We got past the one hundred reviews mark! Wohoo, this gotta be celebrated *uncorks champagne bottle* Good thing I stole the money from the tax collectors. Stuff keeps getting costlier. And with this chapter, we got past the one hundred thousand words too! And this is the tenth chapter, if you count the prologue! We've gotten a lot of milestones with this one! I'm happy!
Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed/ favorite/followed the story with the last chapter. Thanks to G3neSyS (you're amazing, you know that?), GreyMan19, ShadowWulf00, Dragonfan91, xZarkko, pucflek, death77, chris1901, , TheGreatBubbaJ (your level of epicness went past 9000!), Igornerd and Minato 1 for their comments! Nothing else y, since I replied to every one of you through PM (at least, I think I did) but it makes me happy to see all of you only had nice comments for the chapter!
Special thanks to TheGreatBubbaJ, who was the 100th reviewer for The Forgotten! We're now at 103 reviews. Will we get to two hundred? We'll have to see, I guess!
Nothing much to say here this time, except one thing. I want to assure everyone anxious to know more about Naruto's past that some things will be revealed shortly, in the next one. I did want to put it in this one but it was already too big to put the scene in this chapter. Of course, we'll have to get to the Sacred Ashes quest for the full truth but I hope the future info at least gives you much desired info about the matter.
At the end of the chapter you will see the longer note. I recommend reading it.
So, with that out of the way, let's see what the group I going to do!
As usual, if you spot any grammatical mistake or slip up on the coherency of the story, feel free to let me know so I can fix it.
I have decided to up the rating of this story to M so the constrictions or rating contents don't hinder my writing. The change will be applied with the release of the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Dragon Age: Origins.
[24/02/14]: Fixed several small grammatical mistakes. Fixed a coherency issue in the clone scene, thanks to everyone who pointed it out. The Amell Origin character's name has been changed to Solana, since it flows easier on the tongue.
Chapter nine
Broken Circle – Shattered Innocence
Weisshaupt fortress was an ancient building of unmatched sturdiness. Sitting on the edge of a jagged butte called Broken Tooth, it was the legendary Headquarters of the Grey Wardens. It was veritable stuff of legends and it had been the source of inspiration for romantic poets with fondness for far away locations, habited by a mysterious and ancient order.
The fortress itself was an amalgam of sharp ends and straight lines, matching the grim personality of the Anders people. Darkspawn could appear anywhere, anytime and after so many centuries since the First Blight, it had shaped the people of Anderfels. For the Anders, Darkspawn were not something used to scare children during night or to make them behave. They were a reality, a terrible fate for their people and their land with no light at the end of the tunnel. Theirs were a life of fear. But from their fear they took strength. They trained their young in armed combat from a young age and even if they were politically weak, the nation itself could present a hardened, experienced and skilled army.
However, while Weisshaupt was still grand, long had its glory days past, now just a mere shadow of its former strength. The fortress, once housing more than a thousand of Wardens available at any time and the thriving griffons which their heraldry was known for, now was just a broken and cold place for the odd five hundred Wardens stationed around.
However, even in these circumstances, there was one conversation being taken place that could prove to be important in the future events to unfold.
"Are we not going to send Wardens to Ferelden or what? You know as well as I that this is clearly a Blight!"
"There's no confirmation about that, although I'll admit is the most likely case."
"Most likely case?! Are you even listening to what you're saying? Loghain in all his foolishness betrayed the King and left all our Fereldan Wardens to die at Ostagar! Now the darkspawn march unchallenged through the country and it won't be long until it falls under their sword. And you know it's a Blight just as well as I do! It's just a matter of time; the nobles are too busy fighting between them like rabid dogs for the meager scraps of power to be able to form a cohesive armed front."
"While the threat of the Blight shouldn't be underestimated, you worry too much, Christiën. We can't help Ferelden by now, poor sods. Orlais is busy enough as it is with this latest social unrest. Tevinter is too far away to even care about Ferelden and they already have to worry about the Qunari. Antiva is just not going to send people if they aren't immediately threatened by the darkpsawn. And so on with every other nation. I don't like it, but Ferelden stands alone in this."
"But Emric!"
However, Emric, the First Warden, had had enough. "Enough, High Constable! You're overstepping your boundaries. I feel for Ferelden, I truly do, but as it is, we can do nothing about the situation." He stated with a cold, steely voice.
However, Christiën merely narrowed his eyes as his nostrils flared in anger.
"Now, go and oversee those reports of the latest recruitments, will you?" Emric drawled. "I need to write a letter to Marius."
Christiën could see a dismissal when he was given one. Angrily clenching his jaw, he furiously stormed out of the First Warden quarters, slamming the door behind him. It was already night and thankfully, not many were still awake.
However, as soon as he was out of the more used sections of the fortress, he allowed a small satisfied smile appear on his face. Leaning on the stone railing and staring at the pale moon, he nodded in satisfaction. It had been harder than expected to maintain his ruse, but thankfully, that poisonous viper of a First Warden still thought nothing of his words.
Thank Andraste for small blessings.
As if it wasn't enough that the king of Anderfelds was a stupid buffoon playing the tyrant with his people, their own First Warden now was more worried about politicking and gaining true political power than taking up the ancient task so many others had honorably carried before him. In his eyes, that was the harshest disrespect that could be given to all those that gave their lives for something far more important than them.
He would not stand for this, absolutely not. As High Constable of the Grey Wardens, it was his duty to uphold and he would do so, even if others forgot their sacred oaths.
Thankfully, he had managed to close off the reports incoming from Ferelden to the First Warden, keeping him in the dark as much as he could. He was only aware of the Blight and the political and social unrest in the country, which lead him to believe Ferelden would surely fall. Inertia was the only thing keeping the country on its feet, like a corpse that still hadn't registered the fact that its head had been cut off. At least, that what Emric thought of the matter.
However, Christiën knew better. Two lone Grey Wardens had survived the clusterfuck that was the Battle of Ostagar and from what his informants had reported to him, they were trying their hardest to amass an army to combat the threat. His heart soared with pride every time he thought about them. Defying all odds, they stood against the Blight as Ferelden's only hope. Time and time again, they proved that Grey Wardens were better than most at their occupation.
