage and a member of the Chantry entering together."

"Maker, that would explain why we've never managed to get in," I mutter.

"The second door, however, has two locks on it," Lily says. "The First Enchanter and the Knight-Commander each carry one of the keys."

"Not much chance of us managing to get both of them," Jowan says. "Say, I saw a rod of fire melt a lock once! Maybe we could use one of those to get in."

I snort softly. "Oh yeah, that would be real inconspicuous. No, leave that to me," I say. "I can unlock just about anything."

"Are you sure?" Jowan says.

"Absolutely," I say. "Alright, how about we meet up after midnight, and we can sneak in?"

Jowan and Lily nod. "I just hope this works," Jowan says. "I don't want to be Tranquil..."

"Don't worry, my love," Lily says, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "We'll get you out of here safely."


After taking an hour-long nap and changing into my new robes, I locate Gellert on the Marauder's Map, hidden off in a corner of the library and tucked behind so many concealment charms that I wouldn't have even known he were there if the map hadn't shown him, and he probably keyed me to the wards anyway.

"You have everything ready, I take it?" I ask, stepping through the wards and approaching the circle of runes he has drawn on the floor in blood.

"Yup," Gellert says. "Going to need your help with it, since the demon is bound to you, of course."

"What's the rat for?" I ask, pointing to the unconscious rodent laying by the circle.

"That's a mouse, not a rat," Gellert corrects.

"Whatever."

"Anyway, after the Mr. Wiggums incident, I realized that animals make perfectly fine vessels for demons," Gellert says. "And after the damned cat was killed, there have been more mice running around the tower, so I caught one to use for the ritual."

"You want to put Mouse into a mouse?" I say, raising an eyebrow and smirking in amusement.

"Fitting, isn't it?" Gellert says, chuckling. "A human would be missed. Nobody will notice a mouse, though."

I give a nod. "Alright, let's do this. The hour of midnight is upon us."

We get into position, and Gellert begins to chant in unearthly words, placing the little mouse in the circle. I help how I can, following his lead and instructions. Demonic magic isn't something I was ever too inclined to want to learn. Gellert's the expert on that here. I can't believe I'm actually doing this, but I did agree to it, even if I have to call myself a fool for it.

Our spilled blood swirls in the air around the mouse as it rises into the air, glowing with eldritch reddish-purple light. Then, the small, furry body settles back onto the floor, and glowing demonic eyes snap open.

"What is this?" speaks the rodent in a deep, rumbling voice. "You put me into the body of a mouse!"

"Yes, we did," I say.

"How dare you! I should destroy you for this!"

"Except that if you were to kill me, we'd just go back in time a few hours, and you'd be stuck in the Fade again, and I'd be less inclined to let you out again."

"This is not much in the way of freedom to see the world of mortals with," Mouse protests.

"You're not stupid," I say. "Think on what you were telling me before, in the Fade. How you could avoid notice by being small. Nobody will notice a mouse, and you will be able to see things and get into places that you would otherwise never be able to."

"I wanted your body!"

"Sorry, can't let you have it," I say. "I'm busy using it myself." I smirk.

"Look, Mouse. Here's the way it is," Gellert says. "You can make him happy, and all the multiverse will be your playground." Gellert gestures. "Or you can piss him off, and he will find a way to wipe you from existence, one way or another."

The mouse blinks its glowing magenta eyes. "You will take me along with you wherever you go."

"Of course," I say. "And if all goes well, I'll be getting out of this damned tower shortly, too."

"However, the whole glowing eyes, demonic voice thing is rather unsubtle," Gellert points out.

"I can be subtle," Mouse says. The eyes stop glowing, and when he speaks again, his voice is that of the apprentice he was pretending to be when I first met him. "Better?"

"Better," Gellert says. "Although I think talking mice are still uncommon." He chuckles.

"What would you have me do, pretend to be a common rodent?" the pride demon says, offended.

"No, talking is fine," I say. "I'll explain it somehow." I shrug. "Just try to stay quiet at least until we get out of the tower, alright?"

"I do not need a mortal ordering me around!"

I roll my eyes. "I'm not ordering you to do anything. I believe in the freedom of all beings, and I suppose I can generously include demons in that, too. I am, however, making helpful suggestions that will improve our chances of getting out of being killed too many times and without me being made Tranquil in the process. The people inside the tower aren't likely to be fooled, and will send you right back to the Fade in an instant if they figure out what you are."

Mouse is quiet for a few moments, and then scurries up my robe to settle into a pocket, poking his head out and twitching his whiskers. "Fine. I'll stay quiet for the moment. So long as I can watch."

I grin, and nod. "Alright. Let's go, then." I pull out the map. "Let's gather up the Marauders. We have more business to take care of tonight."

