The Fade, my physical body asleep while my spirit explores another world. It is a wondrous place and I am having the time of my life in it. Demonic entities, mortal danger, forces beyond my control or understanding all conspire against me but I moved through the dream world joyously the way a star struck traveler soaks in a foreign land. It is a heady mix of real and gossamer that feels equal parts abstract fantasy and visceral combat. Instead of being showered with vitals and stepping over bodies I feel enemy spirits lessen with each blow and dissipate when defeated. By the time I've acquired all of the forms granted to me by the shades here I envy mages and their access to this place. If I wasn't being slowly drained of my life force by the demon Sloth, I would stay longer.

All good things must come to an end and I begin bringing down the strongest demons in charge of Sloth's prison. They fell like all the others and it is the desire demon Yevena's turn at the moment. Thoroughly weakened and beaten by a mix of shape shifting, magical power and dueling prowess she has little left. Kicking her bodily to the ground I advance on the demoness with my dream blade scraping against the floor.

"Wait!" she holds up a purple hand as I raise the weapon high for a killing blow.

"Give me one good reason why I should." I sneer.

"Spare me and I will unlock the way to Sloth for you!" it beseeched in that sinfully alluring voice backed by a heavy, inhumanely deep echo just behind it.

"I accomplish the same destroying you, what kind of deal is this?"

"There is a longing in you, one you cannot satisfy." she spoke rapidly. "I can do more than she ever could, and no one will have to know..."

Unlike humans my people considered the Fade simply another world with wicked and goodly folk just like Thedas. I did not consider dealing with demons immoral any more than I would dealing with humans except an extreme amount of caution had to be observed. They were as tricky as Falon'Din and twice as ruthless but would keep their end of the bargain if you kept yours. My sword dips down to my side as I consider it. I wouldn't dare tell a living soul about the longing she spoke of as it was especially shameful but privately I could not deny it existed.

"Do it then. Unlock the way." I order and she immediately twists her hand in the air. I feel the same grinding shift that accompanied the other guardians' deaths to show that she had done her part. Hesitantly I sheathe my weapon expecting an ambush any moment but she crawls on all fours over to me. Grasping my belt and pulls herself up to her knees and then grips my collar to lift herself to her feet. To my shock she is wearing the witch's face when she comes up and I recoil.

"Undo that." I shudder and before I can think she had her original visage back on to flash a devious smile.

"You won't regret anything..." she promised with saccharine sweetness. It should have been harder to talk me into this or I should have required something else in exchange but it was a little late now with the deal struck and the demon starting to deftly unfasten my armor with her tongue.

Maybe next time.


Northern Ferelden. West of Highever. I had pulled some strings and greased a few palms but everything was ready in theory. Out in the middle of nowhere in a shack I stand with the blood mage Janos. He owes me his life and livelihood and I was now getting a return on my investment. A powerful amulet in the shape of a heart was snug around my neck and opened a channel to the Fade through me. It made my body tingle but this was only just the beginning.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Janos asked for the third time.

"Of course it isn't." I chastise. "Now do it."

Amping up his arcane abilities the mage washed me in power and with a steady supply of lyrium he cast me into myself. It felt like I was pulled inside my own chest upside down and covered in freezing needles that pricked every inch of my skin. The sensation lasts only a few moments and I come to in the Beyond. Oddly it is lacking in the buildings and ancient ruins like before and exists more like a great, darkened forest with shifting shadows on everything. I remember my aspects and change into a powerful spirit to make sure I will be prepared if there's a fight. Shifting back to human form I utter a single word.

"Koryphasia." I call out to her. We had met twice earlier both inside and outside the Fade and this one kept her word. The forest, quiet and frozen unlike a real one, ripples and sways as I perceive something enter into my space.

"Well..." the seductive, horror-tinged voice emerged first from the spectral trees. Her hands touched down on my shoulders from behind me a moment later and I stay where I am as the demon's hot breath caresses the back of my neck. "You have returned."

"I said I would have need of you, didn't I?"

"Mmm..." she murmured, smelling like forest berries native to the Brecelian. "So you did. Why did you come here? It is not a place for mortals...well...maybe not one such as you..."

"I have always dealt fairly with you spirits, no?" I ask. Creators, Zevran had me adding that to my questions now.

"Your reputation is admirably ruthless." she agreed.

