Forged In Fire

by Lady Urquentha

Elissa Cousland teased Loghain for being ridiculously sentimental when he gave her a diamond ring engraved with the words 'You Brought Me Back to Life'. Now, four months later, he is trying to kill her and she is raising an army against him.

11. Haunting the Past

Title: Forged In Fire

Rating: M (for violence and language)

Warnings: none

Summary: Elissa Cousland teased Loghain for being ridiculously sentimental when he gave her a diamond ring engraved with the words 'You Brought Me Back to Life'. Now, four months later, he is trying to kill her and she is raising an army against him.

Disclaimer + Notes: Bioware owns everything you recognize. Everything you don't (including the poetry) is mine. A huge thank you to my beta-readers lilpumpkingirl and analect for their help. Any remaining errors are mine.

Thoughts, comments and opinions (negative or positive) are always welcome, and I do respond to each of them individually.

I apologize for the late posting of this chapter. I blame the arrival of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and the resulting time loss!

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Chapter 11 – Haunting the Present

Shaped in the past,

Each action and event,

Burned into my mind to

Shade my present and

my future

∞ A torn manuscript found in the ruins of Ostagar in 5 Dragon

"I haven't the faintest clue," Elissa said grimly. "But you didn't have to come if you didn't want to."

"Mother sent me to look after you," Morrigan said dismissively. "I could hardly do that when you are in here and I am out there, could I? And frankly, without me you won't stand a chance in here. I, at least, can meet these creatures on their own ground."

Ignoring her, Elissa turned to Alistair. He was staring at their surroundings in fascination, and didn't notice her. She caught his arm to gain his attention. "How much do you remember of your Templar training?"

He stilled. "I, er-" He coughed to clear his throat. "I-I can still use the abilities. But I have never fought the sort of battles we're going to see in here. I've never, uh, actually been in a mage tower."

She pulled her hand back, seeing he was uncomfortable with the contact.

"None of us have." Elissa swallowed, her throat dry. That wasn't quite true. But she hadn't been old enough to remember much of that fight. "I suppose our game plan for the moment is to survive, then. Since we have no idea how to actually fight these things."

"Surviving is good," he agreed.

"Right, let's move." She led the way down the curving corridor. A shattered door swung off one hinge, the wood looking distinctly worse for wear. Elissa drew her sword and settled her shield, hearing the others behind her arm themselves.

"Brace yourself," Alistair muttered.

Then she threw the door open and jumped through the doorway. Dead silence met her.

"Nothing," Morrigan said in disgust.

She was right. The massive dormitory room was empty of all life, although the disarray of books, upended chairs and broken furniture indicated a battle of some sort had taken place here.

"Hello?" Elissa called cautiously. No response. "Let's search the room. See if we can find any survivors." The itchiness behind her neck grew stronger, and she wished for a moment that she could scratch it. But that was impossible in gauntlets.

As they picked their way through the room, Alistair muttered, "as I recall, shutting the door and throwing away the key was always the Templar's Plan B."

She patted him on the shoulder. "Apparently, it got promoted."

A satisfied cry drew both their attentions to Leliana. The redhead stood up from where she had been kneeling by the wall, with a pair of blue potions in her hand.

"Where did you find those?" Morrigan drew nearer.

Leliana nudged the chest at her feet. "I…liberated them."

"You stole them," Alistair said flatly.

She shrugged. "Well, the mages aren't using them are they? And Morrigan might need the mana, if there are as many demons in here as that man implied."

"Yes." Morrigan nearly snatched them out of Leliana's hands.

"You're welcome," Leliana called after the retreating mage.

A few minutes later, the group emerged back into the corridor. They had found no-one alive. At the end of the curved corridor, they came to a cracked wooden door. Elissa glanced back at her companions to check they were ready. Then she leaned back and kicked the door down.

This room, unlike the previous one, was not empty. An elderly mage in flowing red robes stood near the exit doorway on the other side of the room, where blue magic sparkled in the doorway. A young woman hovered nearby, her hands clenching and twisting in her gold and brown robes. In a corner, three children in child-sized robes huddled with another woman. A tall man in blue stood near them, his attention split between his charges and the two women. Elissa felt relief flood her body: the risk they had taken in coming in had been valid. There were mages alive, people she could rescue.

The elderly woman whirled towards them, and with a start, Elissa recognised Wynne, the mage from Ostagar. Wynne's eyes widened in surprise. "It's you."

"You remember me?" Elissa was impressed. They'd barely had a conversation, and she was sure Wynne had had many more important people to remember than a Grey Warden recruit. She moved forwards, towards the mage, dropping her sword.

"No, come no further," Wynne's hands tightened on her staff. "Grey Warden or no, I will strike you down where you stand." The lines in her face were much deeper than they'd been in Ostagar, and weariness emanated from every pore in her body. But despite that, her eyes were alert and determined.

Elissa stopped, blinking in surprise. "What?"

"I won't let you harm us," Wynne announced. "I will kill you first."

"Wynne!" Alistair looked gobsmacked. Then his expression tightened and he took a threatening step forward and sideways, moving between the two women. "I won't let you do that."

The young woman at Wynne's side raised her own staff, clearly prepared to defend her companion.

Swallowing her own instinctive fear of the upraised staff, Elissa caught his arm tightly. "Alistair." She shook her head at him minutely. Then she looked past him to meet Wynne's tired blue eyes. "I'm not here to fight you, or hurt any of you."

Wynne considered her for a moment, and then the staff began to slowly lower. "I do not think you would lie, so I will accept that for now. But what are you doing here, then?"

