Part XXV
The deep red hue of the orbs faded and each became completely clear. The light emitted by the smallest orbs shifted from red to a bright gold. The hag chuckled gleefully at her accomplishment while Leliana, Alistair, and his men stood stunned, almost unable to comprehend what they had just seen.
The violent winds that held the witch aloft began to gently lower her back in place on top of the keep's tower. As soon as Morrigan's feet came in touch with the stone roof, she bolted to The Warden's side as he lay lifeless in front of the black stone altar. She bent down and grabbed him, rolling him over on his back, his eyes wide open, fixed and staring at nothing.
"No!" The witch cried out, throwing her arms around him and trying to pull him up to her, his much heavier frame giving her difficulty. "No!" she repeated in desperation.
"You will not do this to me! Do you hear?" she whispered into his ear as she cradled his body in her arms. "I shall not allow you to die on me...on us..."
The Warden remained still and unmoving in Morrigan's arms, showing no signs of response to the witch's pleas. She bowed her head and rested it against his, "No...please no..." she whimpered quietly.
"He's gone, Morrigan." Alistair said from behind her. "There's nothing you can do." The king placed his hand on the witch's shoulder. She looked up to see both he and the bard staring down at her, with him teary eyed, and Leliana weeping heavily.
"He...he did this for me..." Morrigan muttered weakly to the king.
"Yes he did." Flemeth agreed. "And now at last do you see the weakness of love. Before you lies the most powerful man to walk the face of Ferelden in centuries, and you helped me destroy him without ever having to lift a finger. All for love."
With a fierce yell, Morrigan rose to her feet, channeled all of her rage and hate into her spell and flung it forth at her mother with everything she had within her. "Die!" she cried as the intense bolt of energy flew forth from her fingertips, crackling and popping through the air as it raced towards the old hag, who, with a simple casual backhand, knocked the blast away and sent it arcing harmlessly off into thin air.
"Do be careful. You wouldn't want anything to happen to the babe, now would you?" Flemeth cackled back at her daughter as if amused by the witch's anger. "We shall complete our business when I am finished here. I am sure your lust for vengeance can stand to wait several minutes."
"I will see you dead!" Morrigan exclaimed as she prepared another spell to attack her mother with.
"I tried to be civil and this is the thanks I get?" Flemeth said as if hurt by the witch's belligerence, "So be it." And with a wave of her hand, Morrigan, Alistair, Leliana, and the knights were each surrounded by a glowing blue sphere. A barrier spell that kept them trapped in place, unable to annoy the hag any further.
"You would unleash a monster and bring destruction on us all!" The witch yelled out.
"A monster? Ha! You know nothing." Flemeth explained with her usual flair for the insane, "Lord Urthemiel is a god of beauty. He will restore the old ways and bring order to chaos. He will drive the petulant usurper back into the abyss along with his followers, wiping the slate clean that we may begin anew."
"You are completely mad!" Morrigan yelled back.
"Mad am I? Is it so mad to desire balance? Am I so wrong for wanting to gain back what is rightfully mine?"
"Was Osen so important to you to demand the whole world pay penance in blood?" Morrigan asked.
"Would you have done any less for your warden?" the hag asked in return.
Flemeth's response caught the witch off guard. It was not something Morrigan expected to hear from her mother. Even after all these centuries, Osen's death still stabbed at the old hag as if it were still a fresh wound. The hate within Flemeth had had centuries to fester and boil until it became a creature of its own.
"Just as you held your beloved warden in your arms, so I held Osen. And as he lay dead in my arms I swore that I would avenge him. Although I was gifted in the ways of magic, I stood no chance alone against Conobar's men. Lord Urthemiel heard my cries and gave me the means to carry out my revenge."
"But Elstan's death wasn't enough? Your revenge required more blood to be satiated?"
"Not so. Having slain the bann, I thought my work finished." the hag continued to explain, "But the bann's Captain of the Guard, Sarim Cousland, had seen what I had done. My deeds having tired me greatly, the fool captain was able to drive me from the castle. He immediately proclaimed himself the new bann of Highever and took from me what was rightfully mine as Conobar's wife. Worse still, the Aramithine honored the upstart's claim. Twas obvious it suited them better to have a man rather than a woman overseeing the bannorn."
"So you ensured the eradication of the Cousland family...except for one small thing, the Cousland line yet remains."
"You refer to Teyrn Fergus Cousland. His destruction will be a simple matter, once My Lord is free from his prison."
