Fair warning...this chapter is pretty dark...
Chapter 9 – You Can't Hide Forever
The midday sun was high; a cool breeze rustling through the leaves in the woods that surrounded both sides of the road. Parean leaned back in her saddle, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. They rode three abreast; Loghain to her left and Alistair to her right. Morrigan, in her wolf form, jogged along beside.
Alistair reached over and tapped her arm, drawing her attention to the side of the road. She saw what appeared to be an abandoned horse and wagon. After alerting Loghain, they stopped their horses to investigate. Sleeping in the back of the wagon was a young man and woman with two children. Parean gently shook the foot of the man and he woke with a start, jarring the others awake as well.
"Forgive me, I did not mean to frighten you. We saw your wagon as we were passing by and wanted to make sure that everything was alright." Parean smiled warmly.
The couple looked at each other as if they doubted her words, until they recognized Loghain. "Your grace!" They both leaped down from the cart and bowed before him.
He sighed, "You do not need to address me in that manner. I am a Grey Warden now and no longer a Teyrn. You may call me 'Warden' if you prefer."
The children, a boy of 10 and a girl of 5, crept up behind their parents and clung to them. Their mother smiled, "Don't be afraid, children. This is the Hero of River Dane." The children's eyes became wide as they looked at Loghain.
"Beg pardon, your gr…uh…I mean Warden, but you should take care if you are heading toward Lothering. The town is overrun with darkspawn. We were barely able to escape." The father patted his daughter's head as she wrapped her arms tightly around his leg.
"Are you headed to Redcliffe then?" Alistair interjected. He looked between the parents and the children, heartbroken over their plight. He noticed that the little girl was staring at him and he scrunched his face at her. She quickly hid behind her father and then slowly poked her head out, looking up at him with a partially toothless grin and a giggle.
"Yes, ser," the mother replied, "we have family in…"
Parean raised her hand and stopped the woman mid-sentence. Alistair and Loghain sensed it as well. Darkspawn were coming. Loghain told the family to get to cover and the wardens quickly prepared to fight.
The fight progressed as any of their other battles. Parean stood on one side of the road, next to the wagon, while Morrigan positioned herself on the other side. Both mages precisely targeted their spells so as not to injure their allies and Parean healed the others as needed. Loghain and Alistair charged in with sword and shield, slashing their way through the darkspawn.
As the battle drew to its close, with Alistair standing near her and her full concentration on the fight, Parean did not notice the Templars coming out of the woods behind her. Before she knew what happened, one of the Templars had wrapped his left arm around her waist, crushing her against his body and clamped his right hand over her mouth. She could not move or call out to the others. The Templar put his mouth against her ear; his warm, moist breath carrying the words that filled her with terror.
"Ser 'Violeur' sends his regards…"
'Oh dear Maker…no…no…NO….NO!' her mind shrieked, 'he…is…gone…he was…no…gone…sent away...' She felt the blood drain from her face. Her body went cold and her skin was immediately drenched in sweat. Her eyes, wide and panicked, searched for a way to free herself from his grasp. They landed on Loghain as he sliced through the last remaining darkspawn. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her eyes pleaded for him to turn around.
Parean saw a shadow in the periphery of her vision. The little boy had jumped out of the wagon and was running toward Loghain. He grabbed Loghain's arm and pulled furiously to get his attention, screaming about the "bad men" and pointing in Parean's direction. She caught a glimpse of the other Templars gathering around her captor. Within seconds, there was the sound of a sword being drawn and she felt the hard metal with its razor sharp edge being pressed against her throat.
"What is it?" Loghain's exasperation with the boy turned to rage as he swung around and saw Parean; a prisoner of the Templar. "Release her immediately!" He thrust his bloody and taint-covered sword toward the Templar.
Alistair spun around to face the intruders, raising his sword as well. Morrigan lifted her staff and began an incantation to bring down the attackers.
"Attack us and she dies." The Templar wielding the sword pressed it harder against Parean's throat for emphasis. Blood trickled down her neck as the edge tore into her skin.
"This mage aided a blood mage who has escaped the Circle and she is suspected of using blood magic to bewitch a Templar causing his expulsion from the Circle. She is coming with us to face her judgment." The Templar brushed his lips against her ear again, whispering to her, "Assuming you still live after we're done with you."
Parean's heart threatened to pound out of her chest; her eyes filled with sheer horror as they darted back and forth between Loghain and Alistair. Her body cringed and she squeezed her eyes shut tight as she felt the pressure of his thumb tracing the outline of her breast. Her reaction gave him great pleasure.
Alistair and Morrigan stared at Loghain, waiting for his command. He did not believe for an instant that she was a blood mage. He had observed the marsh witch using blood magic but never she. "Stand down!" Loghain's order shocked the others but they did as he commanded. He could do nothing else for the time being. If they attacked, Parean would be dead before the first Templar fell. His mind began calculating alternative options. The little boy, still clinging to Loghain's arm, suddenly yelled, "DADDY!"