"I offer you a deal, Koryphasia. I am in possession of certain tomes on blood magic and have a blood mage willing to act on my behalf."

She came around to press her bare chest against me and cradle her arms behind my neck as if we were young lovers at a festival dance. "I like this already." she rolled her tongue in her mouth.

"I can't replicate the research without being a mage myself. I need a connection to the Fade stronger than the one I was born with naturally. I am however wearing an amulet that burrows a path to your realm. What I propose is simple: I offer blood unto you, through my channel. You gain the power and funnel it back to me."

"Clever, Warden..." the sniffed along my neck as a hound does. "And what do you wish to gain?"

"I need to be faster, stronger, react quicker, go farther, live longer than a mortal man normally could. I need to be able to absorb blows that would kill lesser men. There is an Archdemon out there somewhere that I am destined to engage in mortal combat with. We must conspire to shatter my mortal limits."

"Mmm...yes...your passions, your lusts, they are powerful, Warden. I will do this and together we will become unstoppable."

"Good. I will contact you when I am ready to begin."

One of her hands detached from my neck and slid down my shoulder, arm, then forearm. She interlaced her fingers with mine and leaned in so that her demonic features were all I could see. "Shall we...consummate this deal?" she asked. I admit to myself that sometimes I am a weak man. Her mouth tastes like sweet honey.


The road. Outside Denerim. The wagon does not do well in the rough, rocky terrain of the Coastlands. The beaten path served well enough to this point but the last leg would have to be made slowly. The wooden vehicle was some twenty feet long and and quite high so we stuck out like a sore thumb against the greenery. We made the best time we could getting to the work site and at least I wouldn't be bothered by allies wondering where I am. It was not hard for one person to move around Ferelden quickly and I had many reasons to head to places by myself without my war party present.

The wagon's driver was an obnoxious little human who never shut up the entire trip. He had a thousand stories of the road and each one seemed to somehow wind back to the "fact" that he was incredibly famous. I'd never heard of the man but he would have you believe that he was the most feared warrior in the land during his youth and folk treated him like royalty to this day. I bit back the burning question of why he drove carts for a living if any of this was even halfway true until we sight our destination with the last vestiges of daylight filtering through sparse clouds. The wind always smells vaguely of sea salt even this far inland and I think of how it has been forever since I went out into the land just for a hike.

"Kinda small, innit?" he asked me when we stop and I have to remember why the loathsome man is here.

"I didn't build the place. Come on around the back." I answer.

We hop down from the wagon and I lead the driver to the rear of the two small structures that were joined together. Opening the door for him I usher the driver inside and shut it the moment we're both past the threshold. The room is occupied by six stone slabs surrounding a central one, all angled downwards to the middle of the room. They had bindings for restraining the subjects and a large furnace was built into the wall on the left. Jonas was standing at the back of the room holding open the detailed notes on Avernus' research and froze. The maleficar looked positively aghast when he saw us and the color left his face.

"What the- who is he!?" the mage blurted.

"What in the Maker's name-" the driver got out before I rap on the back of his skull with the blackjack I'd palmed moments earlier. He swayed on his feet before tilting over and I catch him to sweep the pungent man off his feet.

"Could have bloody well warned me!" Jonas said angrily.

"And miss that look on your face?" I smile as I lay the driver down on the nearest slab.

"How did it go?" he asked when he was done smoothing his robes.

"Ah, you know, the cloak and dagger bit aside, fairly well." I explain as I loop the ropes around the subject's wrists and ankles.

"I just want to be sure we can't be traced."

"Janos, I have enough people trying to kill me without adding 'blood trafficking' to my list of objectionable activities." I say as I strap down the torso. "The only people who know about this place are me, you and this insufferable fool."

"How many more outside?" he wondered anxiously.

"Eleven."

"How tidy of you."

"I strive for speed and accuracy in my work." I chuckle as I thoroughly gag the driver. Lifting up his lolling head I slip a black hood over it.

"May I assume you brought my gold?"

"Janos, you insult me. I"m a man of my word and to the letter."

"I was just asking."

The driver was thankfully helpless and gagged so I look around for any other preparations that need to be made. "Ready for them?"

"Yes..." he agreed hesitantly.

"What?"

"You know this is probably going to be incredibly painful, right?"

