Dragon 9:30, Guardian 12
Cullen
Solona's hand was cool against his cheek, her smile sad.
Cullen gave a small, halting nod. He tried and failed to return her smile.
She's leaving… without me. What other choice does she have? What other choice did I give her?
He breathed past his pain, preparing to say his goodbyes, but she spoke first.
"I'm staying, Anders." Though she was addressing her friend, Solona's eyes never wavered from his.
His every fear over the developments upstairs disappeared with her words. Anders' impatient sighs and the waging battle faded until all that remained in his world was her.
"Solona," he whispered, his hands moving to caress her soft cheeks. "Are you sure—"
She placed her fingers gently over his lips, and her smile grew. Cullen's heart soared. The world may be crumbling around them, but—Maker save them both—he wasn't sure he was strong enough to let her go. His fingers flexed, twining through her hair as he bent and captured her lips. He poured all his conflicting emotions into that kiss: his relief with a soft exhale, his fears with a deepening of the kiss, his frustrations with a quick flick of his tongue, and his adoration with a soft brush of his mouth against hers.
Slowly returning to the present, Cullen eased away and pulled her into his embrace. In this moment, he was desperate to feel her in his arms for fear that this was all a dream.
Sharing a smile, they walked side-by-side out of the library, unconcerned that Anders had already slipped away.
Their moment of bliss was abruptly ended as soon as they emerged into the hallway. Mages and templars alike dashed up and down the corridors. The apprentices were wide-eyed with confusion and terror, and Cullen glanced at Solona to see a shadow of fear cross her face. His heart clenched, remembering the dread and hopelessness that had been on her face the night he'd rescued her.
Maker… has it really been only a few months since my arrival? What I wouldn't give to go back to those early days—I'd embrace all the pranks Solona and her friends pulled on me tenfold if it only meant she would stay safe.
Just as he turned to suggest that they both move to the lower floors, Solona pulled away from him with a gasp.
"Wynne!" she exclaimed. Cullen looked up, his eyes widening as he took in the senior enchanter's appearance. The mage's condition clearly hadn't improved since their return earlier that day. A thin gash marred the flesh above her left eye, crimson blood staining her cheek. At the sound of her name, she stood before them, her breath heavy as a number of young apprentices huddled behind her.
Wynne eyed the two of them shrewdly. If she noticed the way that Solona leaned gently into him, or his hand laid protectively on the small of her back, she didn't say.
Rather, she took a deep breath before speaking, her eyes still darting between them. "There is little time to explain," she said quickly. "Suffice to say that Uldred has gone mad. He's started a rebellion, and it already spreads through the tower like a dark pestilence. I fear what may happen if this is not stopped soon—he and his followers have already turned to blood magic."
Cullen took a step forward, his training taking over despite the cold that spread through his stomach. "What must we do, senior enchanter?"
"Many of the templars are already fighting upstairs in the Great Hall. I believe that you should join them, young man." She then turned to Solona. "I must ask you, Solona, to help me get these apprentices to the safety of the lower level."
Cullen glanced quickly at Solona, then nodded. "Very well. May the Maker guide your path."
Wynne nodded, her eyes grim. "May He watch over us all."
As Wynne turned to leave, Solona hesitated. She turned and grasped Cullen's hands in her own, looking fiercely into his eyes. "You have the amulet I gave you?"
Cullen nodded, feeling the now-familiar pulse of magic near his heart where the token lay.
"Keep in on, no matter what," she said urgently.
Cullen's head spun from the intensity in her eyes. Things were so far out of his control, now—out of everyone's control. He ached for those early days when he'd struggled with his forbidden feelings for Solona. He may indeed be damned for giving in, but how could something so sweet—so pure—be a sin?
I've come this far already, I may as well take one more step. It appears as though the Void has come to swallow us, anyway.
He stepped forward, not touching her, but close enough to feel the heat radiating from her body. "Solona," he whispered, then hesitated. How was it that these small words were so difficult to say? "I—"
"Solona!" Wynne's voice echoing up the corridor crashed through their shared moment, and Cullen winced. "We need help!"
Solona gazed at him, her eyes filled with regret and gave a small smile before dashing after Wynne and the apprentices. Cullen's heart shattered, and it took every ounce of willpower to let her go.
Cullen bolted up the stairs as fast as he could, directing all of the younger mages that he encountered to head to the lower floors. When he emerged into the Great Hall, the corruption of blood magic threatened to overwhelm him. His feet were leaden, a sweat broke out on his brow, and his peripheral vision was blurred. He clenched his hand above his chest where he knew his amulet was, and strong though the blood magic was, his head remained surprisingly clear. Though there were more blood mages than when he had faced down Match, he felt significantly more alert than he had on that ill-fated night.
He stepped further into the hall, drawing his sword as he went. He caught sight of the knight-commander, and hurried to his side.