"I came here seeking the aid of the mages," she admitted, "against the darkspawn."

"Of course, you need to build an army now." Wynne shook her head sadly. "And you were told the Circle was in no shape to help you I suppose? It is true enough. Other than those here with me, I have not seen any other mages for days. All we have seen are abominations and demons." She frowned. "But then why have the Templars let you in? Do they plan to attack the Tower now?" Her knuckles turned white against the dark wood of her staff.

"No, no," Elissa reassured her quickly. "Don't worry, the Rite of Annulment hasn't yet arrived."

Wynne sighed. "Then they have called for it. I feared they might have." Her fingers tightened on the staff, and then relaxed again as she shook her head. "But what else could they do? Greagoir no doubt thinks the Circle is beyond hope. He probably assumes we are all dead."

"Yes," Elissa said slowly, "but-"

Wynne didn't seem to hear her. "They abandoned us to our fate, but even trapped as we are we have survived. But if they invoke the right, we will not be able to stand against them," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "They will overwhelm us and we will die." The young woman beside her closed her eyes.

Morrigan snorted.

"I hope it does not come to that," Elissa said quietly. "If we can prove to Greagoir that the Tower is safe, he has agreed to call off the Rite."

Surprise flashed across Wynne's face. "Truly? But the Chantry would not accept that claim, not when the Tower has been taken over as thoroughly as it has."

"Greagoir seems quite certain he can manage it," Alistair interrupted.

"He knows the Chantry better than I," Wynne allowed. "Perhaps he can."

"What happened here?" Elissa wanted to know. "Greagoir couldn't tell us much."

Wynne's lips thinned. "Suffice to say, we had something of a revolt on our hands, led by a mage named Uldred. When he returned from the battle at Ostagar, he tried to take over the Circle. By the time I returned, Uldred had all but convinced the Tower to side with Loghain, the man who nearly destroyed us all."

"What?" Alistair demanded. "How could they?"

"Uldred had a persuasive argument and how could they know what happened at Ostagar?" Wynne reminded him.

Leliana frowned. "What did Uldred say?"

"He claimed an alliance with Loghain would be to the Circle's advantage," Wynne explained. "According to Uldred, once Loghain was in power he would order the Chantry to give the Circle more freedom."

Elissa's breath caught in her throat. Loghain had met with one of the mages in Ostagar. She'd seen them talking together that night. But the mage hadn't looked happy when he left. And Loghain had said nothing later.

Wynne shook her head. "It would never happen. Loghain hardly trusts mages since the last First Enchanter tried to kill King Maric, he would never try to free us from Chantry oversight."

Alistair frowned. "And even if he did, the Chantry does not answer to the Crown."

"Yes," Wynne agreed. "But they were pretty words and the Tower fell for them. When I got back to the Tower, I told the First Enchanter Irving what Loghain did on the battlefield, revealing him for the traitorous bastard he is. Irving said he would take care of it. He called a meeting to confront Uldred, but something must have gone wrong. I emerged from my quarters when I heard the screams. They were coming from the meeting room, and not long after that, I saw the first abomination, running down a mage. Things deteriorated quickly then."

Traitor. Yes, a traitor to all of Ferelden. "So this all started at this meeting, then?"

"It must have, though I don't know for sure," Wynne said. "The creatures came from that direction, as far as I could tell. I do not know what became of Uldred, but I am certain this is all his doing. I will not lose the Circle to one man's pride and stupidity."

"This is your barrier?" Morrigan drawled, gesturing towards the glowing blue field.

Wynne's brow furrowed as she looked at the younger girl, and a puzzled expression crossed her face. "Yes, to protect the children," the old mage said slowly.

"If we are going to save the Circle-" Morrigan's lip curled. "-you will need to take it down."

"Yes, of course. When we're ready, I'll bring it down."

Elissa glanced at the huddled figures against the wall. "Will the children be safe here if we do that?" Though she really couldn't see another option if Wynne said no. They had to go through, and to do that the barrier would have to come down. Unless…"Could you put it back up once we've gone through?"

"I could not maintain a barrier of this strength at a distance."

"Wait! At a distance?" Alistair blurted. "Are you coming?"

"Of course," she looked surprised.

Elissa cleared her throat. "Perhaps that might not be the best idea?" she suggested gently, eyeing the elderly woman. "We know how to fight as a team, and throwing another into the mix might make things a bit difficult." That wasn't strictly true either. They'd only fought together a handful of times, although it was enough for Elissa to become more comfortable with the flare of magic from Morrigan and with Leliana's singing. But she wasn't sure the old woman's heart would survive the lengthy battles the Knight Commander had suggested would be ahead of them.

Wynne turned stern eyes onto her. "Young lady, I was not born yesterday. I do realize what you are actually saying, and I assure you I am able to hold my own in a fight. I too was at Ostagar, if you recall."

"I know that," Elissa said hastily.

"And you will need someone who knows the Tower," she continued. "These battles will be fierce, Warden. My skills with healing will be invaluable."

"Much as I might wish otherwise, the preachy school mistress has a point," Morrigan admitted

"What of the children, then?" Elissa asked.

"Petra and Kinnon will watch them." She gestured at the other two adult mages. "If we slay all the fiends we encounter on our way, none will get by to threaten the children."

Elissa nodded slowly. "Very well – if that is what you think best."

"Petra, Kinnon, look after the others," Wynne ordered. "I will be back soon."

The woman, Petra, touched the older mage's arm. "Are you sure you're all right? You were so badly hurt earlier. Maybe I should come along."

"The others need your protection more." She brushed the concern away. "I will be all right. Stay with them – keep them calm and safe."

