Kinloch Hold

Circle Tower of Ferelden

"We've come for help...but it looks like you've got some problems of your own."

"The Tower is lost." Greagoir ground out in disgust "Uldred has led a rebellion. Several mages have either been killed or turned to blood magic. I've...I've been forced to call for the Right of Annulment."

"Uldred's alive?" Elissa raised an eyebrow.

Something immediately surged within her, and she staggered backwards. The pain was searing and swift. Then, her body was flooded with arcane energy.

"No...no not now!"

Why? What was happening? She was able to summon the spirits powers at will, but now they were manifesting themselves involuntarily. This was NOT good.

The templars slowly drew back.

A familiar voice boomed in her head:

I have...returned? Ahh...Forgive me. The Veil is torn here. It would seem that I have reclaimed sentience, for now.

"Wonderful." Elissa growled.

Be on your guard here. If the Veil is sundered, the demons surely prey on the innocent. My presence lends you strength, but it will not shield you completely.

One faceless Templar murmured out of his helmet "Commander! That's the Heretic!"

Of course, that drew unwanted attention. Some of the more able bodied men drew their swords, standing at Greagoirs side.

Dagonet issued a low growl, barring his teeth, but Elissa recovered, and calmed him with a touch.

Greagoir hardened his gaze "The Grand Cleric has ordered you brought in, dead or alive. If you know nothing of our order, I should tell you that we cannot suffer abominations to live."

"I know more of your order than you suspect, Commander." Elissa did not flinch under his gaze. In fact, she straightened up "If you're so eager to spill my blood, at least wait until I've done my job. I'm a Grey Warden, I'm here to combat the Blight. In return for your cooperation, I can help save your Tower."

"Don't listen to her, Commander!"

"Never make deals with abominations!"

There were some yellings of agreement.

"Is my help not good enough for you, Commander? Would you truly deny help and let everyone in there die? I know what the Annulment requires you to do. Think whatever you wish of me, but you know those people in there. Could you live with yourself, knowing that you didn't exhaust every possible option to save them?"

The knife was twisted. Greagoir looked tired, and stressed out.

"Put your swords down. That's an order."

They reluctantly agreed.

They were willing to kill her, but not actual demons. Not even to save anyone left on the other side.

The door was closed behind them, seperating them from the rest of the world. They would emerge victorious, or not at all.

It didn't take long to see survivors.

She recognized the older mage, Wynne, but not the one beside her. She looked about her age, actually. Long dark hair, her eyes fixed with resolve. The staff was twisted in various angles, casting out lightning with each snap.

The last of the demons was vanquished, and the younger mage relaxed.

"Good work, my dear." Wynne approved.

The two defenders soon saw that they had company, and moved themselves in front of Petra and the children.

"I recognize you from Ostagar." Wynne lifted up her staff "Come no closer. Grey Warden or not, I will strike you down where you stand."

"Wynne, they're not Templars?"

"We're not here to fight!" Alistair waved his hands "We're here to help! I promise!"

"I will accept that, for now." Wynne then looked at Elissa with surprise "You were the one the Templars were talking about. I must admit my... surprise that they've permitted you this far."

Elissa shook her head "Not to be rude, but let us dispense with the pleasantries quickly. There are lives to save. I'm Elissa, this is Alistair. That's Sten, Morrigan, and this is my mabari, Dagonet. Knight Commander Greagoir has sent for the Right of Annulment, but will rescind it if we manage to save First Enchanter Irving."

Senior Enchanter Wynne. The other called herself Solona Amell. Interesting.

The two mages regarded her and Morrigan with curiosity. Morrigan, of course, wanted nothing to do with the Chantry or its obedient slaves, and that conversation ended quickly.

"If I might be so bold, why are you branded a heretic?"

"Solona!" Wynne scolded her.

"I'll let my deeds answer your question."

Sure enough, they came upon another demon, one of rage. It announced its presence with a threatening roar, before charging straight at them.

Solona saw it, but couldn't believe it. It was some form of magic, but none like she'd ever seen. It looked frighteningly like a possession. Yet this was different. Far too different. When demons possess the living, their body is physically transformed, their flesh giving way to something grotesque and obscene. This Grey Warden was still human, yet those eyes...

"Stand back!"

Elissa channelled her energy inwards, waiting for the creature to come into range. As soon as it was about to strike, she released.

The Fade Burst erupted. A sphere of blue light expanded from her body in a quick flash, causing books and papers to flutter about in the air. It threatened to topple her mortal allies with the amount of force generated, but did not actually harm them. The demon was not so fortunate.

It only had a split second to scream before it was completely disintegrated.

Elissa took in a deep breath. Her understanding and connection with Justice was growing. He whispered to her in her dreams, told her of powerful psuedo magical abilities she could now use. This one was extremely effective at destroying demons, or other forms of abominations.

The irony was not lost on her. That she, a condemned heretic hunted by the Chantry, was not only granted knowledge of the Templar arts, but that her joining with Justice made her an even better demon hunter than the Templars themselves.

"How..."

"There's no time!" Elissa yelled "I understand you're both a bit shellshocked, but there's simply no time. We need to rescue your friends before they're all slaughtered."

Solona and Wynne looked at eachother, then Wynne nodded "Alright. But I think we are entitled to a few answers after all of this is taken care of."

They slaughtered countless monsters. These things were straight out of a nightmare. Elissa did not envy mages if this was what they had to defend their very souls against.

They had firepower, though. Three mages, and two warriors who could disrupt magic. Not to mention that Wynne was a healer, which was something of a surprise to Elissa when her wounds were closed by magic.