Gellert waves the Elder Wand to clean up the area, remove any trace of the ritual that was performed here, and bring down the wards. "There might be some residual magic hanging about the area for a while," Gellert says. "Let's hope nobody looks too closely. Or if they do, that we're long gone by that point."

With the help of the map, we collect Kirlin, Anders, and Jowan without attracting attention from any patrolling templars.

"Do you still think they're going to make Jowan Tranquil?" Kirlin wonders.

"It's true, though!" Jowan says. "Lily wouldn't lie about something like this!"

"Who's Lily?" Anders wonders.

"Turns out Jowan's straight," I say, unable to keep a straight face about it. "Imagine that."

"Maker, I never would have guessed," Gellert says.

"Very funny," Jowan says, rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, it seems Lily actually saw documents authorizing them to perform the Rite of Tranquility upon Jowan," I say. "So, I say we don't let them. We break into the repository with Lily's help, destroy Jowan's phylactery, and help him escape."

"This is foolishness," Kirlin says. "I won't have anything to do with this."

"I wonder if mine's still being kept here," Anders says. "I doubt it, though. I think they only keep apprentice phylacteries at the tower itself."

"There's probably some interesting stuff down there besides phylacteries, too," Gellert says.

"I need someone to keep an eye on the map and look out for trouble, too," I say. "If anything goes wrong, I don't want too many people to be implicated as being involved in this."

Gellert knows that I mean too many people who aren't bound to me. Taking Jowan along is obvious, but I don't want Anders to be getting himself into more trouble than he's already been in.

"Anders and I can keep watch," Gellert says, casting a disappointed look toward Kirlin. "Anders won't be able to get a message off to you by himself if we spot trouble."

If Kirlin were feeling more cooperative, she and Anders would be perfect to keep watch, and Gellert could go with us. As it is, I just hope she doesn't turn us in or something. But that's just paranoia. We've known her since we were children. She'd never betray us.

"Gellert, can you stun me real quick?" I say.

"Sure thing." He hits me with a Stunning Spell, and then revives me again wordlessly.

The others look at me strangely. I've never actually told them about my power. It's generally safe enough in the tower that it has rarely been necessary to use it, but I'm feeling paranoid tonight. I'm tense, on edge, and my heart is racing. Everything could still go wrong tonight, and I want to be prepared.

Leaving Kirlin behind, the rest of us go to collect Lily and make our way down to the entrance to the basement.

"These are the rest of your friends, I take it?" Lily asks.

"These are Anders and Gellert," Jowan says. "Kirlin... declined to come along."

"And we're going to take up a position out of sight and keep an eye out for trouble," Gellert says, grinning to her. "Go get 'em, folks. We've got your back."

Gellert and Anders slip off with the map, leaving Jowan, Lily, and I to head into the basement. We approach the large door that my friends and I have examined probably hundreds of times and could never find a way past.

"Alright, here we are," Lily says. "A password needs to be spoken by a member of the Chantry in order to prime the door, and then a full mage who has passed his Harrowing must give it a taste of mana to open it." She raises her hand toward the door and speaks, "Sword of the Maker, Tears of the Fade." There's a sound from the door, and she nods to me to do my part.

"Right," I say, lifting my left hand to the door and letting forth a short zap of electricity. The door obediently swings open.

We head inside, and Lily leads us up to one of the doors past the first one. "I hope you were right about being able to open any lock, Lexen."

I chuckle, and say, "I believe in freedom for all beings. It's time to take our freedom!" I go to call upon my magic to open the door, but nothing happens. It's as though my magic won't touch the door at all.

"I knew we should have gotten a rod of fire," Jowan mutters.

"Andraste's ashes," I say, shaking my head. "That wouldn't have helped. It's warded against magic. No mage can open this door."

"Of course!" Lily says. "I should have realized it sooner. Why else would they use such simple keys?"

"There has to be another way inside," Jowan says. "I haven't come this far to give up now."

"Unless one of you has some lockpicking tools and knows how to use them, I'd suggest taking another door and exploring the rest of this basement to see if we can find a back door we could use."

"How about this door?" Lily says, heading down another short hallway to indicate a different door.

"You can open the locks on this one, surely, can't you?" Jowan says.

"I certainly hope so, or this is going to be one very embarrassing evening," I say. I push forth my magic to force open the locks on the door, and in moments, it swings open with a clatter. "Got it!"

There's another clatter, as the previously inanimate suit of armor next to us moves to attack us.

"Uh..." Jowan says. "This could be a problem!" He lifts his staff and calls forth magic to defend himself.

Between the three of us, the armor shortly returns to its previously inanimate state, somewhat worse for wear as it lays out on the floor in pieces. Mouse pokes his head out of my pocket again. I absently cast a protective spell over him to make sure nothing inadvertently squishes him along the way.