He could only hope that they would be able to defeat the horde, though his heart grew heavy with those thoughts. All previous Blights had lasted centuries. Their fate was grim, at best.
Christiën burrowed himself deeper into his comfortable winter cloak, in an effort to protect himself better against the chilly currents of wind.
If they managed to defeat the horde… if they truly accomplished it… he'd be damned if he allowed Emric to take the credit. He'd see those two Wardens honored for their sacrifices and the Slayer would be given the highest of honors, next to Garahel, Lucien, Sersana and Carinus; he'd make sure of it.
However, as much as he loathed admitting it, the help he could give them was circumstantial at best and he wasn't sure if it really would be true help. No, he had to play his strengths… Many Wardens had unspoken criticism against Emric, he could use that to his advantage. It would take time and it had a great chance of being foiled, but if everything went smoothly, he would make sure to out Emric as First Warden. He would need to send word to his most trusted, though. He'd have to contact Kilina as soon as he could. Call the old guard back together once again.
He traced the jagged, ugly scar that went from his temple to the middle of his right cheek, almost to his jaw line. A parting gift from an especially tough vanguard hurlock. A reminder of how short life could be.
" In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice. This is what it means to be a Grey Warden…"
The motto, his motto, still managed to create a wave of emotion course through his body, even after all these years. His was the watch without recognition. Christiën glared at the approaching blizzard. No one mocked so blatantly everything the Wardens stood for just and got away unscathed.
Not on his bloody watch.
xxxOOOOxx
"Useless… Useless… Stupid… Junk… Junk… Eh, disturbing thing which I don't want to know about… paper tissue, heh, someone sure had to blow some steam off… Wait… what the- just how do these brats manage to smuggle these kinds of things into this place?"
"Look for something useful instead of whining like a little bitch," clone two snapped angrily.
"I do not whine like a little bitch, bastard! I was just wondering a perfectly reasonable question!"
"Well, your head is full of useless mush, then. You're a clone, act like one!"
"Oh yeah? And how does a clone act like, huh?"
"Well, I don't know! You're one, you tell me!"
"You're a clone too, smartass!" clone one shouted while throwing the most threatening thing he could find in the apprentices quarters at clone one: a pillow.
Clone two simply smirked amusedly, easily sidestepping the dangerous weapon. "Oh well, you're stupid."
"You're stupid!"
"Nuh-uh."
"Agh, whatever!" Clone one angrily blew him off as he started reading a piece of parchment from a novice's journal. Its contents, however, managed to turn him serious. "Uh oh."
"Now what? I swear, if this is something stupid…"
"No, it isn't… Seems like some apprentices were too ambitious for their own good…"
Clone two nodded slowly with a thoughtful expression. "So, you gonna tell boss?"
"Yeah."
"… Good."
Poor clone one never saw it coming. Caught off guard, the dagger imbedded deep into his skull, dispelling him immediately in a small poof of smoke. The visage of clone twof's smiling face was a telling clue.
"Ah, sweet, merciful silence… That actually felt better than expected, you know… Well then, back to work, I guess."
xxOOOxx
Meanwhile, the group had started their path towards Irving's quarters and so far, they had not encountered any enemy but they all knew it was a matter of time. They were currently going towards the library, from which they would go to the second floor.
"So tell me, Surana, if you're a mage, how is it possible for you to be wearing armor? And what are those tattoos?"
"Well, if you must know, any mage should be able to use armor, given enough time training. He or she would train their muscles, but at the cost of letting their magical abilities go to waste. Let's just say… I took by accident a shortcut to that end. I stumbled upon a way to channel my magic to strengthen myself physically, without harmful side effects to my body or magic."
"No shortcut is good enough. You will find that they do not give you the same results as if you trained yourself." Wynne lectured with a shake of her head but Neria only snorted at her words.
"I don't think you're one to tell me that Wynne, seeing as it's me the one with this ability, not you. Trust me, I know myself better than anyone else," she answered with a flat look. "And my tattoos, as you call them, are vallaslin, blood writing. They recognize me as an adult in Dalish society and were given to me as a sign of trust and friendship from the Keeper of one of their clans." She proudly explained with a smile. The vallaslin on her face was perhaps one of the things she treasured most, for everything it stood for and meant to her specifically.
Just as Wynne opened her mouth to reply however, Naruto suddenly appeared to the younger mage's side and whispered something close to her ear. Listening closely, she nodded shortly afterwards.
"Good, thank you for letting me know, Naruto."
The others certainly didn't miss the byplay but if they found it odd, they didn't comment on it.
However, Wynne found the former apprentice of mage staring at her with an even look. "Nonetheless, the ability I found by chance is a long lost one. I received it from the memories of an elf that could possibly have lived during when Arlathan still existed or close to that time. So, in a way, this ability is my legacy as well."
"Arlathan… is it, truly? You should impart your knowledge of it to others, then. There's much we could learn from it and we may never have such a chance to record lost magic from Arlathan." The Spirit Healer spoke with excitement building in her eyes. Who knows the kind of things they could learn, the lost magics of might Arlathan were often thought as stuff of wonders.
Neria tilted her head, as if pondering Wynne's reasoning. "We'll see…" She didn't say anything else but she really didn't have any intention of doing that. The Arcane Warrior abilities were something that could be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Neria could understand where Wynne was coming from but there were too many variables.
Besides, it wasn't as if Neria herself had fully mastered it yet and there were also… unexpected complications… Neria rubbed her temples frustratedly. She hadn't told anyone, not even Alistair or Naruto, but she'd started having strange dreams. They were disjointed at bests but they seemed… felt connected in some way. Every time she had one of those, she could recall most of what she'd dreamed after waking up but it was still too soon to make any kind of conjecture. They only showed meaningless things that really didn't tell anything of importance, at least for now. However, she had a hunch that it was somehow connected to the set of abilities of the Arcane Warriors, lost to the flows of time. One of the likeliest theories she had was that the elf trapped in the life gem was linked to it but again, it was too soon to tell.
One thing was certain though, the dreams were trying to give her some type of information and it would be a long time until Neria seriously considered the possibility of teaching someone these abilities.