"What happened?" Elissa's eyes narrowed. If Wynne was injured…

Petra answered, her eyes troubled, "I was on my way down to the library when I heard screaming, and a demon came around the corner. Its eyes were afire with evil, I was certain it was my death come to me. I think I screamed."

Elissa repressed a shudder. She'd seen eyes like that once.

"I was so afraid. But then Wynne was there in front of me, shielding me. It was light and fire, blood and chaos. And when it was over, the demon was dead but Wynne wasn't moving either. I feared she was…gone. As I moved to help her, she stirred and coughed. I don't know what I would have done if she had died…for me."

"I was fine, simply stunned," Wynne patted her on the shoulder. "But thank you for the concern, my dear."

Petra got a determined look on her face. "Just look after her, all right? She might be completely fine, but maybe she didn't come away from that totally unharmed."

"I will try," Elissa said. "But I cannot promise anything. I can't promise any of us will come back."

"That is enough," Petra conceded. "Thank you, and thank you again for helping us."

"Let's get moving then," Elissa turned towards the barrier. "We're wasting time."

Wynne nodded briskly. "One moment and it'll be down then. Be on your guard." She turned to face the barrier. Her hands sketched a design in the air, leaving silver runes hanging in front of her.

Elissa tightened her sweaty grip on her sword, her eyes fixed on the barrier. Would something be lurking beyond it? Just waiting for them to step through before pouncing on them with all the force of the Fade behind it?

With a chime like the midday bells in the Chantry chapels, the barrier collapsed. There was a rush of warm air emerging from the doorway, but nothing else.

Elissa swallowed. "Right, let's move. Alistair, you and I are in the front." They were wearing the most armour; they'd be most likely to survive a surprise attack. Especially compared to the flimsy robe Wynne wore and the barely there costume Morrigan had insisted on, despite Elissa's attempts to convince her to wear something a little more practical. She led the way into the corridor, Alistair shadowing her footsteps closely.

"This leads to the library." Wynne kept her voice low but audible.

Leliana chimed in, "Do you know what we will face inside the Tower?"

"Have you seen demons before?" Wynne wanted to know. "We will see plenty of those. But it is the abominations I fear more. They are no longer human and are only driven by their lust for destruction."

"I haven't seen either before," Leliana admitted.

"I have," Alistair said quietly, with a little shudder.

Elissa was quiet, determinedly looking ahead of her.

"Elissa?" Alistair asked. "Have you seen a demon before?"

She was silent for a long moment. "Yes," she murmured at last.

Surprise was evident in Wynne's voice. "You have? I would not have expected..."

"Yes, well, I'm not what anyone expects, am I?" she snapped. Silence met the statement. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Wynne. I'm just on edge." Her nerves were wound tighter than a drum, as she waited for a demon to spring.

"It's quite all right," the elderly mage said calmly. "This is a stressful enough situation for us all."

Elissa nodded curtly. "Yes." A doorway loomed ahead of them, showing bookshelves piled high with thick tomes. She stepped through, and froze.

A twisted creature, once a man but no longer, loomed in front of her. Fleshy growths bulged along the arms and shoulders of the creature, ripping through the remnants of the mage's robes that still hung on the distorted frame. One eye was nearly completely covered by thick ropes of flesh twining around the head, and a few wisps of black hair hung down the opposite side of the head. Elissa's widened eyes fixed on it, and she was suddenly four years old again. She could feel slimy, unevenly thickened hands grasping at her upper arms, could feel the pain darting up her nerves and her skin ripping open as the rough grip tightened. She scrambled backwards, and her back hit the wooden door. She could feel splinters sinking through the silk dress, pressing into her skin. Ghostly hot breath blasted her face, bringing with it the foul odour of decay and vomit. She gagged.

Dimly she heard a male voice shouting something, and then someone was suddenly in front of her, shielding her with his body. Simultaneously, a bright bolt of magic flew overhead and a large dog leapt past her. A series of twangs echoed, and then silence.

The man in front of her turned towards her, and crouched in front of her. He said something. She stared at him, wide-eyed. "…Father?" He didn't look like her father, but her father would never send someone to rescue her without coming himself.

He blinked. "…istair. Are you all right?"

She stared back uncomprehendingly.

"She doesn't understand you," a drawling female voice said.

"I'm Alistair," the man repeated slowly. "Do…do you remember me?"

Alistair. The memories came crashing down. She was twenty-two, and they were in the Circle Tower. Her father was dead. And she had just had a flashback for the first time in fifteen years. In front of the group she was supposed to be leading. She said a word under her breath that would have made her mother wash her mouth out with soap.

"Elissa?" Alistair's voice was getting frantic.

Time to face the music, so to speak. She looked up at him, trying desperately to suppress the blood rushing to her cheeks. "I'm fine, Alistair."

He rocked back on his heels. "No, you're not. What in the Maker's name was that about?"

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She just hadn't been prepared for it. But now that she knew, she'd be fine. She stepped away from the bookshelf she'd pressed herself against.

"It looked like a flashback." Wynne moved in front of her, the mage's eyes narrowed. "Did it have something to do with earlier, when you said you'd seen a demon?"

Elissa swallowed. "I'm fine." She waved off the old woman's concern.

"That didn't answer the question," Morrigan pointed out. The witch circled the group to stand in front of Elissa, her yellow eyes piercing. "This is why my mother said you are scared of mages, is it not?"

"Elissa?" Alistair asked.

She'd never told anyone the truth. Her parents knew, obviously, and Fergus, and the group of knights who'd ridden to her rescue with her father. But the knights had never mentioned it to her, and even among her family the references were always oblique. Fear had kept them all from saying anything. Even Loghain didn't know. "Are you sure this is the right time for this?" Elissa said desperately. "We could be attacked at any moment!"