Morrigan held her tongue, noting that her mother had missed the obvious and decided not to reveal anything to the hag. There were two other Couslands that Flemeth was apparently unaware of, Seth and the witch herself, who considered herself a Cousland. After all, both The Warden and teyrn had said she was family.
"'Tis now time to summon My Lord so that he may take his place among us." Flemeth said as she stepped toward the altar, cradling the child in her arms. She began muttering ancient spells as she extended her arms, offering Seth to the orbs. The smallest orb began to rise from it's small cradle and hover in mid-air. Soon, the next larger orb began to glow softly. A sound started to fill the air, a sound like a strange and sad song.
"Twill not be long now." Flemeth noted while the song became louder in the ears of all who were gathered. A golden aura surrounded Seth and he floated out of the hag's arms.
"Yes!" the hag cackled with glee as the last, and largest of the orbs stirred to life; a faint glow began to flicker, becoming steadily brighter. In front of the altar, a form was taking shape. The outline of a tall, muscular humanoid was getting ever more clear. "He comes!" Flemeth exclaimed.
The cobwebs were taking their time in clearing from The Warden's head. He felt as though large bells were being rung inside his skull as it throbbed and ached. His vision was blurred and he was having trouble making out the landscape around him. Everything was a bland gray in color, the air was stale and unmoving, and there were no sounds, all was calm and still.
"It's about time you came around." someone said to him.
Squinting his eyes, The Warden strained to look around him. To his left was the figure of a man. "Who are you?" he asked the blurred form.
"I was once known as Verzanell, High Mage of the Tevinter Imperium and assistant to the Archon himself. I helped to create the orbs. Now? Now I'm just another faceless ghost in the void."
"Verzanell? I know that name." The Warden said, recalling Morrigan's mention of the mage.
"And you are Dwemer, Grey Warden and consort to the swamp witch. She told me all about you, in a manner of speaking." Verzanell replied, "And now that we have the introductions out of the way, we need to get to work. We don't have much time before he arrives."
"He who?" inquired The Warden as a rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. When things finally came into focus, The Warden found himself standing next to a man in an ornate robe, his height and general age being close to The Warden's own.
"The one who's been summoned of course...Urthemiel." the mage stated coolly. "He comes to devour you so that he might again walk among living men."
"I have no intentions of being devoured. He'll find that this meal bites back."
"What good are steel swords against a god? Don't be a fool."
"You have a better idea?" The Warden asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do." Verzanell answered as he cast a look at The Warden, raising an eyebrow, "Within you lies the one thing capable of stopping Urthemiel, the thing that makes you what you are: a Grey Warden."
"The Taint? How can that help?"
"The Taint is more than merely some black ooze. It was the Taint that first corrupted the god and turned him into an archdemon, and only the Taint can destroy him for good."
"I don't understand." The Warden replied, puzzled.
"You will. But we have to hurry, Urthemiel has already been called and will doubtless be here soon."
The mage wasted no time in explaining to The Warden the exact nature of the Taint. It wasn't merely a residual side affect, it was the Taint itself that was the actual curse. And just as the darkspawn had figured out how to use it to create broodmothers, who in turn used the Taint to create more darkspawn, Verzanell showed The Warden how to use the Taint within himself to kill a god.
Verzanell told The Warden to look deep within himself, to find the Taint and listen to the song it sang. The mage told The Warden that if he listened he could hear the Taint speaking to him, and that he could speak back. The Warden calmed himself and turned his focus inward, looking into the deepest corners of his mind. Only by totally clearing his mind would The Warden be able to hear it, Verzanell informed. And when all was still and quiet in The Warden's mind he heard it, like a faint voice calling to him. The more he listened the more he was able to focus on the voice and follow it, making it's song louder to him. Once The Warden learned how to feel the power that flowed through him, he wondered how he had never noticed it before. It seemed so obvious to him now. He could not only feel the Taint as it coursed through him, but he could manipulate it as well, bending it to his will. He was as much a part of it as it was him. It was with him always, even in the Fade he could not escape it.
"Good." Verzanell said as the lesson continued, "Now draw it forth, out of you, and use it."
The Warden focused and hard as he could, forcing the Taint outwards to make itself visible. At first all he felt was a tingle in his left hand, but as he concentrated harder and became more comfortable controlling the dark venom within him, he soon could feel the immense power surging down his entire arm as black flames burst forth from his hand, consuming it.
"Excellent! Now use it." the mage instructed.
Extending his hand, The Warden took aim at one of the many small gray bushes that dotted the ground. With great effort, he was able to project the ebony flames out towards the bush. Only a weak spark at first, but quickly he was able to completely douse the shrub with his power, obliterating it.