"Lucky for them they'll be dead shortly afterward."

"No...I mean for you." he clarified.

"Oh..."

"It's kind of going to be like when I sent you into the Fade, only much worse."

"Well, that does sound most disagreeable." I muse. "Unfortunately it is a little late for wet feet."

"Cold feet."

"Whatever. I'll start bringing them in. Prepare yourself."

Thirty minutes later we were set and I was lying naked on the center slab. At this point most of the subjects knew something terrible was going to happen to them and fought helplessly against their bonds while trying to talk or plead. Janos stood over me with the ancient Warden's book in one hand and a dagger in the other. The heart amulet was cold against my skin and finally here and now I wasn't sure if this was such a good idea.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked.

"No. Go on then." I order and he plunged the knife into my chest.


The night time camp. A certain person's large tent. Gasping for breath I roll onto my back on top of the thick sleeping furs. The air in here has gone from slightly less cold than outside to stuffy and overly warm since I arrived. Laying together with the witch in a tumbled mess of naked limbs and sweat I somehow have the presence of mind to know that this is as good as it will ever get for me. The moments that I did not have here with Morrigan would be spent on the road, in a battle or finally dying, even in victory. Lying here with her like this, these memories would be the only pleasant things to break up a life of pain.

Our black, long heads of hair tangle together and right now my crushing duties and thousands of worries seem far away. We lay there for many minutes getting our wind back and enjoying the after glow. I'm so relaxed that when I close my eyes a moment I almost fall asleep right there.

"Miss me?" she teased and I jolt awake.

"Ach..." I scrunch my face. "What do you mean?"

"It has been a whole two days since you were here last. Yet you ravage me like we'd not seen each other in weeks." she gloated.

"Ahm, yes, well, I'm sure there's a bit in here about upcoming battles or making the best of what time we have but I don't give a damn right now."

She laughed and constricted me a little tighter. Running her finger along my chest she stopped at the heart amulet fit snugly around my neck. "You never take this off." the witch murmured.

"Picked it up from the Circle when we last passed through. Opens a channel to the Fade."

"Hmm."

"Irving said it will work better the longer I wear it." I lie.

"Pfft. Circle magi." she snorted.

"It makes me stronger, give me more energy."

"Hmm, rather like it then." she said contentedly. "I was going to ask. You feel different."

"Different? How?" I feign only a passing interest.

"I don't know. I sense a bit of the Fade in you but it feels distant and cold."

"Superb. I love the Beyond. Wish I had been born one of you."

"Be careful what you wish for. You may get it."

"Then I wish for a bitchy apostate who hates everyone that wants me to go spelunking in her swamp cave on a regular basis."

She reaches up to attack me but I know its coming and wrap her arms up before she can. "Unhand me, elf!" she demands to my amusement. "Your damn locket is freezing cold."

"Is it?" I blink. "Feels perfectly warm to me."

"Be careful with that." she warned seriously. "The Fade has a way of sneaking up on you."

"What are you, my keeper? Don't worry. I can always just take it off."

"Take it off now, then."

"Well now I don't want to." I resist.

"Hopeless..." she shook her head.

"Speaking of things I want..." my gaze moves to her lipstick smeared mouth. "You want to go again?"

"We just finished!"

"That was several minutes ago."

"I need to rest a bit more. You're going to break something down there continuing on like this." she complained.

"I can get Wynne to watch just in case we need a healer nearby." I offer.

"I will literally kill you." she glowered but I can only laugh.

"Shale then?"


"It's not enough." Janos crossed his arms.

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"Your payment. It's not enough." he repeated.

"This is what we agreed on." I assert.

"Well we need to renegotiate then." he said scornfully. "You're getting every ounce of power from these little rituals and I'm stuck in this hovel doing your dirty work."

"Stuck?" I echo in outrage. "You are here because when I found you the templars were hours from picking you up and burning you in a pyre. They so much as smell you and there'll be three feet of steel in your heart."

"What good is the gold piling up if I can't even enjoy it?" he complained. "I want to move to Denerim, somewhere fancy."

"Denerim!? Are you mad!?" I explode. "Do you have any idea how difficult it will be moving live bodies in the city!? Not to mention hiding you and your workspace from a place crawling with templars and Loghain's spies!"

"You're a powerful man, you can make it happen." he said stubbornly.