"Ser Cullen, good," Greagoir said, his voice raised above the racket of fighting, "Join these three and aid the mages and the first enchanter in the northwest corner. They're attempting to hold back the abominations that have already been created by Uldred. I'll return as soon as I round up the rest of the men from downstairs. Now, hurry!"
Cullen and the rest quickly saluted as the knight-commander took off for the stairs. They made for the corner where the fighting was and entered the fray.
Spells flashed back and forth from the mages on both sides. The first enchanter sent ice spells of frightening power at his opponents, his face set in grim determination. The blood mages' eyes burned crimson as they fought back, dark stains on the floor at their feet where they had shed their own blood in return for heightened power. Scattered amongst them were three abominations, their grotesque features something that Cullen had fervently prayed never to see again. Their inhuman snarls rent the air, and they slashed their claws, ruthlessly tearing down anything that failed to get out of the way. Cullen shuddered when he caught sight of the several broken bodies already littering the ground.
His comrades faltered in the face of the creatures, and Cullen felt his own spirits sink before remembering what he was fighting for—who he was fighting for. With a rallying cry, he surged forward to engage one of the abominations point blank. He heard the cries of his brethren behind him, and brought his sword up to parry the lethal swipe of claws. He drove his own sword into the creature's torso, ignoring the black ichor that stained his steel boots. A deafening wail of fury came from the creature as it fought to land a blow on Cullen. Ser Warren came to his side and slashed at the abomination's back. Arms straining from the effort of holding the creature at bay on his sword, Cullen called out, "Its head! Strike its head!" and watched with satisfaction as his friend heard him and managed to dispatch the beast.
Cullen freed his sword with a grunt, and turned to thank Warren. White light flashed behind the soldier's helm, and the grin of satisfaction on his face was replaced by agony. Moments later, Warren dropped to the floor, revealing a dark-haired woman behind him smiling maliciously, her staff held in front of her. With a roar of grief and outrage, Cullen raised his hand and released the power within him, smiting the mage with all his strength. The mage's eyes registered shock as the red faded back to natural brown, and she dropped to her knees. Cullen ran forward, his sword held aloft in preparation to make the final blow, but was brought up short when the mage burst into flame, shrieking in pain as the magical flames consumed her.
Expecting to see the Irving or another senior enchanter behind him, Cullen turned to thank them. Instead, he saw Solona, her hair in disarray around her face, her eyes alight with purpose and staff smoking in her right hand.
He hadn't thought that he could feel worse, but the sight of her amidst the battle, death and destruction raining down upon them, sent a chill through his veins despite the heat of the smoldering corpse at his back.
She gave him a tight smile, but there was no time for anything else. They both ran out of the hall and toward the stairs to aid the first enchanter and several other mages who had been cornered by several abominations. Spells shot out of Solona's staff, and Cullen's blade reflected their brilliant colors as it arced through the air, eagerly seeking out its next target. He moved to help Solona take down one of the abominations when the voice of another templar called his name.
Cullen glanced at Solona, and hesitated only a moment before dashing back across the alcove to his brother's aid. Together, he and the other templars managed to eliminate the two blood mages who had somehow become separated from the rest of their kind. Cullen panted with exertion. His hands were numb from landing countless blows, and he could feel a thin trickle of blood coming from his lip where one of the abominations had landed a glancing scratch. The hall had quieted down significantly, and Cullen allowed himself a moment of hope.
Perhaps all is not yet lost. We've had a number of our own fall, but at least we've held back the bulk of their attack.
A terrible crash echoed across the hall, and Cullen spun in time to see a bald mage enter the room, dozens of abominations at his back.
Uldred had entered the fray.
Cullen shouted in alarm, and began to run to the aid of the mages he'd left behind, but his legs were leaden, and the expanse of floor seemed to grow ever longer. A wave of lethargy broke over him, and a bitter taste filled his mouth. With a gasp of horror, Cullen recognized too late the signs of blood magic being used against him. He struggled to break free from whatever spell it was that held him, but his legs had slowed to a standstill. From the grunts and cries of surprise and frustration at his back, he realized his comrades had also been trapped.
Helpless to do anything else, he looked on at the scene unfolding near the stairs.
The battle still raged, but the tide had turned against the mages, and they now fought for their lives. Cullen caught sight of Solona, and fear threatened to choke him as she attempted to battle two abominations at once. Most of the other mages were in a similar predicament, and Cullen's heart sank as he saw a number of them fall to the unworldly strength of the creatures.
One of the abominations attacking Solona dodged a swipe from her staff, and its clawed hand pulled it from her grasp and snapped it as though it were nothing more than a twig. It turned soulless eyes on her, and delivered a blow to her shoulder that sent her crumbling to the ground.