The ground started trembling beneath their feet and a low rumble filled the air. "Our time is up. He's here." the mage said as he turned to look off into the distance, towards the source of the disturbance. "You have only one shot. Don't waste it or your dead and everything you've done will be for nothing."
"I won't waste it." The Warden said as he reached over his shoulders and pulled his blades from their sheaths.
A swirling cloud of dust came upon them, the powerful winds it created forcing both The Warden and the mage to lean forward into the gale to avoid being blown backwards. The winds died and the dust cleared revealing a large man. He was very tall, at least nine feet or so The Warden reckoned. His skin was a pale green, his eyes were golden and dragon-like. His long pointed ears stuck out of his jet-black hair that hung down over his muscled chest. Large white horns protruded from either side of the beings' skull, their sharp and deadly points sending a shiver through The Warden. He was the most imposing and formidable looking creature The Warden had ever seen.
Without saying a word, the creature stuck its hand out directly over The Warden's head. There was a strange sensation that covered him and he began to feel weaker, falling to his knees and having to hold himself up with his blade.
"Fight it!" Verzanell yelled. "You've got to resist and fight back!"
Gripping his blades tightly and drawing on all his remaining strength, The Warden lunged at the god, bringing his swords down in a vicious arc. Urthemiel held out his other hand and caught both blades harmlessly in his grasp. The god's other hand quickly came across, striking The Warden and sending him sailing through the air, landing on the ground with a hard "thump!". The Warden had to quickly roll from side to side to avoid his own blades as the god threw them back with deadly accuracy, their points burying deep in the ground as they narrowly missed their target.
The Warden reached to pull his blades from the ground, but before he had the chance the god was upon him, knocking The Warden on his back. A large foot came down in the middle of The Warden's chest, pinning him down. Again Urthemiel reached out his hand and held it above The Warden and again The Warden felt himself being drained.
Try as he might, The Warden as unable to budge the god's foot as it pressed into his chest, crushing him. His strength was quickly leaving him and the world around was beginning to fade and become dark. There was nothing he could do. He was trapped. The Warden considered just giving in and letting the god have him.
"No! You've got to fight!" the mage yelled, "If you don't stop him, he'll kill her! He'll kill them both!"
As everything started to go black, The Warden saw the face of his witch in his mind. He failed her and because of his failure she and their son would die. There was nothing he could do. He had not been strong enough, after all. And just as the darkness was about to claim him, when all hope was lost, he heard it. A soft voice that called to him, beckoning him to come to it. He followed the voice, listening to it as it got stronger in his head, soon becoming a shout, then a loud roar that echoed through him and gave him strength.
He opened his eyes to see the god smiling wickedly down upon him. The Warden focused himself, concentrating on harnessing the power within him. With a loud yell, black flames burst forth from his body in a dark explosion that blasted Urthemiel backwards sending the god flying through the air and crashing into the ground.
Standing up, The Warden pulled his blades from the dirt, swinging them about. He channeled his inner fire out through both his hands and his blades erupted with ebony flames. The dark fire danced along the glistening steel while the enraged god stood, growling and preparing to crush the insolent mortal who would dare strike a god.
"Fuck you, too." The Warden said with a sneer. "Let's do this."
A loud roar erupted from Urthemiel as the god charged The Warden. With a quick spin, The Warden slashed the god, striking home with both blades as the unholy fire tore into Urthemiel's side. Dark blood began to pour from the gaping wounds.
"So, you do bleed." The Warden noted, "And if you bleed, I can kill you."
The god screamed in rage at The Warden and brought down his massive fist. The Warden was barely able to avoid the blow and jump clear, rolling with the momentum and slashing again at god. This time his target was the ankles, which he caught cleanly with his swords. Blood once again gushed forth from the god as he fell backwards to the ground, his achilles tendons severed.
"I don't care if I have to whittle you down bit by bit." The Warden said as he readied his swords for another assault, "I am going to kill you."
The god swung his massive head around to face The Warden, opening his mouth wide. A stream of flame spew forth from Urthemiel very similar to dragon's breath. The Warden was barely able to cross his blades in front of him and use his own black flame as shield against the oncoming inferno. The Warden watched in amazement as the god raised himself off the ground and floated in place.
Swinging his blades back, readying to strike, The Warden charged the god with a yell. But Urthemiel was prepared and casually glided to the side allowing The Warden to race by. The god reached out and grabbed The Warden as he passed, spinning him and flinging him to the ground, his blades torn from his hands in the process and landing far behind the god.