They soon arrived to the library and they all could hear the animalistic sounds originating from the inside. There were abominations inside. Everyone steeled their nerves, they had all fought against abominations already in Soldier's Peak but it was still a disturbing experience to many and they were no different. They simply were better at not allowing the disturbing images to paralyze them.
Neria sighed deeply, trying to soothe her nerves. Every fiber of her being screamed at her that this was wrong, that this shouldn't have happened. But it had happened and running away would not solve anything.
"Alright… Wynne, as our healer, stay back from the fight and help anyone you see in trouble. Fang, you will stay with her in case an abomination tries to get a shot at her," Neria started explaining. Fang bobbed his head, uncharacteristically silent as if he sensed the seriousness of the situation.
'And he probably does. My big boy is incredibly smart,' she thought with a surge of pride.
"Leliana, try to stay to the side and act as support whenever you see a chance. We don't want to start friendly fire. Alistair, Sten and Naruto, you will be our tanks. Let Morrigan and I immobilize them and then… and then take them out." The lump in her throat suddenly tightened. Gods above, why was this so difficult? Abominations were just mindless beast. It shouldn't hurt so much to think of them as former acquaintances and fellow mages! "Naruto… try to keep collateral damage to a minimum. I know you could just steamroll over everything here in the Tower but from what you told me, many of your abilities are highly destructive and we're supposed to leave the Tower intact."
"Point," said man agreed as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. They were highly destructive, after all. He wondered what she would say if she knew about his most destructive techniques. Honestly though, he very much doubted he'd ever use them again. After Kurama's departure, he no longer could throw insanely high-ranked jutsu around like they were money.
'And in this world, they would just be considered a massive overkill,' he thought dryly. 'No challenge at all.'
"Okay, does anyone have questions? No? Good, let's start this, then."
They tried to enter the library as stealthily as an armed group of seven people and a warhound could manage but, honestly, with their clinking armor and the heavy steps of their boots, it was truly a wonder they got as many steps into the room as theirs, which amounted to a respectable number of four.
In their defense, the library was literally crawling with abominations. It wasn't because their stealth sucked, plain and simple. Honest.
The library, surprisingly enough, wasn't as destroyed as one would expect from such situation. Whole shelves were thrown to the floor but they were the minority. However, the floor was littered with scrolls or torn books carelessly thrown around. The whole room reeked of demonic presence and many corpses from templars and some mages littered the floor in puddles of their blood.
The abominations quickly noticed the group and rushed at them with the mindless desire to destroy any living being. Neria, in the back of the group, gave heartfelt thanks to whomever was listening as her numbed mind registered the fact that the abominations inhabited twisted bodies, a thorough mockery of a mortal body in a humanoid shape of reddish, raw skin. They didn't look like people she knew, acquaintances and some sort of friends. It served to calm her fraying nerves but instincts kicked in and she soon found herself sending Cones of Cold almost exclusively along with Morrigan, who didn't shy away from using her admittedly, more disturbing range of spells. After all, the Walking Bomb spell was certainly one of the bloodier ones.
Admittedly, she could use more than Cone of Cold but it was not really needed and it was amazing to see Alistair and Sten easily shattering the frozen enemies before going back to back against new ones. It spoke highly of their abilities the fact that they could cover each other's back so well. Morrigan and herself were a deadly combination, though without real training in warfare, they found themselves in several close calls with some braver –or just plain more insane- abominations. Still, it was nothing she couldn't deal with a good magic-infused punch, courtesy of ancient Arlathan magic yours truly.
Hell, even Fang got to have his fun with the only abomination that had managed to get past Leliana, who was surveying the room from a safe distance and picking off any hostile whenever she had a clear shot. However, they had to be especially careful around the abominations' corpses for some of them exploded in a magical firestorm. Morrigan, who hadn't been expecting it, had almost been caught in one of them and they all tried to steer off every fallen corpse afterwards.
Even though there were many of them, the group eventually succeeded in killing them all and used the break to catch their breath. Wynne used her magic to heal the plenty of bruises the battle had brought, focusing especially on Sten, who had received a nasty blow to the side from a demon who'd gotten lucky. He looked uncomfortable of the mage's closeness but it was hard to tell for certain with that stony face of his. Meanwhile, Naruto, Neria and Leliana explored the library just in case, with Fang following closely behind. The Tower's library was perhaps the biggest in Ferelden, with several floors and many, many corridors of shelves, stacked to the brim with books of different subjects. Who knows if there could be more abominations in hiding?
However, it was obvious to them that this scared place of learning was sullied with the demonic outbreak. Even though the horrors that happened here would forever be silenced, with no one alive to remember them, their results were laid bare to see to all who entered one of the library chambers, the one with the fireplace. The one that had comfy armchairs and a faint, homely smell of cedar. The one where she remembered learning one of the most important rules taught by the Circle, that magic should be used to help people. The one where she talked and laughed with Anders and Jowan. She had so many fond memories of it…
And now its walls were painted with blood, the innocent blood of children.
Letting out a strangled sound, half gasp-half sob, Neria ran to the pile of broken, torn and mutilated bodies. Slaughter was the only term that her shocked mind could give to such carnage. Their bodies, discarded by the demons because of their lesser mana capacity and knowledge of the arcane arts, had been savagely mutilated and for some of them, to the point of being unrecognizable.
So much potential, so much happiness and hope to grow up and learn magic… only for all of that to be snuffed out in a dreadful, fateful night.
Neria fell to her knees next to the haphazardly piled bodies as she tried to make sense of the madness that had overtaken her former home. She could feel Naruto and Leliana's presence, giving her silent comfort as they each kneeled near her. Fang whined at her as he nudged her shaking form, trying to give her comfort.
"They were so young… they had so much life to experience… to feel…" she choked a sob. She looked at one of the bodies and part of her that still could function at some level felt sick when she could recognize the child. He had arrived only days before her sudden departure as a Grey Warden recruit. Jacob, his name was… "Oh, Jacob… this world isn't fair. How could they have done to you, who never harmed a fly?" She muttered mournfully as she stroked his cheek with trembling fingers, unmindful of the blood coating her hand and her fingers; unmindful of the torn arm and the off-white bone sticking out of the stump, the blood dripping to the floor; unmindful of the pool of blood that stained her armor. Ignoring the voice in her had screaming at her that she was in shock, that she had to snap out of it.