"And if we cannot trust that you will not freeze every time we are?" Morrigan said sharply. "You put us all in more danger if we have to defend you as well."

Elissa blanched.

"Morrigan!" Alistair hissed.

"No," Elissa said through numb lips as she looked away. "She's right." They deserved the truth, even if it was a truth she'd kept hidden for many years. And she didn't think any of these five would turn her into the Chantry. Morrigan didn't seem the sort to care about the Chantry's rules, Wynne had her own problems with the Circle at the moment, Leliana was hiding her own secrets and Alistair…well, he was the most likely candidate, but she hoped that the fact they were the last Grey Wardens in Ferelden would stay his hand.

"What happened?" Leliana rested a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the involuntary flinch.

"I was four," she said hollowly. "I was kidnapped by a pair of apostates. Maleficarum. It took my father three days to find and rescue me. In the battle, one of them turned into an abomination. He…used my blood..." She finally looked up at Alistair. "This is why I didn't want to come in here."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." He hesitated. "And the Chantry…didn't do anything?"

She stiffened. "They never knew." Her eyes darted to his face, searching for a sign that he was going to tell them. But the open face showed only sadness, and a sweet tenderness that in another world would have made her heart turn over.

"It is far too dangerous for you to be here then," Wynne said. "Greagoir would never have let you enter if he knew."

Elissa's lips pressed together. "I'll be fine. I just wasn't prepared. But now that I know, I won't freeze."

"It's not about that." Wynne shook her head. "The Chantry is right in that once a blood mage has gotten into your mind, you'll be more susceptible to it happening again."

Elissa flinched. "But he didn't control me," she protested.

"It makes no difference." Morrigan shrugged. "Using your blood to power his spells also brings him in contact with your mind. And with the abominations running loose here, there will undoubtedly be blood mages."

"I'll fight them." She would just have to stay in control of her own mind. She wasn't four anymore.

Morrigan laughed, the sound grating. "Do you think 'tis that simple?"

"It's part of the power of blood magic, Elissa. It can't be fought." Wynne gave her a sympathetic look.

"Is there no way to stop it?" Elissa demanded.

"There are ways to close your mind," the mage admitted. "But none that you could learn now in the time we have."

"Alistair?" Elissa turned towards him. "Is there anything you can do?"

Wynne gave him a surprised look, which he ignored. "No," he said slowly. "When the Chantry takes the victims, they don't normally…survive long enough for it to be an issue."

Elissa's smile was bitter. "Which is exactly why we never told them. If they found out, Elissa Cousland would have died in a tragic riding accident, I'm sure." He touched her arm, silently offering her comfort.

"That's horrific," Leliana breathed.

"Surprised? That your precious Chantry would kill even the victims of blood magic?" Morrigan sneered.

Elissa continued before anyone else could jump into the fray. "So if I can't learn to keep them out, what happens now? I can't go back now. We need every person we can have if we're going to win back the tower." As Alistair had said, they were Grey Wardens. This was their duty.

"It's too dangerous," Wynne refused.

Morrigan snorted. "Pshaw. She is right. If we're to save your mages and put them back into their prison, we will need all the help we can get. And if you send her away, you only have one actual fighter." A cold smile touched her lips. "Alistair is a Templar. He can watch her. The moment she seems to be losing control, he shoves his sword through her chest."

Elissa flinched and Duke growled.

"How does that give us the help?" Leliana demanded. "At least if she went back, she'd still be alive!"

"Because she may not lose control till we are almost at the top. And then we've had one more fighter to get us there," Morrigan said callously.

"I'm not going to do that!" Alistair barked.

Elissa swallowed, and straightened her shoulders. "Yes. Yes, you are." She walked up to stand right in front of him. "I'm not going back. And if some blood mage takes control of me, you have to kill me before I can hurt any of you."

Duke whined, but ducked his head at her frown.

"I can't kill you." He shook his head emphatically.

"Yes, you can. I'm expendable." She glanced around at the others. "We're all expendable. We need to fight the Blight. For that, we need the mages. And if I have to pay with my death, then so be it." She didn't want to die, but perhaps she wasn't as scared of death as she once had been. She would be with her parents then, not walking in a world where her betrothed had killed her best friend.

"Elissa-" he began, his heart in his eyes.

She winced inwardly and, despite the seriousness of the situation, she nearly groaned. No, no, no. He could not have a crush on her.

"It has to be this way," she said gently. "You need me to make it up the Tower. And maybe we'll get lucky, and no blood mage will try to control me."

"Take heart, Alistair." Morrigan smirked. "You probably won't have to do it."

He glared at her. "Fine. Let's go." He stalked off.

Wynne fell into place beside her. Her brow was creased. "This could be your life, you know."

Elissa smiled grimly. "If I backed from danger, we wouldn't be here right now, would we?" She looked at Alistair, who was that few steps ahead and quite obviously upset.

Wynne pursed her lips. "Is that why you travel with an apostate?"

Elissa sighed.

"I didn't say anything before because, well, as you said, the more people we have the better, but it's not safe to travel with her," Wynne warned.

"I know the Chantry says apostates are illegal, and must be taken to the Tower or killed," Elissa said softly, hoping that Morrigan couldn't hear her. "But Morrigan is not a maleficar."

"It doesn't matter. You of all people should understand that apostates living outside of the Chantry's oversight are dangerous."