With a deep breath, Urthemiel blast forth another wave of flame at The Warden, scorching the ground as he dodged hastily to the side. "I don't need swords to beat you." he said as he once again channeled the Taint within him, his entire body bursting forth into black flames.
The god inhaled mightily and shot out another stream of fire. The Warden strengthened the wall of fire about him and absorbed the energy of the god's attack. "You don't get it do you?" The Warden asked as he concentrated the power in his hands, "You're already dead. You just don't know it yet."
And with a shout, The Warden released his pent up energy at the god. A wall of black flame consumed Urthemiel, igniting and burning him. The god screamed in rage and agony while The Warden continued his onslaught, torching Urthemiel with tainted flames. The god's cries becoming almost deafening as he was slowly turned into charred ash. Until, at last, all that remained of the once-mighty god, Urthemiel was a pile of ashes.
The Warden collapsed to his knees, completely spent. "You did it!" he heard Verzanell shout as the mage rushed to his side.
"Morrigan and Seth are safe now." The Warden said as he gasped and puffed, trying to catch his breath, "That's all that matters."
"You've done more than that." the mage corrected, "So much more than that." a soft glow began to surround Verzanell and he was becoming harder to make out against the gray background. It almost seemed as if the mage was vanishing before The Warden's eyes. "Don't you see? By destroying Urthemiel you've broken the curse and freed all the trapped souls contained in the orbs."
"What about me? Am I doomed to wander here alone for eternity?" The Warden asked, almost afraid to find out.
"Of course not. The Taint gives you power over the orbs. You can leave whenever you like, provided you still have a body to return to."
"You could have mentioned that sooner."
"I'm sure you can see why I didn't. You have my eternal gratitude. What you have done here today will not be forgotten." the mage said as he faded from The Warden's view, having been freed from the orbs' clutches at long last.
It would have been nice if Verzanell had mentioned how he might use the Taint to escape the orbs before he left, The Warden thought. He closed his eyes and concentrated on trying to leave the Fade. He tried listening to the song of the Taint to see if maybe that would provide some clue. And as he listened, the song again became louder in him. He felt as though he was being pulled down a long tunnel, when suddenly there was a bright flash of light.
"Something is not right." Flemeth noticed as the form in front of the altar began to wither and fade from view. "No! This can't be!"
There was a loud scream that filled the air as the ghostly figure slowly disappeared. "No!" the hag exclaimed again. "All those centuries...wasted!"
The smallest orb twinkled briefly, and once again there was breath in the lungs of The Warden. He sat up and looked around, seeing the witch and the others held in Flemeth's spell. "You!" the hag barked upon seeing The Warden, "You did this! You've ruined everything!"
"I don't believe it." Alistair said, dumbfounded.
Morrigan's gaze quickly found her warden, "He lives!" she shouted, overjoyed.
"Not for much longer." Flemeth replied as she raised her hand to strike. There was an odd cracking sound and the hag's wrist popped, having become stiff and rigid. "What...what is happening?" she said as her tone quickly turned from rage to terror. She appeared to be drying out right in front of The Warden. Her skin was becoming dry as it flaked and cracked.
"Since I killed your god, there's no one keeping you alive anymore." The Warden reasoned.
The ancient hag was crumbling apart before their eyes, turning to dust. As she faded, the barriers surrounding Morrigan and the others collapsed. The witch raced to her son who had floated back to the ground in front of the altar. Snatching him up in her arms she spun around to see what was left of her mother as Flemeth turned completely to dust, the small pile carried away by the wind.
The witch turned her eyes next to The Warden and with child in arm she ran over to him. She was unable to contain herself at his miraculous return from the dead, tears streaming down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around both child and mother, holding them close to him. "How is this possible?" Morrigan asked, her soft golden eyes looking into his.
"Nothing will ever keep me from you." he said softly to her.
"Not even death it would seem." she replied.
He leaned his face closer and pressed his lips to hers, the warmth and passion of the kiss clearly confirming to the witch that her warden was very much alive. They stood there for a time locked in the embrace, him kissing her as if it was the last kiss he would ever give. And as she melted in his arms, Alistair, Leliana, and the other men circled the couple and their child in order to welcome The Warden back to the ranks of the living.
"'Tis really over?" Morrigan asked The Warden, "Are we truly free?"
"It's over. Flemeth can never harm us again." he confirmed while he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "However, you and I have some unfinished business, I believe."
"Do we now?" the witch returned, coyly. "And what might that be?"
"Silly, witch." he said as he nuzzled against her, "I love you."
"And I, you."