She was only mildly aware of Naruto bringing her to his arms as he hugged her with the utmost care, as if she was a fragile thing that would break at the merest harsh touch. She missed Naruto's gesture to Leliana to warn the others as he rocked her gently in his arms. She didn't register Fang sitting very closely to her as he stood guard over his master, decided to prevent anything harmful get near her in her state. She only snapped out of her daze when Naruto started murmuring to her, trying to soothe her while rubbing her back.
However, his efforts only served to break the wall of her emotions and she buried her head in his chest as she started crying.
"Why, Naruto? Why? They didn't deserve to die… They were only children and yet they were still killed with no mercy…"
The former shinobi sighed wearily. What could he say? In his old home, children were raised from the start to be soldiers. Such was the militaristic society they lived in although he'd been in this world long enough to understand their view on such thing. Nonetheless, he was honestly more worried about the young woman crying her heart out on his chest than the complicated morals of two exponentially different worlds.
"Neria… the world isn't a fair place. Every day, kind people die. Every day, people who might not deserve to, die or are killed. We cannot save them all. Could we have saved them had we arrived sooner? Maybe. Maybe not. However, we can't let their deaths to keep us fixed in the past. We have to move on for them, to show them we honor their memory and that we will remember them."
"They were only children… They had all their lives to experience…" she mumbled with a heart-wrenching sadness in her tone.
"… I know, Neria. I know," he muttered with a sad sigh. What could he say? He only could offer his presence as a source of comfort. More words would just feel shallow and incomplete.
And his was a good advice, too. So why did he found it so hard to follow his own advice sometimes?
They sat there for what seemed hours until Naruto shifted his posture a little. "… We should probably get to the others already." Neria nodded as she wiped the leftover tears off her eyes.
"Naruto… thank you. For everything..."
He hugged one of her hands, squeezing it lightly in a nonverbal show of support. 'I am here' it said. Nothing else needed to be said.
"You too, big boy… Thank you, you're the best. I couldn't ask for a better companion," she said to Fang with a shaken smile and a tear-stained face as she crouched to his level. Fang barked, happy to see his master better and he let it show with a joyful lick to her face, making her laugh, if only a little.
When they returned, no one said anything but worry shone in most of their eyes, even though they relaxed slightly when they saw them appear and Neria walking by herself, even if a little out of it.
Their mage leader immediately turned to the Circle mage. "Wynne… I forgot to ask you before… do you know what happened here? What caused the abominations to appear?"
"I… am not sure myself. There was blood magic involved obviously, and Irving himself knew there were dissidents among the ranks who were trying to study the forbidden school. That, coupled with mage politics…" she trailed off. "Regardless, I can't tell you much more, I was overseeing a class when the demonic outbreak began," she explained.
Neria nodded; a withdrawn expression on her face. To Naruto and Leliana, it was clear the things they saw in the learning room still weighed heavily on her mind.
"… Let's go, then. We still have to find Irving."
xxOOOOxx
In a certain whorehouse in Denerim, very far away from Kinloch Hold, an elf was just treating himself to a very nice wine of Antiva. It was several decades old, at the very least, but the alcohol was lower than one would expect from a liquor beverage.
'Just enough to keep the conversation flowing, as us antivans would say. And how it flows,' the elf mused with a grin.
However, his thoughts were interrupted when one of his men assigned to his leadership in the hunt for the Wardens ran into the room without asking permission. That annoyed him a little, honestly. What if he had been fucking a whore when he entered? Sure, he wouldn't have cared that much but these kind of things tended to break the girl's mood. That was a big no no for him. It always meant the whores weren't up for it after the messenger had left.
"Zevran, we finally have a lead on the Wardens! Kerren thought he saw one of them several days ago but he wasn't sure and followed them to make sure," he started explaining.
"Ah, good Kerren, always so duty-driven! Fucking a whore would do just fine in loosening him up!" he laughed amusedly.
"Tsk, dammit, Zevran, you're always thinking about fucking bitches! Seriously, is there a whore you have not fucked in this whorehourse?"
The Crow was astounded when Zevran had to actually think about it. "No, I think I actually slept with every worker in here."
'Every worker… that means… oh Maker, this dude is fucking sick… ugh.'
The Crow messenger shook his head with a grimace at the mental image but chose to get back on track. "W-whatever! Karren followed them for some days and concluded they were going to Kinloch Hold, to the Circle most likely. What are we supposed to do?"
Zevran sighed, messing with these guys was just too easy and no challenge at all. Still, he supposed he'd have to get to his contract already.
"Well, I guess that The Pearl has nothing else to offer me anymore. Shame, I quite liked it here… Anyway, get everyone ready, we'll go to the Tower and wait around the nearer paths. That way, we'll be able to ambush them when they leave. Tell the others to keep a low profile."
"Got it. Anything else?"
Zevran smirked. This would be fun. "Of course, tell them to get ready for a bone-crushing pace. We've got to get there fast. That will help me see if the others have gotten lazy, too."
However, if that happened, it would be admittedly his fault, at least partially, for not making them stay in shape. He dismissed such thoughts easily enough as he dismissed the messenger. They were Crows, anyway, everyone knew if their abilities dulled for slipping on their training, it would only transform into a mistake.
And mistakes meant death in their profession.
Still, Zevran couldn't quite suppress the short laugh of excited anticipation. The hunt was finally on.
xxOOOOxx
"How are you holding up, Solana?"
Solana Amell let out a long drawn tired sigh as she rubbed her eyes. The last days had been hell on earth for them and the nightmare didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Who would've said she'd get to be on first term basis with the few templars with them, too?
"I've been better… but then again, I could be dead or turned into an abomination so I'm pretty good, all things considered," she joked lightly as she tied more firmly the laces of her brown knee-high boots.
She could feel Rorhen's discomfort when she mentioned the part about abominations but she really couldn't fault him. Old habits die hard for a templar, after all. It was a wonder in itself the templars and the mages of their little group could cooperate so well but she supposed the hardships they were forced to face together had a large say in that. For her part, she couldn't complain as long as they worked to escape their nightmare.