One demon managed to erupt from the ground, and it grasped Elissas' sword hand. None of the mages could cast a spell without incinerating her either.

"Elissa!" Alistair tried to move in, but the demon threatened to strike her down, and he relented.

"Fresssssshhhh bloooooood." it hissed "Another mortal to pllaaaaayyy wittttthh."

Elissa, however, did not respond. Justice responded, the eyes burning with blue fire, her skin alight with that powerful, unnatural energy.

"I am no mortal. I am your end."

The demon's smugness quickly turned into fear, and to rage.

A few repulsion runes were fixated into her gauntlets. She slammed it into the demons head, and it instantly flew across the hallway. The force threw Elissa off balance, causing her to drop her sword, but she ignored it for the moment, stalking towards her target.

"YOU CAAAAANNOOOT DEFEAT ME!"

An arcane bolt hurdled towards her with frightening speed, but Elissa did not flinch. It only slowed her down, crashing against her armor. She had a greater understanding of the spirit that dwelled inside her: it boosted her natural magical resistance. Added to that the runes in her armor, and the Templar training, and she could withstand far more twisted curses than normal mortal limitations allowed.

A burst of inhuman speed, and she dodged another spell, crushing the neck of the demon in a brutal grip. With a sickening crunch and a gasp, the demon turned to ashes in her hand.

She casually picked her sword off the ground. Without a single trace of arrogance, only dead certainty and resolve, she stared right at her comrades

"Let's go."

Many of the mages they encountered had turned to blood magic or possession, and attacked everything they saw. But not all. Some had turned to that blood magic, and stayed their hands.

"Please, spare us." A woman pleaded.

Wynne gave her something of a lecture, but Elissa could not help pity this fool. Her actions were misguided, but not completely her fault. She was not impressed with the way the Chantry handled its denizens.

Solona too, was sympathetic, to a degree. She had ever been a Libertarian, but was adamant against the use of blood magic. Of course, the Templars were always pushing them to that limit.

"Wait by the entrance with the others. Defend them with your life, should the need arise." Elissa moved out of her way.

"Thank you. Thank you!"

The blood mage ran off. Alistair and Wynne looked like they wanted to object, but said nothing.

There were charmed templars to slay, innocents to rescue, and plenty more demons.

Solona was intrigued by the mystery of this warrior. Dangerous, to be sure, yet willing to spare the lives of proven blood mages. What was equally shocking is that both Grey Wardens had Templar training, and used it often on the demons. Initially her opinion of them lessened, but she changed her mind, after thinking about that blood mage. They could've easily killed her, but they didn't.

Wynne had her own thoughts about the pair. Alistair she felt she could trust. It wasn't so easy with this Elissa. They had met before, in Ostagar, but had only talked briefly. Wynne knew her as a Grey Warden recruit, but Elissa did not seem to accept that responsibility. She seemed sullen about it. Or perhaps the child was upset about something else. And then there was...the spirit.

Wynne could sense it, for she too had bonded with a spirit. Everytime the young Grey Warden summoned it out, Wynne could feel it. A distinct sense of...rightness. Duty. Whatever it was, it did not feel evil.

They finally arrived at another central room, filled with the corrupting, rotting influence of blood magic.

"I see we have guests."

Another demon, standing over the body of a mage, something clasped in his hands.

"Niall!" Solona pointed her staff at the demon "What have you done!? Release him!"

"He's resting..." It drawled, his voice unusually soothing "You should rest too, you've all earned it. Rest...the world will go on without you."

Some of them swayed a little in their stance.

"Rest..." it continued. "Rest..."

Leliana was the first to fall. Then Dagonet, and then Sten. The mages tried to cast spells, but Wynne and Solona had been fighting all day. Morrigan tried to shapeshift, but it took concentration, which was something she didn't have right now. As a templar, Alistair had some magical resistance, but it had been withered over the course of fighting several abominations.

That left Elissa.

With the strongest magical resistance in the room, she slowly walked toward the demon, greatsword in hand.

"You ARE a determined one, aren't you?" it laughed "But it's time for you to join the others."

The Arcane Bolt slammed into Elissa.

"Ugh!"

It sent her flying across the room, slamming her head against the wall.

"Uhhh..."

Her teeth were barred, her hand still defiantly gripped on her greatsword, which was slowly pointed towards the demon, but it was getting heavier.

Eventually, her will crumbled, and she succumbed to the demons sleep spell.

Can't wait for Last Flight to come out! Should be interesting, for the Grey Warden lore.

The more I read of Arsinoe's works (you should check them out sometime!) the more cynical I get. I'm convinced that Eamon was up to something with Celene and Cailan before the Blight, but I wasn't too sure about Teagan. I find myself going back and forth about it. Teagan isn't a big player in Ferelden politics, but he might have known, or supported his brothers actions. It's really sad if that's the case. Eamon marrying Isolde, of all people...How did Rowan feel about that? How would Rowan, indeed, feel about her son marrying the Empress? (For those of you who don't know, Rowan was the former Queen of Ferelden and Marics wife. Also a sister of Eamon/Teagan.)

I'm basing Elissa's spiritual abilities from the Spirit Warrior specialization. They are REALLY that badass in the game: all melee damage is turned into spirit damage, increased movement/attack speed, magic resistance, and that AoE attack that really mucks up demons.

I decided that since Elissa's specialization relies on an outsider, the Veil being torn might be a big deal for her! Her friend comes out to play whenever that's the case.

The reason I haven't updated Reckoning in a while is because I'm trying to decide on something that might make or break the story.

And sorry for the lack of romance! It's all coming 'somewhat' soon. Be patient with Elissa, she's...difficult. :)