"Janos, this is your life we're talking about. If one errant guardsman investigates, one nosy citizen sees something he shouldn't, I can't stop the entire Chantry from coming down on you."

"I'll be careful." he promised. "And in the city I can get subjects of my own."

"Ah." The candle flickers lit in my head. "The ulterior motive reveals itself."

"You told me Avernus was alive for more than two centuries. His research is a font of immortality that you conveniently keep for yourself. I think I deserve a share in the spoils seeing as I am the one performing your rituals. That or you can find yourself another blood mage, Warden!" he huffed.

I sigh to myself. He did have a point. "How much?"

"Five sovereigns a head." he stipulated shrewdly. "And a new place in Denerim within the month."

"I'll see what I can do." I relent.

"Good." he nodded and turned back to his notes on the table. "I don't mean to be difficult Warden but I wish to have a fair deal in all of this."

One of my most prized possessions is an extremely rare, long piercing dagger from the First Blight. A masterwork of a distant Age it was crafted from the shards of the blade that killed the first Archdemon. An uncanny and frightening weapon it sought weak points and vital organs almost as if drawn to them by magnetism. From many battles against human, elven, unholy and darkspawn opponents I knew that a single enemy mage could change the course of an entire fight. This wicked dagger, this Thorn Of The Dead Gods was usually my first choice in stopping that threat before it began. Housed in a special sheathe built into my belt I never went anywhere without it, not even an amorous companion's quarters.

One of my arms snakes under his to clamp over Janos' mouth and the other rams the cursed dagger through his back into his heart. He doesn't scream, even when I twist the knife and finish the job. The maleficar slumps against me and I support his body as the life quickly drains out of him. It was an unfortunate incident but the mage forced my hand. He only spasms a little longer and I lay the fresh corpse on his face before yanking my knife out. Cleaning it on his robe as the blood pools on the floor I look around the modest and rather humdrum living space. There's a small shelf of his books, Avernus' research and his own findings added to them lined up neatly there.

I collect both his and Avernus' work to leave on the large dining table. Rifling through what's left I skim tomes on magical theory and templar dissertations on blood magic. Dropping the books on the floor as I finish with each one I move to the diminutive kitchen and start throwing everything out onto the ground. Tossing down pots, pans, dry goods and everything else I find I tear the place apart. Going to his nearby bed I flip the mattress over and cut it open. Pulling out all of the stuffing I discover nothing out of the ordinary. There is nowhere else to store things in the room but I'm not convinced so easily. Stepping over the mattress innards my foot makes an odd sound where it lands. Tapping a couple of times I hear it again and follow the sound to where it makes the most deep resonation.

Prying open loose floor boards I hit pay dirt: a hollow cavity containing a sack that jingles when I remove it and a cloth wrapped book. Stepping over the body but unable to avoid the blood puddle I add the items to the others on the table. Opening the sack first I find the lion's share of gold I'd paid Jonas. I wondered what he spent his money on other than food but apparently it wasn't much. Unwrapping the book next I expect it to be some kind of secret maleficar instruction manual but when I crack it open I find it to be much worse. Scanning line after line my eyes widen at what I had found.

This was no arcane tome but a detailed, thorough and meticulously kept ledger of all my business with the apostate. He recorded dates, times, the names of my subjects if he learned them, how much he was paid, and absolutely every detail I ever mentioned about where they came from. Everything was documented with the care and exactness of a royal tax collector and I am horrified to realize that Janos was planning to blackmail me at some point. Bastard! If I could kill him twice I would.

It takes me the better part of three hours to prepare everything. Janos, his hut, the attached work shed where we performed the rituals and cremated the remains, his damning records all went up in a glorious, blazing inferno. The starry night sky provided a pleasant backdrop as I watch everything tying me to this place go up in smoke. Yet another good reason to conduct my business so far from civilization. True that Janos was a significant investment but I had received quite a bit in return. All the skulking, clandestine deals and captured foes had given me a body that grew stronger and faster over time. There was also no telling how long I had extended my life span past the thirty years the darkspawn taint had given me. Perhaps it was time to move on.

I start my journey back when I hear a very faint voice say, "No...not yet..."

Whipping around with a dagger in my hand I look about the well lit landscape for the source of the sound. There is no one that I can see with the ample light of the cottage sized fire and I do not sense anyone or anything nearby. Something strange was going on.