"Excellent, something to fight," I say gleefully.

"You are entirely too excited about the prospect of violence," Lily says.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been since I was able to unleash my full power on something without having to hold back so I didn't hurt someone I didn't want to hurt or destroy something I didn't want to destroy?"

We make our way through corridors and storerooms, fighting more of the animated guardians as we go. I make sure to take a thorough accounting of the possessions of the tower, and wind up stuffing a number of things into my bag of holding.

"They're going to catch us down here if you stop to swipe everything that looks even vaguely interesting," Jowan says.

"Relax, Gellert will warn us if there's any problems."

Deep within the recesses of the basement, we come upon a room containing an odd statue. As we're poking at it, it starts to speak to us in a woman's voice. "I am Eleni Zinovia, formerly consort and advisor to Archon Valerius. My crime was prophecy, in foretelling the fall of my lord's house, and so I was cursed to stone."

"Well, he was obviously an idiot, then," I say. "The future isn't set in stone. Although you clearly weren't much of a prophetess if you couldn't come up with any suggestions for how to avoid that fate."

"He did not heed my warnings, and thus he told me, 'Here you shall stand upon the threshold of my fortress, and tell your lies to all who pass for all eternity.'"

"We should leave it alone," Lily says. "It's a Tevinter statue. They dabbled in forbidden arts."

I snort softly. "If the Tevinters liked dogs, would that make dogs evil?"

"Fereldans like dogs, not Tevinters," Jowan says.

"You who bear the hope of a thousand worlds," the statue intones. "Blood of the dragon, child of the stars..."

"Huh, so you actually are a seer," I say. "Okay."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jowan says.

"A dark path stretches at your feet," the statue speaks. "Oblivion lies before you. But in the end, the last enemy you must defeat is yourself."

I snort softly. "I am not my own enemy. Well, not unless I wind up having to fight another version of myself somehow through some convoluted time travel bullshit, at any rate."

"Please, let's stop talking to it," Lily says. "We should just find the phylacteries and get out of here."

"You do not understand, but you will, in time. But how much death and suffering must you face first?"

I roll my eyes at the statue and move away. "Let's get this thing done."

A silvery phoenix appears before us, and speaks in Gellert's voice, "Got a problem, guys. I think Kirlin narked on us."

"What is that?" Lily says, jumping in alarm.

"Gellert's messenger spell," Jowan says. "More importantly, what does 'narked' even mean?"

"I have no idea," I say. "But at a blind guess, I think he means Kirlin has betrayed us."

"We should hurry, then," Lily says.

"This wall looks like it's about to collapse," Jowan says. "Here, help me move this bookcase out of the way."

"You're a mage, and I'm a mage, and you want us to move a heavy bookcase by hand?" I say incredulously. "Come on, that's what magic is for."

I wave my hand at the bookcase and think, Locomotor. The bookcase slowly shuffles out of the way, revealing an old, cracked wall with crumbling mortar.

"Nice," Jowan says. "Now, if we can just bring down this wall, we've got our back door. Hmm, take a look at this statue." He indicates a statue of what might be a panther.

"Why are there so many Tevinter artifacts down here?" Lily wonders.

"Why not?" I say. "Would you prefer them to be lining the corridors upstairs? Obviously, this place is where they put stuff that they don't really want to look at, but might be valuable so they can't throw them away."

"I've heard of things like this," Jowan says. "They amplify any spell you cast into them."

"Hmm," I say, lifting my hands. I send a burst of electricity into the cat statue. A massive bolt of lightning erupts from its mouth and slams into the wall, sending shards of stone flying.

Lily shields her face with an arm, and coughs a bit. "Well, I suppose that worked."

I cast a Feather-Weight Charm over the statue. It seems to work to amplify that as well, making itself light enough to lift, if a bit large and unwieldy still. I then cast a spell to try to shrink it down. It promptly vanishes.

"Uh... oops," I say.

"What did you do?" Lily wonders.

"I shrank it," I say. "And I think it amplified the shrinking to the point where now I can't see it."

"Nice going, Lexen," Jowan says. "Maybe you should just leave it here."

"But it might come in handy later!" I say, waving a general counterspell over the area. The panther statue reappears sitting where it was before, full-sized.

Gellert's phoenix Patronus appears again. "Heads up, I think you've got company on the way. Irving and Greagoir are heading downstairs."

"Please stop playing with the Tevinter artifacts and let's go," Lily says. "I think that's the phylactery chamber in there."

"Alright, alright," I say.

We head inside. It's not a very large room, all things considered, and I try to think of how many apprentices are actually in the tower at the moment.

"Come on, let's find my phylactery," Jowan says. "Which one is mine?"