They had barricaded themselves inside the storerooms in order to hide away from the demons and the abominations. As long as they stayed inside and were silent enough, they would go unnoticed. However, they had sent the children further inside the corridors of the storerooms, just in case and a mage and a templar were guarding them at any moment. Rorhen and Solana were currently on guard duty in the first cavern, which was also the bigger, just in case the demons managed to get in somehow.
"… I have to admit… I'm not sure if we'll make it. For all we know, everyone else could be dead." He stated with a grim look as he tightened his grip on the templar sword he carried, now slightly dented.
They had been forced to cut down several abominations on their desperate bid for the storerooms.
"Don't give up so easily, Rorhen. We're still alive and kicking. We didn't survive this long just to starve to death. That would just suck." However, the reality they both didn't voice was that their meager supplies would run out soon. They were already rationing their food to give the children a bigger portion.
Rorhen chuckled tiredly. "I suppose it would be an annoying way to go, yes. But let's put these grim thoughts aside as much as possible. Say, you were telling Leorah about your previous Circle before, those Gallows. Care to tell me? I've never been stationed there."
"Ah, the Gallows…" Solana sighed as she pushed away a lock of dark hair. "It's not really a nice place, in my opinion… You might already know this, but the Gallows is a fortress built in the harbor, just in front of the Kirkwall docks. However, the place was created by the Imperium and soon became the centre point of slave trade. No wonder it's commonly called The City of Chains... Anyway, the Gallows themselves is the place where the Kirkwall Circle is located, same with the Templar quarters. But as I said, it's not a place that will give you fond memories by itself," she explained with a shake of her head.
"How so?"
"Well, there are a lot of slave statues in the Gallows, for starters. And I mean a lot of them. And magisters used to execute slaves daily, sometimes hourly."
"Nice place to live in, then," Rorhen deadpanned, making Solana give a slight smile.
"Ha, yeah, but I guess it wasn't that bad whenever you didn't focus on the horribly graphical and gruesome history lessons of the curriculum. But I wanted to get away from the Gallows a little, so I asked Orsino to send me somewhere else with some excuse. First Enchanter Irving was all too happy to let me in. Ferelden is pretty nice, I think. Of course, who could have thought something like this… could happen?" she gestured to the air.
"About that, it's true you can use a special type of power? Force magic, was it called? Could I, you know, see it? I'm a little curious."
Solana nodded in agreement as she stood up. "Sure, we've got nothing else to do." She grabbed her white, high-collared coat, putting it on as she tried to remove several patches of brown dirt. She moaned despairingly, however, when it proved to be a useless effort. "Look at my awesome coat. It's so dirty now. As soon as I'm able to, I'm getting it thoroughly washed."
"You were going to show me those Force abilities of yours, Solana," Rorhen gently reminded her. Her mind could wonder to strange place at the most random of times.
"Oh yes! Well, you see, Force mages use their magic to adapt the energy in the form of invisible attacks…Hold on, that's a very simplified version. Let's see… Force mages use their magic to… to apply powerful fields of altered force in the physical world. Wait, I think I've got the best way to explain it: Force magic is, basically, bending the laws of gravity to the mage's user." Solana nodded to herself, pleased with the final explanation. Nice, easy and simple. Who said things had to be always overly complex?
"Do you understand?"
"Eh… I think I do but if you could give me a demonstration…"
Solana grinned excitedly. "I almost thought you wouldn't ask! Watch this, I can get this crate to-"
"Solana, has the barrier suffered damage?" Senior Enchanter Leorah interrupted as she appeared from the corridor.
"Some hits, yeah, but it's holding up just fine. Those abominations outside are not going to enter anytime soon," she told her with a grin. Aside from her specialization as a force mage, Solana was highly proficient in Creation magic, specializing in healing and warding. It was her goal to master completely the school of Creation magic. Demons and abominations would not cross her barriers as long as she had mana to power them up.
Leorah nodded with a serious expression. The whole ordeal had changed many of the survivors, one way or another, and it had hardened Leorah from an inexperienced and nervous rookie Senior Enchanter to someone who had stared at the face of an abomination and lived to tell the tale.
"That's good, I thought we could-"
However, Leorah was interrupted as well when they heard sounds of brutal fighting outside the storerooms. From the sounds of it, someone was putting the abominations who were trying to get inside their safe haven through a brutal beating. And yet, the battle had ended far sooner than what they would have expected.
A tense silence filled the cavern they were in.
"Should we check it out?"
"Hm… I don't feel my barrier getting hit anymore. Perhaps the abominations have been killed? We could do as Rorhen says."
Leorah nodded. "Very well, just let me warn the others to guard the children," she stated while going back to the corridor she had come from.
"I hope we're not dooming ourselves doing this," Solana grimaced.
"Let's hope so."
xxOOOOxx
Back with our heroes, they moved to a circular room after several minutes of welcomed rest. The room was adjacent to the library itself and presented several scorch marks on its walls. It was a complete mess but they ignored its state of disregard completely in order to kill the abominations roaming.
However, their previous caution was unnecessary as the abominations proved to be incapable of posing a threat to the group with just rushing mindlessly at them. For all their desire to experience the world outside the Fade, they were unaccustomed to all the feelings and everything else that came with the carnal limitations of an actual body made of flesh and bones. Even if they wanted, they could do little more than rushing at the group.
Of course, such glaring weakness would not apply to the more powerful demons.
With their second battle against the possessed mages they secured the library, which took the better part of the first floor. However, there were other parts like the kitchens for example that could be housing more abominations but they couldn't stick around to look at every cranny and corner searching for them.
"Naruto, could you create more clones? I don't want to waste time making sure each floor is completely safe but we can't afford to left possible abominations left unchecked either."
"Easy enough, Neria. How many do you want?"
Neria scratched her chin in a thoughtful manner. "Well, you should make as many as possible to defeat any type of demon that comes after them. I leave the actual numbers to your judgment."
With a nod, Naruto made that weird sign with his hands again and at least fifty clones appeared perched on top the library's shelves.
"You guys know what to do. Keep to this floor and deal with any hostiles you might find. Lethal force is a must but try to keep the collateral damage to the barest minimum." At this point, Naruto added a little bit of his killing intent on his clones to enforce his following warning. "I don't want anyone slacking on this, do I make myself clear? This is more important than your split personalities."