Elissa flinched. "They are dangerous, yes. But I will not judge all mages for what two of their kind did nearly twenty years ago. And being dangerous is not a crime. We're all dangerous, Wynne."

"Not like an apostate is."

Elissa shook her head. "I am a Grey Warden, Wynne. A Grey Warden with no allies. I cannot be picky about who is willing to work with me. Morrigan is a strong fighter, and she saved my life at Ostagar, both mine and Alistair's. It would be a poor reward to turn her into the Chantry now."

Wynne looked unconvinced. "I'm not comfortable with this."

"That is your right," Elissa said quietly. "But I ask that you respect that Morrigan is a travelling companion of mine, and when this is all over, that you not tell the Chantry of her."

Wynne sighed. "Very well. I won't say anything."

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor nearly three hours and an assortment of demons and abominations later, Alistair shivered. "Brr, it's colder up here."

Morrigan's smile was delighted as they emerged in a large circular room. "Yes, you can feel the charge in the air, can you not? A great power has been released here." Her skin was streaked with dirt and dust, but her robes had somehow made it through the fights downstairs intact.

Elissa shuddered. The tingle at the back of her neck was even stronger now, and she dearly wanted to scratch it.

"You would be pleased," Alistair grumbled from behind his helmet.

Elissa heard something. "Shh." They all froze.

"…are we doing? Have you thought about it?" a plaintive female voice asked. It was coming from an open doorway on the right.

"We're making sure no-one disrupts Uldred's plan," a man told her. "I thought that was quite clear."

"B-but he's not Uldred anymore…" her voice trailed off. "I never wanted it to go this far!"

"Neither did I, but this is what we're faced with and-"

Elissa and Alistair exchanged glances. "Ready?" she whispered. A soft affirmative sound came from behind them. She met Alistair's eyes again, and then they charged.

Three mages inside spun at their entrance, their hands already moving. Elissa ducked a magical bolt, feeling a strange tugging in her stomach. The nearest mage sent another blast at her, this one striking her hard in the chest. Gritting her teeth, she ignored it and swung her blade. It ripped through his robes, slicing off one sleeve, and blood dripped to the floor. A blast of magic from behind her careened over her shoulder, and ice formed around the mage, locking him in place. Elissa slashed downwards against the ice, which shattered. The mage, his eyes already blank and dead, collapsed to the floor.

She whirled, searching for the next target. Alistair and Duke were engaged with another man, one who seemed to be faring rather poorly against them. Elissa turned then to the woman. White light glimmered around her feet, and she was casting haphazard bolts of magic from her tall oak staff. Elissa smelled the sharp tang of iron, coming from the hand stained red with blood.

She deflected a bolt with her shield, and lunged. The blade sank into the mage's shoulder. She jerked the blade free and swung again. The mage jumped back, and the blade only sliced shallowly across her stomach. The white light around her glowed, and before Elissa's eyes, the freely bleeding wounds healed. A bolt of magic slammed into Elissa's arm, and she couldn't stop the pained yelp despite the armour. The smell of burnt flesh filled her nose as she stumbled backwards, gasping for pained breaths.

A pair of arrows suddenly sprouted from the mage's leg, courtesy of Leliana. She heard Wynne's voice shouting something, and felt the pain in her arm dying down. Gritting her teeth, Elissa thrust again. Her sword bit into the mage's left forearm, and she quickly reversed her blade to sweep upwards.

The woman scrambled backwards, and her foot caught on the edge of a rug. She tumbled to the floor. Elissa took advantage and swung down.

"Please!" the woman shrieked, her hands raised in a futile attempt to defend herself.

Elissa stopped her blade a hair's breadth from the woman's chest.

The mage's eyes widened as she realised Elissa had stopped. "Please, please don't kill me!"

"The people you killed didn't want to die either," Elissa said coldly.

"Elissa," Alistair said slowly. "What are you doing? Are you—"

"I'm fine," Elissa didn't take her eyes off the figure on the floor. "Really. I'm still me."

"I know I have no right to ask for mercy," the mage babbled. "But we didn't mean for all this death and destruction. We were just trying to free ourselves. Uldred told us the Circle would support Loghain and he would help us be free of the Chantry. You don't know what it was like. The Templars were watching, always watching." She shuddered.

Loghain. Elissa gritted her teeth, and barely kept from shoving her blade down.

Wynne stepped forward. "But why turn to forbidden magic, Felicia?" her voice was sorrowful. Her robes had suffered badly on the first floor, and were now singed and torn in multiple places. Stray white hairs had escaped the bun and now hung down around the edges of her face.

The mage, Felicia, looked away. "The magic was a means to an end. It gave us…it gave me the power to fight for what I-I believed in."

"Fighting for what you believe is commendable," Wynne allowed. "But the ends do not always justify the means."

Felicia stared at her. "You don't really believe that, do you Wynne? Change rarely comes peacefully. Andraste waged war on the Imperium. She did not write them a strongly worded letter. She reshaped civilisation, freed the slaves and gave us the Chantry. But people died for it…" She swallowed. "We thought someone always has to take the first step…force a change, no matter the cost."

Wynne shook her head sadly. "Nothing is worth what you've done to this place."

"And now Uldred's gone mad," Felicia said bitterly. "And the rest of us are scattered, doomed to die at the hands of those who seek to right our wrongs." The plea in her eyes was obvious.

"I will not allow a blood mage to live!" Elissa snapped.

Her face fell. "But I…I want a chance to atone for my sins. Please, if you spare me, I could escape to the Chantry and seek penance for my sins."

Alistair snorted. "You know they'll never take you. They're very picky about who they let in. Harlots and murderers, yes. Maleficarum, oh no."