"Solona, no!" Cullen cried out, heedless of the taste of dark magic in his mouth, uncaring of who heard him or what they would think.
A flash of blue light came from the first enchanter's staff. The abomination standing above Solona, arm outstretched to make the killing blow, was encased in ice. Immediately after, another spell of terrifying power that shook the entire room crashed into the monster, shattering its body into countless pieces.
Solona stirred feebly on the floor, and Cullen breathed a sigh of relief that she was still alive.
"Enough!" a voice magnified above the sounds of battle called out. Uldred stepped back into view, and pointed his own staff at the first enchanter. Black tendrils of smoke twined around Irving's body, rendering him motionless.
"Ah, Irving, my old friend," Uldred said with a honeyed voice, "I thought I might find you here. Still fighting, I see? That always was you, though—fighting against impossible odds, certain that your ideals would win the day." A cold laugh echoed through the room.
"Uldred, stop this madness!" the first enchanter said, struggling against his bonds.
"Do you truly believe this to be madness, Irving?" Uldred said in mock hurt and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "How could you, when the true madness is allowing ourselves to be subject to the whims of mere men and women who can only dream of the power that we wield."
Cullen could scarce believe what he was hearing. He was no fool—he knew that there were some mages who believed that they should be free from the circle—but he had been under the impression that the majority of mages agreed that the circles were as much a way to keep them safe as to keep the world safe.
"It is us who should be shackling them," Uldred continued. "The templars fear us, and rightly so. I have unlocked greater power than even you, a fellow mage, could imagine. Blood magic is not something to be reviled—no, no—it is something to be revered. And now that it's come to this, you shall see exactly what it is that I'm capable of. Perhaps then you will be convinced that joining me really is the best course of action."
"Never." The first enchanter's voice was loud and clear, and Cullen couldn't help but admire him.
"No?" Uldred asked, before looking around at the rest of the scene before him. "Very well. I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way, then."
Cullen's heart sank, and he prayed to the Maker that the rest of the reinforcements that the knight-commander had promised would arrive soon.
Uldred gave orders to his followers to gather the remaining mages and first enchanter and take them upstairs to the Harrowing Chamber. Cullen renewed his struggles to escape as he saw Solona pulled roughly to her feet by two abominations and hauled out of the room. He caught her hazy glance back at him, and his heart broke at her pain and fear. As she disappeared around the corner, Cullen hardly noticed that Uldred had approached the templars.
"And what do we have here?"
Uldred's voice snapped Cullen back to his own predicament.
"Hmm, now what shall we do with our group of little soldiers?" he taunted, then turned to the blood mages behind them. "Shall we kill them right now like the vermin they are and send them to their Maker? Perhaps we can torture them a bit first, as they've made our lives here in the tower no more enjoyable than if we were caged in Fort Drakon itself."
Rage boiled within Cullen. He cared not what happened to him—he had been born into a lifestyle of rigorous dedication to the Order, taught to fear neither death nor pain, but only the wrath of the Maker should he falter from his divine duties. The only thing he did fear, now, was what might happen to Solona should he fail.
He fixed steely eyes on Uldred. "If you are so confident in your power, blood mage, I suggest you release us and fight us yourself!"
A cheer went up from the templars around Cullen, and he took heart that they, too, were ready to face what was to come. Though he didn't know exactly what to expect from Uldred, the laughter that bubbled forth was certainly not it.
"Ah, my but you are brave," he said with a cruel sneer. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be much fun to slaughter you now, though. I think I have just the thing to keep you all occupied while I'm busy."
Cullen narrowed his eyes as Uldred motioned for the mages to step back. He pulled a dagger out of his sleeve, and made a small cut in to crook of his left elbow. A fresh wave of nausea poured over Cullen as Uldred drew on the forbidden powers of the Fade. As the mage lifted his hands, two things happened simultaneously: the invisible bonds that held Cullen and the rest of the templars evaporated, and a shimmering, pale-purple light rose from the floor to encase them. Cullen knew without moving to touch it that it was unlikely that they could break through the field of energy. Even standing near it was enough to sap him of energy.
"I believe that should do the trick," Uldred said cheerily, stepping back from the barrier he'd erected. His pale eyes cast over the trapped templars before settling on Cullen once more. "I think that it will be quite… amusing to break you all."
With those words, he motioned for the mages to follow him and spun and walked up the stairs to the Harrowing Chamber, leaving Cullen and the rest behind.
A/N: Special thanks to all my reviewers and new followers, you are all great! Melysande, Jaden Anderson, FenZev, Miss Mahariel, Hatsepsut, Candle in the Night, Barbapapa, whensovngardebeckons, Awinters25 – TeamAngst, evesharmony, Benbone, and KiitaT. Thanks as well to my dear beta for all of her help! I hope you all enjoyed, and should you feel so inclined to leave me a little note, I would love it!