With an unanimous nod, the clones dispersed while breaking into smaller groups.
"D-damn, Naruto, what was that?" Alistair asked with a pant as he felt his forehead sweating a little. The atmosphere around them had felt thick with something malicious and for a moment he thought he felt the cold hand of death caressing his cheek.
For his part, the blond shinobi inwardly cursed when he saw the state most of the others were in. He'd slipped and forgot they had never been subjected to killing intent, even if it wasn't directed specifically at them. And if he took into account his was an especially potent one…
No wonder they were shaking like little leaves going against a harsh wind. It was better than Sasuke's reaction to Zabuza's killing intent so long ago but not by a wide margin. However, he noticed with surprise that Neria was certainly the better off of all them. She was shaking, yes, but her face wasn't an unhealthy shade of green (one couldn't tell with Sten's tone of skin, anyway). Once again, Neria managed to surprise him in little ways that left him wondering just what made Neria be… Neria.
"Sorry, Alistair. I forgot you guys were never put through this kind of thing. That was killing intent, a special technique of my homeland."
"How does it work, Uzumaki?" Morrigan suddenly asked with interest. Everything scrap of knowledge she could get was welcome in order to figure out this mysterious blond. And the ability did sound very interesting.
"Well… it's a kind of terror-inducing technique. You're supposed to focus your intent to kill on an individual and if the person using the killing intent is especially stronger than his or her opponent, they can even make others see their deaths. However, the stronger your will, the lesser chances it will affect you."
"That sound highly unpleasant," Alistair grimaced a little as he threw a quick glance at Morrigan, knowing she'd love to try it out on him. Naruto, who didn't miss it, let out a low chuckle.
"Don't worry, Alistair. From what I've seen, the people of Thedas haven't discovered a way to use killing intent. The most you could get from a person who'd like to do that would be a glare at most."
'Thank the Maker for small blessings…' Alistair thought with relief. The idea of Morrigan going around with something as this… killing intent to her disposal rightfully scared him.
"Okay, guys… Let's get to the second floor. Take those stairs; they lead to the main staircase."
They did so, even if they didn't have the luxury to enjoy the fine masonry job of the spiraling stairs. Soon, they reached the second floor without problems. The corridors were eerily silent and Neria wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad sign. It could mean anything but caution would be the safer option.
"Look, there's Owain," Wynne told her with a frown. "What is he doing here? I would've thought he'd have looked for a place to hide."
Shrugging it off, Neria approached the tranquil. She remembered tricking him into giving him the fire rod needed to break Jowain's phylactery. She still felt a little guilty about lying like that to him and Leorah, who had taken over some of her lessons when Irving was simply too busy with paperwork, something he often complained about. He always managed to make her laugh whenever he said that, Neria thought with a small smile.
"Owain, why are you still here? I thought you died… or worse," Wynne exclaimed but Owain merely tilted his head, undisturbed.
"I tried to leave when things got quiet after a while but I encountered a barrier on my way out. I didn't wish to be a bother and the stockroom is familiar. I decided to stay here and tidy up a little," he explained emotionlessly.
"Well, nonetheless, I'm happy you're okay, Owain." Neria nodded. Being a Tranquil, Owain was relatively safe. He couldn't be possessed but he could still die from physical attacks, something Owain himself referenced next.
"I would prefer not to die. I hope Niall manages to save us and bring the Tower back to its former state. There would be more calm."
Now, that was very much needed information. Recognizing it for what it was, everyone leaned in to get a better hearing of Owain's words.
"Niall? So he survived too… well, at least, for some time…"
"Niall came some days ago with several others looking for the Litany of Adralla." Owain informed them.
"Wait, the Litany of Adralla is the ultimate protection against mind domination; blood magic… That's confirmation that someone unleashed the demons with blood magic." Wynne mused with a worried expression. "Now that I think about it, there was a meeting between the three Fraternities of mages when I was overseeing that class… I couldn't attend it but it that meeting must have been the place where someone used blood magic."
"We will have to find this Niall soon, then. If this Litany of Adralla is as powerful as it sounds, it will prove invaluable while fighting blood mages." Leliana commented all the while throwing a disturbed glance at Owain.
"Yes, that's correct," Neria nodded before facing Owain again. "Will you be okay here, Owain? You can go now to the second hall, there are several survivors there and two of my friends are protecting them."
However, Niall merely shook his head. "Thank you but I will stay here for now. I feel more comfortable in the stockroom. I wish you luck, Surana. Goodbye."
As they walked away, Leliana couldn't help the shiver that coursed through her. "That man… he was disturbing… so emotionless… what is he?"
"Owain is a Tranquil, Leliana. His connection to the Fade has been cut, which means he can no longer be possessed by a demon. However, side effects are the lost of his magic and emotions. Even though he retains his free will, there is only room for logic in his mind, now." Neria explained with a grim look.
The Rite of Tranquility was not something the Circles liked to boast about and general knowledge of it was rather small. It was because of such reason that Leliana looked downright horrified.
"But… but that's terrible!"
"Sssh! Dammit, Leliana, keep it down. And yes, most mages see it as an horrible thing but there are some cases that don't wish to go through the Harrowing, so they decide to become Tranquils."
"This is very wrong. I can't believe this happens in every Circle…" Leliana scowled, clearly disagreeing with the existence of such a foul practice. However, Neria simply stared ahead even though she silently agreed with the redhead.
Their discussion was cut short, however, when voices reached their ears and they all tensed. The unknown mages, for that's what they were, seemed unaware of their presence and crouching behind a wall, the group listened intently on their conversation. From it, the group gathered easily that they were blood mages and were part of Uldred's uprising in a bid for mages' freedom from the Chantry. One of them showed doubts while the two others clearly wished nothing more than power, if their words were to be believed.
Neria threw a glance at Wynne and worried when she saw her tightened face, ready to storm the room. However, just as she was about to block her from doing that, Sten knocked a metal candelabra by accident, making it roll by the floor with an easily heard clinking noise. Now on alert, the blood mages rushed out of the side room they were in and appeared in front of them with their staves raised in a clear attempt to unleash offensive spells on them. They had managed to catch the party off guard and even if they were already rushing at them with their weapons drawn and their mages were already casting counter defenses, no one would be able to complete their actions before the blood mages struck.