"The Chantry is very accepting of all people," Leliana protested.

"Except maleficarum," he retorted.

"If she can give back to society, atone for what she has done," Wynne began.

The blood mage looked up pleadingly into Elissa's eyes. "I want my life. Please."

"And so did the people you slaughtered!"

"It is fools like you who give the rest of us a bad name," Morrigan hissed. "I have nothing against blood magic, but against foolishness? I say kill her. Let her death be her penance if she so desires. She is just one more threat to you, Elissa."

"No, no, please," Felicia begged.

"Enough of this." Elissa shoved her blade down through flesh and bone and watched as the light faded in the brown eyes. Turning away, she met her companions' gazes defiantly. "Let's go."

"Why did you do that?" Wynne demanded. "She regretted what she did. She could have made up for it!"

"Nothing can make up for what a blood mage does," Elissa said flatly. "Regret doesn't change the deaths she's caused. Now. Let's. Go."

Leliana knelt next to the corpse's head, and gentle fingers brushed the eyelids closed. Her lips moved in a silent prayer.

Wynne shook her head sadly and turned away. "This way. Irving's office is just ins-" she broke off as they all glimpsed the three creatures of red and yellow flame in the hallway.

She had no time to panic. "Get back." Elissa shoved the mage behind her and darted out in front. "Go right," she told Alistair, as they watched the vaguely humanoid demons sweep down the corridor towards them. "Morrigan, middle!"

She didn't have time to see if they followed her orders, as she was suddenly desperately fighting her own demon. Each attempted blow, whether it hit or not, blasted burning air so close to her that she could feel her face drying out despite the copious sweat inside her armour. Duke lunged up, snapping at the demon's hand. She ignored the smell of burnt fur, and thrust again. Her sword bounced off. The demon looked like lava contained within a thin skin, but it was far more durable than she would have expected. Something that looked like a giant stone fist exploded in front of it, shoving it back several paces and a quick glance over her shoulder showed Wynne was responsible for it. She lunged again, and this time her blade pierced through that skin. Her sword sank into the chest, where the heart on a human would be, and the creature exploded, raining tiny droplets of burning fire down on her. It hissed where it touched her armour, but left no other mark.

Breathing heavily, she spun just in time to see Alistair helping Morrigan finish off the last remaining demon. Their harsh breaths and the creak of hers and Alistair's armour were the only sounds in the hallway.

"Everyone all right?" she asked, trying to conceal the trembling in her own limbs. She would never get used to facing demons, or the rush of magic around her. Even if it was Morrigan or Wynne casting.

Duke gave a pained whimper.

"Wynne, can you do something for Duke?"

The mage came over, her robes looking a little singed. "Let me see." She reached for a familiar looking blue flask at her hip and tipped it back. Then she knelt beside the hound, and closed her eyes. Duke glowed faintly blue, and the burnt colour began to recede. His breathing eased. "There you go."

"Thank you." Elissa offered her a grateful smile.

Wynne waved it off. "It is no trouble."

Elissa glanced at her companions to check them all, and found no significant injuries. None of them were intact, of course, after three hours in battle on the first floor. But Wynne had healed the worst injuries as they occurred or shortly after.

"This is Irving's office." Wynne peered into a nearby room. "I half expected to find him here but…I suppose that's too much to hope for." The pain in her voice was clear.

"Were you friends?" Elissa asked quietly, stepping up beside her to peer into the messy office.

Wynne smiled. "We grew up here together. He came to the Tower the same year I did."

"We'll find him." Elissa gripped the older woman's shoulder.

Wynne remained quiet for another moment, and shivered. Then she walked back out. Elissa glanced into the room, and her gaze was drawn to a chest in the corner. Checking that Wynne wasn't looking in her direction, Elissa slipped inside. She made her way to the chest, and was surprised to find it open easily. Inside was an assortment of blue mana potions that she pocketed with a mental note to give them to the two mages, and a thick black book. A quick look through the first few pages proved it to be a book on spells. Elissa hesitated for only a moment before slipping it into her backpack. Any powerful spells they could find, which these had to be given that they were in the First Enchanter's office, would be of use. Perhaps Morrigan would be able to use it. She closed her bag and headed back into the corridor.

"…always go on and on about how stupid I am? I'm not stupid, am I?" Alistair asked plaintively as she emerged.

Morrigan smirked. "If you need to ask the question…"

"Because it hurts my manly feelings, you know," he retorted. "All one of them."

"Then I'll be sure to write you an apology once this is all over."

Alistair frowned. "I was educated by the Chantry. I studied history. They don't make stupid Templars, you know."

Morrigan gave him a disbelieving stare. "Then I must have been mistaken. I am very impressed."

He scowled. "No you're not. You're not even listening to me."

"My, you are smarter than you look after all." Morrigan rolled her eyes. "Your Chantry must be very proud."

"Oh shut up," he grumbled.

"Are we ready to keep moving?" Elissa interjected before Morrigan could say something. "Let's go."

The tower didn't have windows, so Elissa had no idea what time it was when they finally made it to the fourth floor. She winced as she took the final step on the staircase, her ankle still tender from being broken on the second floor despite Wynne's healing. Without Wynne, she was certain that one or more of them would have been out of commission by now. There had been far more demons and abominations than she'd expected. Thankfully, they'd only run into a handful of blood mages, and although that tugging feeling in her stomach had reappeared each time, it hadn't gotten any worse.

Elissa came to a stop, staring at the thick red and purple slime oozing along the stone walls. It climbed the walls like vines climbed a trellis, and spread unevenly across the floor like a web of thick, knotted roots. She shuddered.

