Chapter 10 is finally up! :D It's the shortest chapter so far, unfortunately... but that is only because my creativity kinda ran out on this one. ^_^;; Certain things that were in this section of the game, I needed to leave out because I could not figure out how to fit them in, so I apologize for that in advance. Anywho, please enjoy this chapter, and as always, R&R!
Chapter Warnings: None.
Pain. A horrible, throbbing pain was what I woke up to. I groaned with discomfort, wincing in response to the sensation I was experiencing. The pain was originating from my shoulders and from where my legs met my torso, and it wasn't long before I realized I was on a rack. My mind seemed fuzzy, but the situation I was in registered as vaguely familiar to me.
"Well, look who's finally decided to join the land of the living." For whatever reason, I recognized the voice, and when I looked to see who had spoken, I recognized him as an Antivan Crow.
I see… Now I remember, I thought. My training for becoming a Crow… I must have passed out.
"If he passed out from that little bit of pain," started the other Crow, leering at me, "perhaps he is not fit to run with us Crows."
"No," I protested, still wincing a bit from the pain caused by being stretched on the rack. "I want to keep going… I need to."
"This one's a determined one, he is." The Crow to my immediate right turned the handle on the side of the rack, tightening the ropes and pulling my arms and legs further in opposite directions. The pain worsened and I closed my eyes tightly, clenching my hands into fists and biting my bottom lip to stifle a cry.
The torture lasted for Maker knew how long, but I refused to cry out. No matter how much pain I experienced, I could not—would not—cry out. If I did, it would be the end of any hopes I had of joining the ranks of the Antivan Crows, and everything I had been through during the past several years would have been all for naught. Still… the more the pain intensified, the closer I came to losing my mind and giving in.
"Zevran!" Who was calling me? It was a voice that struck a chord of familiarity in me, but I could not put it to a name or a face. Curious to see the face of the man who owned that beautiful voice, I tilted my head slightly to see who it was. As soon as my eyes met his, those pools of smokey-blue, my own widened with recognition and a name flashed through my mind.
Lanacai.
"Why are you here?" I questioned, my voice thick with pain. "You're not supposed to be… here…"
"Are you alright, Zevran?" he asked me, sounding very concerned for my safety.
"To become a Crow, I need to prove that… I can endure pain…"
"Snap out of it, Zevran. None of this is real; they're demons! And you're already a Crow!"
His words apalled and puzzled me. What did he mean, I was already a Crow? I was still going through the trials, so how could I be? Out of nowhere, my head started to feel like it was pounding. It was getting more difficult to focus, but somewhere deep down inside of me, I knew Lanacai was telling the truth.
"I don't understand, but… I… I think you're telling the truth," I said finally, frowning. "I don't know how, or why… but I believe you are right."
"Oh, my. He is beginning to doubt us. You know what the punishment is for questioning us," hissed one of the Crows, his eyes flashing dangerously. He started to turn the handle on the rack again…
"Don't touch him, demon!" Lanacai roared. My eyes went wide with shock when Lanacai suddenly transformed into what looked to be a malevolent spirit dressed in long, flowing robes. He lashed out at the two Crows with his sharp claws, freezing one of them with his icy touch and sticking his claws clean through the other's chest. As quickly as the skirmish had started, it had ended, and Lanacai assumed a human form once more.
He wasted no time in hurrying to my side, quickly loosening the slack on the ropes binding me before freeing me entirely. I climbed down from the rack and winced a bit, rolling my shoulders painfully but with some relief that I was even able to do so. I soon smirked at Lanacai, all of the memories of him returning to me.
"Ahh, there's nothing like a good racking to start the day," I said humorously, chuckling lightly.
"You're lucky I got here when I did," Lanacai stated bluntly, frowning at me. "Otherwise, those Fade demons would have pulled you apart."
"The Fade, you say? Hm… interesting." No sooner did I finish my sentence did something strange start happening: the entire world seemed to be getting sucked backward down a long tunnel and Lanacai along with it. I frowned at him and reached toward him, though the further I reached, the further away he became.
"Wait," I demanded. "Where are you going?" The last thing I heard was Lanacai's voice calling out to me faintly before the whole world around me was sucked away, leaving me in a deep darkness. I had no idea what was happening to me, but I was getting a horrible feeling about all of it. I know not how long I remained in that darkness, but eventually, I felt as though I were falling from a great height and, expecting myself to make impact with the ground and splatter into a gory mess, I shut my eyes tightly and waited for the impact.