However, the momentum was broken when the throat of one of the male mages suddenly exploded in a fountain of blood as a knife sliced it cleanly from behind. Quick as lightening, the same knife that had ended his friend's live was imbedded into the heart of another by a blur of movement. Only the sight of the last blood mage, a young woman with red hair, surrendering as she fell to her knees put a sudden halt to the blur's murderous spree. Without the speed working on its favor, the blur was soon revealed to be one of Naruto's clones, which sported an unusual serious look on its face.
"Are you all okay? Good thing one of us was near you guys. Who knows what they would have managed to do otherwise?" The clone noted many of them looked shaken, probably because it hadn't sunk in till now they had been very close to a certain death.
Sighing, the clone made its way towards the blood mage woman, who was shaking in fear. However, she still had enough presence of spirit to beg for her life. "Please, please, don't kill me. I don't want to die."
The clone frowned, unsure of what to do. He had no problem killing his targets but after all this time, Boss and by extension, every clone he created, still had trouble killing someone who had no will to fight. He looked unsurely at Boss, who in turn, made a gesture to Neria.
"Neria, this is your former home. It's your call."
With a nod, the blonde mage approached the blood mage, who looked surprised when she recognized Neria –in full armor stained with blood.
"Laura, I never thought you'd stoop so low as to become a blood magic," she coldly stated.
"Surana… Neria… I… I never meant for all of this to happen." She justified herself with an anguished expression. "We only wanted to free ourselves. Uldred… Uldred told us we would support Loghain and that he in exchange would give the Circle independency from the Chantry. We didn't want this to happen. We only wanted to live in peace and free! You yourself know what it was like, Neria. We mages will always be caged animals."
Neria simply stared at Laura as her words struck a chord in her. They resonated too close to home for her comfort. "So you resorted to blood magic in order to fight back?"
"Magic was simply a means to an end, a tool to fight for what I believe," she explained with a downtrodden expression but Wynne let out an angered huff, livid with fury.
"Fighting for one's beliefs is something commendable. Using such forbidden magic as is blood magic isn't."
However, Laura frowned at her in clear disagreement. "You were always a pro-Circle mage despite your claims of otherwise, Wynne. Some always wondered if you weren't a Loyalist, instead of an Aequitarian… Nothing truly meaningful can be achieved without strife and conflict. Andraste was the spark that brought the foundation of the Chantry, the organization that enslaves us, and yet, the Lady of Sorrow waged a war against Tevinter for the elves and anyone oppressed by Tevinter Imperium. Was not that conflict?"
"You may be right in some points but it doesn't justify what you did here. Have you seen it, Laura? Abominations were crawling in the library, so many mages twisted in body and mind; they may be as good as dead because of your ambitions. There might have been some of your friends among them and we had to kill them all."
Laura simply kept her head down in shame, knowing the consequences of her implication in Uldred's mad plan. "I know… but there's nothing I haven't told myself already. I will live the rest of my life with the guilt of my actions… for as long as it may be."
Neria's gaze was as cold as steel as she peered down at her, unforgiving. "I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation here... The abominations killed more than twenty children in the library because their mana reserves were too small and useless to them."
"T- the children?!" Laura exclaimed with an horrified look as she started crying, blaming herself over and over for their deaths. However, Neria forcefully grabbed her wrist, snapping the blood mage out of her daze.
"I- I'm sorry. I never thought something like this would happen. Uldred assured us… it wasn't supposed to turn out like this… but he became mad with power too…"
Neria pondered what to do with Laura. As much as she wanted her to face justice for her implication in Uldred's plans and for everyone who had died, Laura was not someone who wanted power or ancient knowledge. She was just a normal girl burdened with magic that merely wanted to live in freedom, without fear of the templars breathing on her neck.
It was a desire too close to Neria's own desires that it was almost painful to think about. Had she not been chosen as a potential Grey Warden, would she be in Laura's place? Laura had stayed true to her original beliefs, no matter which way she took to achieve them and didn't lost herself to the lure of power, which spoke of her more than anyone would think in the first place.
And so, Neria made her choice.
"I will let you go free, Laura. If you're able to sneak past the templars in the Entrance Hall, then you're free to go. However, if I get news of you using your knowledge of blood magic in offensive ways against others, I will personally come to end you. And trust me, I will know."
Getting wobbly to her feet, Laura bowed low in a show of deep respect. "Thank you, Neria. I hope the Maker will turn his eyes on you for your mercy."
Neria snorted, shaking her head. "I don't believe in the Maker, Laura. I make my own fate. That said, can you tell us where Uldred might be?"
"I… am not sure. I got away as soon as I realized everyone who was not turning into abominations just screamed about getting more power but Uldred could be in the Harrowing chamber. He always had delusions of grandeur."
Laura really didn't know anything else of importance and so they let her go, though many were clearly not comfortable with the final decision. However, Wynne was more worried about Laura's words than anything else.
"Uldred… I was afraid he would be involved in this somehow. Uldred was trying to sway the Circle's support to Loghain but then some of us mages arrived from Ostagar and I revealed Loghain's treachery. That meeting was supposed to discuss Loghain's actions and take a final vote on whether supporting him or not… I guess this confirms Uldred is the major responsible of the demonic outbreak."
"I suppose so. We don't gain anything from mulling it over, however. Let's press on." Neria stated.
Naruto who had been raiding a secret stash of mage resources with Leliana's help, suddenly blinked and looked up.
"Neria, I think some of my clones have found survivors. If I'm correct, they have barricaded themselves behind metal doors in a huge room. It's in this floor, actually."
"That's the laboratory, they used the storerooms as a defensive position," Neria breathed with a small sigh of relief. If there were survivors, not all was lost. There was still hope. "Were there hostiles in it?"
"Yes, several abominations were hammering the door with everything they had but there was something in place there. It could be a ward of some kind perhaps, because the door basically shrugged everything off. My clones took care of them and are now guarding the room, just in case more abominations wander into it."