"Do you get the feeling things are just getting worse as we go up?" Alistair regarded the wall with an expression of distaste.

"Tis most intriguing." Morrigan crouched beside a particularly thick vine. "Corruption not unlike the darkspawn. Perhaps they are related."

Elissa glanced again at the filth. Corruption, Morrigan had called it. It wasn't an inaccurate description she supposed. It certainly reeked of evil.

Alistair shuddered and turned away. "Now that's just unnecessary."

"T…this cannot continue!" Wynne was pale. "We must stop it!"

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "That is the idea, old woman."

"Shh." Leliana cocked her head. "I hear something."

"…time for supper, pet." The soft female voice was coming from one of the rooms a little further down the corridor.

"Yes, my love." That was a man's voice, only his sounded a little dazed. "What are we having tonight?"

"Roast boar, your favourite. And candied yams. It looks scrumptious."

That didn't sound like the sort of conversation two mages would be having in a Tower over-run by demons. Trying to move at silently as possible, Elissa crept down the hallway. Leliana was noiseless as she padded ahead of Elissa, and the two mages were also quiet, but Alistair's armour clanked, and Elissa winced.

The man's voice spoke again. "You spoil me, my sweet." There were the noisy sounds of a kiss. "How fare our children at their lessons?"

Elissa peeked through the open door, careful to keep out of sight. A naked woman with faintly purple skin hovered with her back to them, a pair of winding horns emerging from her head. Pressed up against her, and half-hidden by her body, was a man in full metal armour. A Templar, judging by the shape of the armour.

"A desire demon," Wynne breathed, her voice so soft it was barely audible.

Elissa gritted her teeth.

"Why not ask them yourself?" the demon teased. "Everything is just as you wanted, my knight. Our love and our family is more than you could have hoped for."

"Unhand him, foul demon!" Alistair strode into the room.

Elissa swore under her breath; he had no concept of subtlety. She hurriedly followed him in.

"Do you hear something, my love?" The Templar asked.

A purple hand touched his face gently, tenderly even. "It is nothing, my darling. Just the door. Put the children to sleep while I see who it is."

"Don't be long. The children will want to kiss you good night."

"I will be but a moment, my pet." The demon turned towards them, leaving the Templar staring into space. Elissa's eyes widened upon seeing the gold chains decorating the demon's naked body. "You are intruding upon a loving, intimate moment. I despise interruptions."

"And I despise demons," she said through gritted teeth. Her hand tightened on her sword.

"What was that?" The Templar's voice was raised as though he was calling through a house.

A gleeful look appeared on the demon's face. "Help! There are bandits at the door. They are going to murder the children."

A sudden rage filled Elissa at the words, and suddenly her sword was swinging. The demon jumped backwards, and her blade passed within a hair's breadth of the purple flesh. She was aware of the Templar shouting something, but it was overshadowed by the sound of metal on metal as Alistair engaged him. There was an explosion of magic behind her, and a second one above her. Her shield came up to protect her body from the rain of magic bolts the demon has conjured above her. Her armour hissed where bright blue bolts struck it, leaving black scorch marks behind.

Magic flared around the edges of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Elissa saw a body she'd thought was dead lurch to its feet. Another glance at the dull, empty eyes and she knew it was still dead. The sound of shuffling feet behind her, nearly hidden by the sound of Leliana's bow twanging and magical explosions, told her there were more animated corpses.

A sudden, painful impact against her left shoulder drew her attention. Biting her cheek against the pain, she backed up, keeping both demon and corpse within her sight. And of course, the demon would be on her right, the side away from her shield, which would do the most use in protecting her from magical blasts. So instead she ducked another torrent of magical power, and fended off a blow from the corpse's sword with her shield.

Then, the demon opened her mouth. And screamed. Agony exploded in Elissa's head. She reeled and her vision swam. Despite feeling a fiery lance strike through her stomach almost simultaneously with a blunt thud into her chest, she wasn't able to blink her eyes clear. Her blade was wrenched from her hand and she felt the stone floor beneath her knees before she was even aware of falling. Then abruptly her head was clear, just in time for her to see a sword descending towards her head. A burst of magic above her head, and both demon and corpse were encased in ice.

"Shatter it!" Morrigan's voice was breathless.

Elissa scrambled for her blade and then to her feet. Ignoring the pain streaking through her body, she threw all her weight behind a single strike against the corpse. The ice, and the man inside, shattered. As her sword fell through the space he had been, the weight dragged her off balance and she stumbled forward. She recovered her footing, and then turned to face the demon. Even as she twisted, she heard the sound of ice breaking again. This time though, the trapped figure was unharmed, although vastly irritated to go by its expression.

Before the demon's attention could be redirected towards Morrigan, Elissa slashed upwards, barely missing yet again. She bit down on a yell as the muscle movement pulled at the wound in her side. Shifting her weight behind her shield, she used it as a battering ram to knock the demon off-balance. This time, her follow-up blow bit deeply into the demon's shoulder, winning a pained gasp.

A terrified shout drew her attention to the elderly mage, trying desperately to use her staff to physically fend off an axe-wielding corpse. "Duke!" Elissa shouted. The dog left off worrying the demon's heels, and streaked towards the mage. A rain of arrows announced Leliana's attention had shifted as well, and Elissa focused back on the demon in front of her.

For all that her opponent was not wielding a blade, its magical strikes were hard and fast and did not require it to be within arm's length of Elissa, making it all that more difficult to fight. It was tireless, despite the countless sluggishly bleeding wounds Elissa had inflicted. Elissa herself was tired after hours of battling demons, abominations and mages, despite Wynne's healing and a number of false strength potions. Her breath echoed loudly in her ears, and her fingers felt sweaty inside the gauntlets.