"Mmmm...so...alive..." the voice focused and became clearer. I immediately recognize the inhumanely low pitched, double toned speech that only denizens of the Fade could produce.

"Koryphasia!?" I gasp.

"Killing the mage...regrettable. Replace him soon." she gently urged across the Veil.

"How are you-" I cut myself off. Ah. The amulet. "I think our arrangement has run its course. Look me up sometime if you're ever in Ferelden." I say aloud.

I snap the amulet off my neck and toss it aside. No Fade channel, no-

"Ooooh no...too late for that now..." the demon whispered in delight.

I freeze. Nothing much scares me anymore but my stomach flips and a slow terror creeps into my bones. It dawns on me that this is terribly, terribly wrong. "Elgar'non..." I breathe just audibly.

"Yes...you understand now, don't you?" she continued. I could almost see her serrated smile waiting to devour me. "No mere trinket joins us anymore. We are one."

"No, no that's impossible." I desperately deny.

"You will continue to make us stronger." she instructed.

"No...I..I won't." I refuse but my voice sounds weak and empty.

"Pick up the amulet and put it back on." she ordered and I would swear I felt her hot breath on the back of my neck. My feet move on their own accord and my mind wails as I walk over to the tiny piece of metal. A prisoner in my own body I can only watch as my hands pick up and retie the charm around my neck.

"Good, good..." she purred and I feel light headed from the sickly sweet aroma of her delicious demon skin. "Find another to do our bidding. I will be waiting...my pet."

Creators have mercy, what have I done?


Southern Ferelden. At long last, I had found it. Deep in an abandoned ruin, not unlike the sundered Veil at Soldier's Peak, a bit of reality came undone. The basement section where some ancient atrocity was committed held a much smaller but just as tangible rip; if the one at the Peak was a gate, this one was a window. It would be enough for my purposes and I was alarmed to discover that I could feel the energy of the Beyond without the aid of a mage. I had taken precautions this time and was wearing every trinket boosting mental strength I could get my hands on. She would have to exert an extreme amount of power to influence me now.

Reaching out to the touch the Veil that was both there and not there I project my voice but more my intention into the rip. "Koryphasia." I summon her through the gossamer cloud.

"My Warden..." she said immediately and I had to believe that the voice came from the Fade and not from within. Appearing before me first almost completely opaque she became denser and denser with each step until she was fully real standing there. Her viper smile showed itself and her horned head beckoned me closer. "Why don't you reach out and touch me? I'll do all the things the other girls won't..." she teased with that freakish double voice effect.

When she spoke I felt something bounce off me for lack of a better term. If it was an attempt to move me against my will I sincerely hoped that the expensive charms were working. I have to chuckle at her offer though. "I'm seeing someone now. She's the jealous type."

"How boring." she gently hissed and groped herself.

"I want out, spirit. I want the channel closed."

"And why would I do that?" she stalked around me. "You are the most capable and cunning mortal ever in my service. A bottomless wellspring of need you are. We're made for each other, both becoming stronger than we ever could alone. I know you feel it, I know you love it that you move faster than you ever could before...why stop?"

"What will it take to get you to close it?"

"You cannot barter with me, Warden!" she raised her voice. "I own you and I will not give you up!"

"We've had a good working relationship but now it has to end. I am asking you to release me before I have to resort to force."

She laughed cruelly and mocked, "Force? All your strength will do you no good out there."

"True. But you are not beyond my reach. I will see you on your home turf soon enough. Goodbye."

I turn to leave and the demon said, "You're bluffing!"

"You better hope I'm not." I halt and look over my shoulder to say. "You know me better than any other Fade spirit. Am I the kind of person to make empty threats?"

The demon processed it and looked very human doing so. "This is your one and only chance to barter." I offer. "I walk out of here and the next time you see me it will be with mages coming to end you."

"You have fed us many souls, Warden! I am too powerful now!" it shrieked.

"For a squad of mages, yes, probably." I acknowledge.

"You see?"

"How about two score? An entire Circle?"

If the demon was shocked there was no discerning it from her reptilian eyes. "All right, it's your funeral." I shrug.

"Wait!" she held out a hand. "Let's not be so hasty. Perhaps we can deal after all."