"Who cares?" I say. I let electricity crackle around me, sending small jolts of lightning flying in every directions. Glass shatters, and blood spills out upon the tables, shelves, across the floor, as every phylactery in the room is broken. "Freedom! Freedom for all mages! Freedom for all beings!"

"Maker's breath," Lily murmurs. "You destroyed them? You destroyed them all? I just meant for you to get Jowan's, not all of them!"

"No one should be imprisoned like this," I say. "If I knew where anyone else's phylacteries were being kept, I would destroy those as well."

The phoenix Patronus shows up one more time and says, "Irving and Greagoir are waiting for you right outside the entrance to the basement. Several templars are with them, too."

"Oh, Maker," Lily says.

"This is all your fault, you know," Jowan says. "You kept wasting time with those stupid statues."

"I won't argue the blame," I say. "So I'll take responsibility for it. I'll take point and keep them occupied. You two make a break for it."

"But you could be killed!" Lily says.

I flash a grin at her. "So Andraste went to the flames?" I chuckle softly. "Let's do this."

I hold my staff at ready before me, letting a small storm crackle around me, and step forth out of the repository. Thankfully, the second door opens much more readily from the inside than outside, sparing us the need to take the long way out.

There's no way that I can take on that many templars by myself. I'm going to be killed, and I know it. I just hope that I can give this timeline's Jowan and Lily the chance they need to get out of here before I do. On the next loop, I can just do it faster and not waste so much time needlessly. That should be easy enough to do.

I charge forth toward the templars. I am the eye of the storm! Armored men are thrown aside left and right. I'm not paying attention to what Jowan and Lily are doing now. I have other concerns. Only the battle matters now. They can take care of themselves from here on out.

Then, my magic fails me, a shield impacts my skull, and the world winks out.


My eyes slide open. My mind is still fuzzy from mana exhaustion, but I'm quite clearly not in a bed, nor among my friends. I'm laying on a cold stone floor, and there are templars standing watch over me with swords pointed down at me. Fuck, I didn't actually die?

"Maker's breath, I can't believe I'm still alive after that," I mutter.

"You should be!" Greagoir says. "What were you thinking? And your damned blood mage friend and that traitorous initiate managed to escape in the confusion, too!"

"Thank the Maker for that, at least," I say, sitting up slowly and cupping my head in my hands dizzily. Mouse wriggles and shifts in my pocket. "And if Jowan was actually a blood mage, I'll eat my robes."

"I had hoped better of you, Lexen," Irving says. "Barely a full mage, and now you've assaulted several templars. It is fortunate for you that none of them were actually killed."

"Still, he assisted a blood mage," Greagoir says. "He must be punished."

"If I might propose an alternative?" says Duncan, approaching us. "I did not come merely to drum up support for the king's army. I had hoped to recruit for the Grey Wardens as well."

I slowly climb to my feet to look over at him. My head is clearing, but I still have no mana in me. I wish I could drink down a lyrium potion, but with all these swords pointed at me, I don't dare make any moves that could be interpreted as aggressive. Not when I'll only be going back two minutes if I die here.

"After the crimes he has committed, you would reward him by making him a Grey Warden instead?" Greagoir growls. "This is an outrage!"

"It is, however, out of our hands should Duncan choose to recruit him," Irving says to him gently. "The Right of Conscription allows them to take any they wish into their ranks, from criminals to kings."

"There are greater dangers in this world than blood magic, Greagoir," Duncan says. "This young man is powerful and possessed of the courage to risk his own life in order to help his friends."

"Pity that he has such poor choice in friends," Greagoir snarls, shoving his sword back into is scabbard. "Fine, then. If you want him, take him, then. And may the darkspawn eat him."

The other templars follow his example, and stand down and file out of the area behind him. Duncan heads toward the tower doors, and I follow after him. When we get there, however, Gellert and Anders are already waiting for us.

"Don't keep us in suspense," Gellert says. "What in Andraste's name happened?"

"Friends of yours?" Duncan says.

I nod. "Duncan has recruited me into the Grey Wardens."

"The Grey Wardens, huh?" Anders says.

Gellert's eyes widen. "I don't suppose you'll take anyone else, too?"

"Much as I would like to, I'm afraid I'm only recruiting Lexen at this time," Duncan says, and chuckles. "I think that's pushing my luck with Greagoir enough as it is. He would probably have a fit if I tried to take all of his friends, as well."

"Or be glad we were out of his hair," Gellert says with a grin. "Alright, fine then. Go have fun killing darkspawn. I've got reading to do."

"Hey, you never know, maybe I'll find some ancient, long-forgotten tomes of arcane lore, too," I say.

"This is so weird," Anders says. "Everyone is escaping from the tower except me, today."