Suddenly desperate to finish the fight, she struck in a flurry of blows that she could feel aggravating her wounds. It took the demon off-guard, and it stumbled back before Elissa's attack. Sweep left. Strike right. Feint left, strike right again. Dodge left. Elissa whipped the blade around and thrust forward, almost surprised to feel the resistance of soft breast flesh giving beneath her sword. Dark eyes stared up at her, equally surprised, and then the light inside them winked out. The body vanished, and with the abrupt cessation of weight, Elissa stumbled and crashed to the floor with a loud clatter.

"Are you all right?" Alistair was the first by her side, concern visible on his face. The possessed Templar he'd been fighting was crumpled to the floor at the very edge of her vision, the blood stains spreading around him indicating he was dead.

She sat up slowly, every muscle protesting the movement. "Ouch." His hand was gentle as it supported her back.

Morrigan kicked over the corpse of the Templar knight. "Apparently you can get your desire and still suffer horribly. 'Tis truly a lesson for all who consider marriage."

Elissa would have rolled her eyes if she'd had the strength.

Wynne, bloodied and looking worse for wear, came to kneel beside her. "Don't move," she ordered. "You're bleeding internally." The glow was slow to come to her hands, as she struggled to summon the power necessary. Her normally grey-blue eyes were a startling electric blue, from drinking far too many mana potions in the past few hours.

Elissa let herself relax back onto the filthy floor. "The others?" The pain in her stomach was slowly ebbing.

"Alistair will need help with that arm and a few ribs when I am done here." Wynne eyed him disapprovingly. "But the others are all right. They weren't in the thick of things as you two were."

"All right, all right," Alistair muttered.

"Are you okay?" Elissa looked up into those electric blue eyes. Her stomach only ached powerfully now, and the throbbing in her shoulder didn't seem quite as bad. Her pounding headache though, had only grown worse, although maybe that was because the other pains weren't as overwhelming.

Wynne's smile was weary. "I will survive." She sat back on her heels. "I can do no more for you now. Not if I am to see to Alistair. My reserves are far too low."

Elissa nodded, immediately regretting the movement that sent her head spinning. "All right. I-" she closed her eyes for a moment to catch her breath,"-think we'll rest here for a while before continuing."

"A commendable idea." Morrigan appeared beside her, and held out a small vial of red liquid. "A pain-killer." Elissa took it, wincing with each movement, and knocked it back. Almost instantly she felt blessed relief spread through her.

Leliana offered a hand to help pull Elissa to her feet. The minstrel's eyes were worried. "What of the risk to your mind?"

Elissa felt her stomach drop. She glanced at Morrigan.

The witch shrugged. "Tis true that you will be more vulnerable whilst you sleep. But unless we are attacked or a blood mage senses you, it should not matter. And your natural shields will be stronger when you are more rested."

Wynne didn't turn around from where she knelt over Alistair's body. "It is not only you who will be at risk, Elissa. Both of us mages will also have to be on our guard."

"Pfft." Morrigan snorted.

"Then, let's find a place to sleep where there aren't dead bodies." Elissa screwed up her nose at the smell of charred flesh.

"There was a room back along the corridor," Leliana suggested. "At least, I didn't see or hear any demons when we passed it. Although it's a little messy."

"Anything is better than here." Elissa resettled the shield on her arm, and bent to pick up her sword again. She winced as she noticed the slight indent on the hilt of the Cousland family sword from where it had been dropped during the fight. "Come on, let's go set up camp."

"Wait," Alistair called, trying to sit up despite Wynne's insistence. "I can come."

Elissa shook her head. "No, let Wynne heal you first."

"What if you get attacked again?" he demanded.

"Alistair." Wynne's irritation was clear.

"We won't," Elissa said with a confidence she didn't feel.

"But you…"

"Lie back down, Alistair, or I won't be responsible for what I do," Wynne warned.

"Alistair. Please." Elissa met his eyes.

He subsided.

"You do know what that was about, don't you?" Leliana murmured in her ear as the three women and one dog emerged from the room.

Elissa sighed. "Yes. Unfortunately."

"Why unfortunate?" Leliana wanted to know. "He is sweet, and not bad to look at."

"It's not him." Elissa sighed. "He is lovely but…"

"But?"

"I'm in love with someone else," Elissa forced the words out, feeling them stick in her throat.

She shouldn't be. After everything Loghain had done, she shouldn't love him. She shouldn't still want to feel his arms around her, and his kiss upon her lips. She hated what he'd done, and even hated him, but she loved him still despite that. And even if she hadn't felt that way, Alistair looked far too much like Cailan. It would be like falling in love with her best friend.

"Ah." Leliana clucked her tongue sympathetically. "That does pose a slight problem."

Morrigan snorted. "Love. Foolish emotions."

Leliana ignored the witch, as she clutched as Elissa's arm. "We must gossip. Tell me all about your man."

"There's nothing to tell," Elissa said flatly.

Comprehension dawned in Leliana's eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was he at Ostagar?"

"Yes." It wasn't a lie, even if it wasn't quite what the minstrel had meant. Loghain had been there, he just hadn't physically died there.

"I'm sorry." The other woman squeezed her arm comfortingly.

Elissa pressed her lips together. "Can we not talk about it?"

"Of course. See, here's the room I meant." Leliana stepped into an empty room, with dozens of books knocked from their shelves and piled on the floor.

"Let's set up camp then." Elissa pulled off the enchanted backpack and set it on the floor.

Maker damn you, Loghain.