"Be quick about it, Koryphasia. I have a lot of lyrium to track down."

"What if I close the channel halfway? You retain the ability to offer unto me should you wish and I have a reduced conduit for experiencing your delicious emotions..."

"No." I shake my head. "Close it all the way or face destruction."

"It is not so simple a thing, Warden." she warned. "The channel exists in both worlds, a line with two ends. It cannot be shut without equal power to oppose it."

"Huh. So I'd have to sacrifice just as many people to close it?"

"Yes..."

"No deal. Killing you is easier."

"Hold, there is another way!" she protested.

"I'm listening."

"Instead of destroying the channel it can be...moved."

"Moved?"

"If you were to bring another mortal brimming with desire and little defense, I could transplant your channel unto him." it said seductively with that infernal echo.

"Attach it to someone else..." I said aloud as my mind worked.

"Yesssss..." she came around behind me. "Another with passion like you...powerful...in need..." My thoughts raced as I tried to think of where and how I could find such a soul while also condemning that person to a possible nightmarish existence. The demon pressed her soft, bare chest against my back and licked the entire side of my face with a foot long tongue that I should have never allowed near myself.

"All right." I agree and wipe her honey-flavored saliva from my cheek. "I'll find someone."

"Excellent." Koryphasia bit her lip while squeezing my thigh.

"I'll warn you like the all rest: cross me and I will tear the Fade apart to find you."


I had ridden for two days, my back and legs were sore, my horse and I both tired. Returning to the distant ruin at last I slow the beast to a walk until we finally come to a stop. Tying it up on what was left of a stone edifice I begin to cut free my cargo. The hooded man thrashed ineffectually against his bonds and I contemptuously throw him off the end of the horse to the ground. He lands hard from the almost six foot drop and groans painfully as I circle around to him. Yanking his hood off I immediately regret doing so. His wild, matted, filthy hair and reeking skin hit my nose, reflexively forcing me to lift my hand to my face. The human's fuming, red eyes glare balefully and I loose his gag. Moving his jaw and attempting to moisten his mouth he regards me for a moment.

"Knife ear." he spat. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Of course I do. Get up and start walking." I order.

"Ya know what my men'll do ta ya? Ya'll wish fer death."

"On you feet." I repeat.

"Go to hell, wood louse."

I haul him up but the bandit lets his body go limp and he tumbles back to the ground. Taking in an annoyed breath through my nose I put his hood back on and grip the rope lashing his hands together. Dragging him along makes the bandit laugh and he said jovially, "Don't get tired now!"

Bringing him to a small rock I put his hands down on it to force his fingers to splay out. Slipping free a chopping dagger I lop off his pinky. The bandit screams and I step back to wipe my knife on the grass. Howling obscenities mixed with very specific death threats he writhes back and forth for a spell as he bleeds all over himself. Giving the human a minute or so I then plant my knee on his chest and sit down on him. Whipping the hood back off and holding my dagger in the other hand I wait for him to focus on me. His eyes are fuming but when he realizes how helpless he is he shuts up right quick.

"Get up and walk, or I take another." I instruct and he hesitantly nods. Standing back I allow the bandit to get to his feet with some difficulty on his part.

"Who are you? What are you going to do with me?" he asked much less defiantly.

"I'm the Dread Wolf." I answer. "Walk."

Clutching his bleeding stump as best he could he eyed me with suspicion and fear but did as he was told. Together we left the bright green world to descend down into a dark, shadowy basement that one had to squint to see in. As the natural light of the sun faded the otherworldly glow of the sundered Veil took over and allowed us to see in the depths of the once grand structure.

"What is that?" he breathed when he saw the shifting, hypnotizing vortex.

"Koryphasia, I'm here." I say and ignore him. I felt her stir and in moments the demoness came strolling through the mist with her hips rocking back and forth hypnotically. I have to shake myself from watching her bare legs move to meet her gaze.

"Faithful and true you ever are, Warden." she smiled with glittering, sharpened teeth that I catch myself admiring.

"When necessary." I answer.

"Who are ya talking to...?" the bandit asked.

"Is this one of sufficient desire?" she wondered and sucked on her finger.

"Magyar the Red, leader of small alliance of bandit groups who joined together. Wanted for robbery, murder and rape. Was planning on carving out a territory for himself to raid from and creatively naming it...Magyar."