Seemingly from out of nowhere, one of the Templar's bellowed as he was struck in the back with a heavy branch. As the boy's father raised the branch to attack again, the sword at Parean's throat was removed and used to cleave the man's head from his body. Parean heard the screams of the mother and daughter and the grotesquely moist 'thud' of the father's body falling to the ground. She caught sight of another Templar moving toward the girl and the woman. Her eyes darted back to Loghain as she heard him shout "Attack!" seizing the opportunity to rush the Templars while they were momentarily distracted.
"NO! No more blood on my hands!" She screeched; her words muffled against the Templar's hand.
She had lost all control; all sensibility. Her body began violently shaking. The whites of her eyes changed to blood red as the tiny blood vessels burst. A glowing aura appeared around her and smoke billowed from her body. One of the Templars attempted to drain her mana but to no effect. The heat of her body forced the Templar to release her, his hand and arm severely burned. They tried to strike her down with their swords but the blades were melted the instant they touched her.
Loghain had never witnessed anything like the scene before him. He started to back away, pulling the boy with him. Alistair and Morrigan followed suit, unsure as to what was happening. He could feel the heat radiating from Parean, even at this distance. He saw Parean close her eyes and lower her head for a split second. Abruptly, her head snapped up and her eyes flew open. She stared directly into his eyes and, in his mind, her voice shouted one word….
"RUN!"
"Get to cover, now!" Loghain ordered as he grabbed the boy and the three of them raced toward the tree line. A few seconds later, they were all knocked to the ground by an enormous heat wave.
Dazed by the force of the blow, they slowly rose to their feet, trying to steady themselves and clear the confusion in their minds. As they turned around, the grisly sight that met their eyes was something never to be forgotten.
A massive, whirling column of flame rose into the sky, well beyond their ability to see. In the center stood Parean, shielded from the towering inferno by the glowing aura that surrounded her. As they stared, dumbstruck, the blaze slowly dissipated and Parean fell to her hands and knees. It was then that the truly horrific nature of what had occurred was revealed.
The area around Parean, over a mile wide Loghain estimated, was incinerated. Nothing remained; trees, plants, groundcover, all gone. Even the earth itself was scorched and blackened. Loghain noticed that all the damage from the flames was directed behind her, as if she had protected them.
The Templars were not so fortunate. Being located at the center of the blast, they had been obliterated; their ashes spread over the area of destruction. As they approached Parean, Loghain saw no trace of the mother and her little girl or their horse and wagon. They had been caught in the blaze as well and completely consumed. Only the boy survived.
A blood-curdling, almost inhuman wail broke the silence of the moment. Parean, still kneeling on the ground, surveyed the damage she had done, her face a twisted and grotesque mask of disgust and self-loathing. She reached out and grabbed Alistair's sword arm. Her blood-filled eyes held his with a look of utter desperation.
"Kill me!" she begged.
Alistair was taken aback. "What? No! I'm not going to kill you!"
"It is your duty as a Templar to strike down a dangerous mage! Do you not see what I have done?" She swept her hand around, directing his attention to the devastation all around her.
When Alistair did not respond, she turned her attention to Loghain, her pleas becoming more intense. "You must kill me, Loghain! I know you are distrustful of mages and I have proven too dangerous to be allowed to live! Stop me now before I kill more innocents!"
Loghain's face was unreadable. "No. I will not kill you. You're skills are too valuable to our cause to lose them." His tone was controlled and matter-of-fact. "You were defending yourself in an impossible situation. In those instances, sometimes innocents are hurt or killed. It is an unfortunate reality when you are a soldier."
Frantic, she turned to Morrigan as her last chance for absolution. Surely a fellow mage would understand the risks of her continued existence and cast her into The Void to face The Maker's judgment. She knew it was pointless, however, when she saw Morrigan's expression. She was staring at Parean, uncharacteristically awestruck, her mouth agape.
"Such power…I have never before witnessed a level of magical power as this, apart from Flemeth. You…may even be her equal. Tis madness to even consider destroying a power such as yours." Parean's spirit sank with Morrigan's breathless comment.
Parean rose to her feet, her eerily red eyes staring at each of them in turn. Reaching down, she retrieved her staff from where it had fallen in her struggle with the Templar. "Then," she muttered softly, "I will have to force your hand." Staff in hand, she thrust it over her head, circling it in time with her free hand as she prepared to cast her spell.
"Please Parean; don't force me to smite you." Alistair tried to speak calmly to the agitated mage. "I don't want to hurt you again," he winced at the memory, "but I can't allow you to attack us either."
She knew he was right; he could stop her by simply draining her mana. Distraught, she dropped her hands, ending her spell. 'I cannot live with this anymore. I do not wish to put anyone else at risk.'
"I will not attack you," she spoke solemnly, "but I cannot go on knowing that my presence puts you all in jeopardy."
With that, Parean lifted her arms….and burst into flames.
"No!" Alistair ran toward her, not sure of what he would do. Within seconds, a blast of frigid air rushed by him, striking Parean and extinguishing the flames. As she collapsed on the ground, shivering and drained of strength, she slipped into darkness.
another warning...the next chapter is also dark...if you are easily offended by sensitive subject matter then you probably don't want to read it...