However, it never came. I opened my eyes to see what was going on, but imagine my surprise when I realized I wasn't falling at all. I was standing on firm ground and around me, others were also starting to appear. Wynne, Alistair, Morrigan… they were all there. Alistair looked absolutely clueless, but Wynne looked very angry. I followed her gaze and saw that she was glaring across the rocky pass at an absolutely revolting demon. Lanacai was speaking to it, or rather, threatening it.
"You will free us," he hissed, "or I will cut you down where you stand!"
"Do you care about no one but yourself?" the demon asked, and I recognized it as the droning voice of the abomination we had encountered before. "I am hurt. So very, very hurt. I could create better dreams for you. You will all be much, much happier."
"No thanks. I would much rather just extinguish your evil once and for all."
"You wish to battle me? Very well… I will put you in your place, mortal!"
The demon lunged forward with its claws and I watched, impressed, as Lanacai narrowly avoided injury. That was the only cue we needed and the rest of us rushed forward to assist Lanacai in the battle, brandishing our weapons with all of our might. The demon proved to be a formidable foe, indeed. When we were certain we had won, the demon would only assume a different physical form and resume its assault on us. Luckily for us, we had a couple of shapeshifters on our side as well: Morrigan, who was attempting to maul the demon with her bear form, and now Lanacai, who had taken on the form of a golem. He must have acquired the ability to shapeshift somewhere in the Fade, since he was not a mage and could not use such a power under normal circumstances.
After several different forms, our foe appeared to be weakening. I ran at the demon and sunk both of my daggers deep into its back, causing it to roar in pain and outrage. It thrashed wildly in an attempt to throw me, but I would not let it. Alistair took that time to lunge his sword at the demon's chest and succeeded in running it through. Another roar of pain, and this time, an explicative from me as well. In his carelessness, Alistair had nearly stabbed me as well as the demon.
"Watch it, Alistair!" I yelled at him, twisting my blades in the demon's flesh.
"Sorry!" Alistair cried, smiling sheepishly. I hoped I had made him feel like a fool… because that was exactly what he was.
Finally, with one final blow from Lanacai's golem form, the demon was defeated and disintegrated into thin air. I sheathed my daggers and sighed, wiping some sweat from my brow. Lanacai turned back into his human form since his other forms were no longer needed.
"We did it," said a very relieved Wynne with a tired smile.
"That wasn't so hard," Alistair panted, smiling sheepishly.
"I can't believe it; you succeeded in destroying the demon!" The unfamiliar voice came from a man who had appeared out of nowhere behind Alistair and it caused the Warden to jump and quickly turn around with a curse of surprise.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to scare you," said the man. He was wearing robes worn by the Circle mages, and for some odd reason, he seemed familiar to me.
"Niall!" Wynne gasped, clearly shocked by the sight of him. "You… The sloth demon trapped you here?"
"Yes… but now that the demon has been destroyed, you can all leave this place."
"What do you mean?" Lanacai asked Niall with a frown. "You'll return to your body, too, won't you?"
Niall shook his head and smiled sadly at him. I felt my heart sink with pity that Niall would forever be stuck in the Fade.
"I cannot return," he said barely above a murmur. "I have been here for too long. The entire time I have been here, the sloth demon was slowly eating away at me, at my life. For you… it will feel like nothing but an afternoon's nap. But for me… there is so little of me left."
"There has to be a way. I can heal you." Lanacai seemed adamant in not leaving Niall behind, and I couldn't blame him. The man was too young to suffer such a terrible fate.
"I am sorry, my friend…" Niall paused before continuing, a sad smile upon his lips. "All I wanted was to save the Circle, but I suppose you are better suited to it than I am." Another pause. "Before I was to be taken to the Circle, my mother said I was destined for greatness. I hope I haven't disappointed her."
"You haven't disappointed her, Niall," said Lanacai with a small smile. "I'm sure she's very proud of you."
Niall smiled. He must have appreciated Lanacai's kind words, in lieu of the circumstances.
"Oh, I hope so. When you return, take the Litany of Adralla from my… my body. With it, you will be able to defeat the blood mages who have taken control of the tower."
"Thank you, Niall," Lanacai began while resting a hand on Niall's shoulder. "For everything."
"You're welcome, and good luck. May the Maker watch over you… friend." Gradually, Niall's face grew blurred in my vision and soon, I was once again being engulfed in a deep, consuming darkness.
End of chapter 10.
I would have put more Niall in this chapter if I could because he's just so adorable, but because Zevran only sees him during that part of the game, I could only put him in it for that one little scene. Had I been writing from Lanacai's point of view, Niall would have been in this chapter much more, but because I was not... yeah, you get the picture. xD See you next chapter!