"Hmmm...he will do nicely. Prepare yourself, Warden."

Walking over to the dazzled bandit she put her hand over his eyes. Slowly he stopped shaking and asked aloud, "Who's that? Who's there?"

Something not of my physical body snapped, twisted and was cruelly ripped out of me. I fall to the ground in pain almost intense enough to make me faint I cannot not describe adequately in words the feeling. It was as if my nerves had turned to well salted razors and were all being pulled out of my body simultaneously. My mouth twists in silent agony until the intense searing suddenly stops and I convulse for a few moments in the fetal position. Forcing myself up with an arm lest I appear weak enough to finish off I pant in the dark while Magyar looks glossy eyed and far away. I'd seen that once before, in the Circle Tower on a templar's face that was completely lost in a desire demon's spell. I hope that she brutalizes the bandit in ways I can't even think of.

Climbing to unsteady feet I can see the demon but not feel her nor the Fade even with it so close. "Is it done?" I wheeze.

"Truly." she growled. "This ruffian will do nicely."

"Then we are done."

"For now." she said with a wicked gleam in her reptilian eyes. Putting an arm around my waist she pressed herself against me and added, "There will come a day when you need me again Warden...and I will be anxiously waiting, my love."

Despite everything, I had to grin. I certainly hoped not.


Back in Amaranthine. I shake my head as I put the amulet back. A lesson learned, a possibly ugly end averted. I know that Koryphasia is out there somewhere, stronger than ever and maybe one day I would have to deal with her again. But I had agreed to leave her alone and she kept her end of the bargain. Reminiscing a bit longer I am interrupted by a knock on my door. "Enter." I say.

My personal aide Valemor comes in and bows his head at me which I return with a nod. A fellow elf he was an enthusiastic supporter if city born. He was at least clothed in Dalish textiles hand made by my people for centuries. I have been pushing them to take up as many useful crafts as possible and stressed tradable goods. There was resistance of course but change was always resisted. With the help of King Harrowmont I had dwarven merchants both peddling New Arlathan's goods and teaching her starry eyed recruits how to buy and sell. It wasn't going to be easy rejoining the rest of the world but now that we had a home I had a moral obligation to make sure it stayed there.

I'm so busy thinking about the quality of my aide's cloth that I forget he was there. "Yes?"

"My lord!" he saluted.

"At ease boy, no need to be so formal."

"Of course. I'm sorry. Message from the Hinterlands." he said and handed me a short missive that wasn't sealed but had been unfolded at least twice.

"Valemor, if you read my messages again I will have you horse whipped." I say as I unfold the letter.

He went white as a ghost and blubbered, "I'm so-sorry my lord! I um...it was not...it will never happen again!"

"I'm kidding."

"Oh thank the Maker-"

"But you have disappointed me by getting caught. Be more careful next time. If you fold along the original creases it won't be so obvious. I won't have you whipped but I will have you cleaning nug droppings for a week." I admonish as I scan the note. It is only a few sentences long but has a plethora of implications. My head snaps up suddenly and the city elf is taken aback by the motion.

"When did this arrive?" I demand.

"Earlier this morning."

"Do you know this particular informant?"

"No, milord."

"Find out where exactly he is posted. Fetch me my longsword and string my bow. Take the former to the rune smith and have my strongest flame runes grafted. Get a horse ready for me in less than thirty minutes." I rattle off as I begin shuffling papers into drawers.

"Are you leaving!?" he asked shrilly.

"Yes, forthwith."

"But why, where?"

"The Hinterlands, at first. Captain Oghren will be in charge until I get back."

The aide got panicky and said, "But milord, you are due in Orzamar in a matter of weeks!"

"Then I shall hurry. Go on now, don't make me repeat myself."

"Ye-yes milord!" he scurried from the room. Plans were already racing through my mind about my path there and how long it would take. Snow would be falling and I did have quite a bit on my plate in the coming months but these things would have to wait. I had been giving myself to the land for so long that I deserved to do something for myself for a change. After two years, I finally had a lead. I didn't know what would happen when and if I found her but I'd never forgotten the witch for a moment. Long overdue answers awaited and I quickly finish tidying up to go get my house in order before I depart. Visions of rocky highlands and yellow eyes danced in my head as I left the room full of memories empty once more.

The End