Neria grinned, new confidence surging into the group at Naruto's words. "Okay, people. This is what we're going to do. The laboratory is near our current position. However, there are several rooms until we reach the room, so we're not going to rush it. We'll go slow and steady and kill everything that so much as makes a threatening move against us. I don't want to reach the lab just to get attacked from behind."
Everyone agreed with Neria's plan, as it was a sound enough one and common logic to do something like that.
"Naruto, if you can contact with your clones, tell them to hold their positions. Who knows how many abominations we'll encounter until we reach the laboratory and I'm not about to let those inside the storerooms get themselves killed now that we're so close."
"Got it, Neria," answered Naruto with a nod. The clone created disappeared in a blur of speed to inform the others, knowing no one would be able to spot him if he put his stealth abilities to good use.
Idly, Naruto just realized that he could have sent small legion of clones to purge the entire Tower of abominations. It would have been child's play. The abominations didn't posses any more conscious thought than to rip apart everything moving and Naruto had been hailed as one of the strongest shinobi to ever live back home.
So, why had he not done so?
However, the answer came to him easily enough. This was about Neria's home. No matter what, she'd have never agreed to something like that because in her eyes, it was her duty to her former home. He'd wanted to spare her as much as possible from the horrors of war, as selfish as the sentiment was, but he'd failed miserably and not even because he'd messed up. He just couldn't have expected something like this happening.
He could only hope she would be okay but he would never turn her away if she needed a shoulder to lean in or someone to listen to her when she needed it.
'And besides, what is gain without pain? The fighting will help some of them grow as persons and it may bring even the more antisocial ones closer to the others. Nothing creates stronger bonds than ones forged in the fires of war and conflict,' he mused with a subtle nod. Sometimes, he amazed himself with these thoughts. Who'd have guessed the clown of his graduating class would reach a day when he could have such mature thoughts?
"Naruto, you there?" A sudden voice startled him out of his musings and saw Neria waving a hand in front of his face. The others were already making the last checks on their weapons and gear before resuming their march.
"Uh, what? Oh, sorry, I guess my mind was wandering off," he waved it off with a small laugh but Neria looked at him with no small amount of worry.
"You better not do that in battle, Naruto." She warned as her eyes softened considerable. "I don't want to lose anyone…"
'Especially you', Neria wanted to say but bit back her words. How could she say them without someone misunderstanding them? She felt a special gratitude for Naruto for helping her in her most vulnerable state and it was not something she would forget soon. But for now, they still had to clean her former home.
"Heh, don't worry, abominations can't off me so easily. I don't intend to die for a very long time."
"Well said," Neria returned Naruto's grin with one of her own before turning to the others. "Okay guys, let's go."
Author's notes: So another chapter is up. I have to say, I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this one. I quite like it but it feels as if it didn't turn out just as I wanted. Oh, well…
The chapter started growing bigger and bigger and I didn't see a good way to cut it so I decided to leave out the Fade part from this chapter and start it at the next one.
Please read this: I have been thinking for some days that this story has a lot of dramatic/emotional moments. Now, I like it that way because of the general situation of the Dragon Age universe. However, I wanted to get your honest opinion on it. Do you like it as it is currently or do you think it's too much? Please, if you do answer this question, don't say things like 'This is emo shit' or things like that, because I will simply ignore you. I hope you all can give me a mature enough opinion. Apart from that, I also hope you can give me a clear and exact reasoning of why exactly you like it or not.
Another thing to give your opinion: the small scenes showing things of what's going on different parts of the world. Do you like them? Do you think they are a nice addition to the chapters? If so, would you like some scenes about Hawke and his crazy crew?
If you don't like the scenes, could you give your reasons?
On another note, the part about the children killed. I do know Connor was a child when he was possessed by that desire demon when he wanted to protect his father, Arl Eamon. However, I think that, despite the wish to enjoy the wonders of the mortal world, the demon won't willingly possess a mage child because of their small reserves. They can do it, obviously, but that will only happen if it's extremely necessary – or the children in question come by themselves to the demon/s.
At least, that is how I see it in my story. Remember that I try to stay close to the lore already given as much as possible, but there are instances when there's a special lack of info about some things so I have to make it up.
Solana Amell makes her debut! Jedi badass powers in action! Bet no one of you was expecting that! Anyway, I tried my best to describe her but sometimes it is not enough. So here is a link to the artwork I drew inspiration from. The artwork is basically Amell as she looks in this fic, so I thank AM-Markussen and Tica from DeviantArt for the permission to use the character.
am-markussen . deviantart art/RHA- contest-entry- 382846270 (just erase the gaps and go). The artwork is Markussen's armor redesign of Tica's creative healer submitted to the RHA contest. So the character itself is Tica's property and I don't own it. Just so you know, Solana doesn't wear the white floral headpiece. I will star a section in my profile for the arts I get inspiration from.
Funny thing now, did you know that Kilina, the Warden Christiën references to, is a canonical Warden? Yup, she's a Warden recruiter form the Orth people, in the Anderfels, look it up. However, Christiën and Emric themselves are OC's in canon roles (High Constable and First Warden, respectively) but I tried to keep in-canon as much as I could about Emric, since the wiki says the First Warden cares more for politicking than killing darkspawn.
The Marius Emric talks about is the King of Anderfels, by the way.
Damn, I realized that I always keep forgetting about Fang and almost never put him in so he feels like a ghost companion. Checking the chapter, I saw Fang was missing from the 'Neria's breakdown' scene, which is something quite incomprehensible when you think about it. Fang, as a mabari, would not part from his master/handler/whatever and disappear like that.
I hope I can start the NeriaxNaruto romance soon! It's about, I just need to make it progress believably. Bear with me otherwise, I haven't written that much romance before now but will try my best.
The 23 of March will mark two years since I started writing this fic! Honestly, when I started I didn't have the least idea about where to bring this fic. However, I'd like to think I have matured more in these two years and that it shows in a difference between the earlier chapters and the latter ones. And I have a clear idea of what to do, what's going to happen and what not. Thank you all for sticking around! Who knows where we would be if I hadn't taken that sudden hiatus?
Nonetheless, I will try my best to have chapter 10 posted at the 23. I have a whole week off just around the corner so I think I can do it. And guess what? Since it's birthday time, I'll give you guys a peek at future things! ;) Aren't I nice?
Until next time!