Authors Note: It grows a bit dark in this chapter… definitely not the same as the game by any stretch of the imagination. It's the start of the Tevinter secondary plot and lays down some groundwork for the future behavior of some of the characters. As always please review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

-O-

Chapter 25 – Never assume you know

Aedan

The cool damp musty air filed his lungs as they walked down the moss covered stone passage. Aedan's eyes had adjusted to the dark, the small glowing wisps of light barely providing enough illumination for them to see. It was easy to trip over tree roots and broken stone on the ground so they walked slowly. The slow pace did nothing to help their growing anxiety, the passageway seemed endless. There was something about these tunnels that made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It wasn't just the darkness, he felt it as soon as they neared the castle. There was an evil here and it covered everything in its dark shroud. Aedan knew his companions felt it as well, their faces grim and their eyes full of fear… but no one was more affected than Henric. If Aedan felt the wickedness of this place, Henric with his Templar senses must be overwhelmed.

Aedan glanced over at his friend in the dim light, Henric's youthful face was a mask of determination… his jaw was set but his eyes were uneasy. Aedan hoped Henric has the strength to do this, he hoped all of them did. The passageway widened into a larger area, on each side of this larger passageway were iron doors. Redcliffe's dungeons… they may not have gotten much use under the Guerrin's rule but they were no less sinister. How many wretched souls died drowning in hopelessness locked behind these iron doors?

"We need to check these," Aedan said quietly as they approached the first of the iron doors. Will sent a few wisps into the first cell, the light pushed the shadows away from the corners showing the filth, the debris. The next two cells were just as empty, nothing but piles of dirt, some broken stone. There was no sign that the cell had been used for a very long time. The next hallway was not any different, just more cells with nothing in them. It almost felt like they were walking in circles, he hoped Ser Perth knew where they were going.

"Not much farther, we are almost up to the main holding cells," whispered Ser Perth as he guided them down the passageway and an old rusty iron door. After they rounded the corner the glow of touch light could be seen at the end of the passage. They had made it, now they needed to be exceptionally careful to not draw any attention to themselves. Aedan raised his finger to his lips and motioned the others to fan out along the walls. The glow of the torches grew more intense, their eyes stung from the adjustment as they kept their slow pace towards the lit hallway. He felt his heart rate speed up as they drew near, he readied his blades and took a calming breath before he peered around the corner. Aedan was surprised to see only one guard at the end of the hallway. He watched him, the guards movements seemed stiff; irregular... he did not move like a normal man. He turned towards Will, Aedan motioned towards the guard. Will nodded and his staff started to glow. Aedan waited until he saw the glow abate and he quickly rounded the corner his blades already in motion he quickly cut down the paralyzed guard.

"Check the cells," he said quietly as the other joined him. They spread out and looked into each of the cells. Aedan had just checked the cell on his right when he heard Wynne gasp. He rushed over to her side as she pointed into the barred window of the iron door. Aedan looked into the small dark room, huddled in the corner was a woman… her hair was disheveled and dirty. It covered her face as she leaned against the wall, she wore the robes of a Circle mage. He quickly unlatched the door and Wynne rushed in to the woman on the ground, her hands glowing.

"Oh Maker its Petra!" Wynne said softly as she worked to heal the unconscious woman. "Magebane!" Wynne spat as the glow faded from her hands. Will pushed his way forward and knelt down next to Wynne.

"Here," he said reaching into the bag hung at his side. "Amara taught me how to make this… I always keep a few handy." He handed her a small vial of orange liquid. Wynne looked at him in shock.

"If the Templars ever found you with this you would have been killed," she hissed. "How long have you known about this?"

"Years Wynne… this is not the time or the place for this discussion," snapped Will. He held Petra's mouth open so Wynne could give her the potion, she began healing the unconscious woman shortly after. It didn't take long for Petra's coloring to improve and her breathing to stabilize, Aedan hoped she would wake soon, they didn't have the luxury to wait long. Will began assisting Wynne with the healing, Petra's eyes started to flutter but it took several more minutes of healing before she awoke. Her eyes snapped open and she started to scream, Will quickly covered her mouth.

"Petra its Will and Wynne from the Circle… Don't fight us!" Will said in a low hiss as he held the struggling woman down. "We're here to help." The woman's wide eyes darted wildly between Will and Wynne before she seemed to recognize them, her breathing noticeably calmed. "No screaming?" he asked. Petra shook her head so he let go slowly.

"How?" she whispered in a raspy voice.

"Petra what happened to you? Where is everyone?" asked Will as he helped her sit up.

"They have Keili… they have Keili and Bran and… and Maron," Petra started crying. "I… don't know if they are alive… It was Jowan… it was Jowan," she sobbed. Wynne rubbed her back trying to comfort the woman.

"Jowan? Are you sure?" Will asked his face hard. Petra nodded.

"I'm positive… he was the one that took us. Oh Will he's so powerful… there was nothing we could do," she cried softly.

"Where are they keeping them Petra? Where in the castle?" Aedan asked, he hoped she knew… he did not want to have to search the entire castle.

"Throne room… he has cages… that is where he keeps them," Petra said in a shaky voice.

"How could Jowan do this? How could he start a blood plague?" asked Wynne, her voice was full of doubt and disgust. "That boy could barely light a candle."

"He's changed Wynne… he's not the same boy from the Circle," Petra said, her voice full of fear. "He has control of the nobles."

"What do you mean he has control of the nobles?" asked Aedan.

"He compelled them… made them do things… horrible things," Petra whispered, fear and horror in her eyes.

"Do you know this Jowan?" he asked Will.

"He was a weasel that broke out of the Circle about five years ago… he used some blood magic on the Templars to get out. No one cared much for him... just thought he was another weak mage that resorted to blood magic to get out," Will said as he paced inside the cell.

"So do you think he could have started the blood plague?" asked Aedan. Henric joined them, his face full of worry.

"There is no telling how powerful he could be now," said Henric as he nervously paced. "We can't stay here, we need to go."

"At least we have a target now," said Aedan. "Can she walk? Send her back towards the entrance," he said to Wynne. "Murdock's men can take her to the village." He gestured towards Petra who was still sitting on the ground.

"I'm coming with you," Petra said was she wiped her eyes and slowly stood up, using the wall as support. The woman was in no condition to do much of anything, Aedan shook his head.

"I'm sorry, you need to go back… you are in no condition to help us," he said. "We can't afford to get slowed down." The mage looked at him defiantly but nodded as she took some shaky steps across the cell with Wynne's support. When they were all out Ser Perth explained the way back to the windmill to Petra and she started down the hallway using the wall to support herself. Aedan quietly pulled open the door and they entered the hallway that Perth had said led to the stairway up to the kitchen area. There was no one, the hallway was completely empty. The lack of guards worried Aedan, either someone was over confident or there was a surprise waiting for them soon. They cautiously climbed the stairs, single file hugging the walls… the door was open at the top of the stairwell. Aedan crept up and peered around the doorframe, he couldn't see any movement. The room was empty, he waved to the others to follow. The kitchen area was empty but they could tell that it had been used recently… someone was alive at least. The lingering smell of cooked food still permeated the air.

"How much farther to the throne room?" whispered Henric as they spread out and looked around the kitchen.

"Just down the hall, there is a small receiving area before the main room, we should be able to hide in there, we can see what is going on in the throne room from the shadows," said Ser Perth as he peered out the kitchen door down the hallway. He motioned the others to follow him and they quickly exited the kitchen and entered the wide hallway that led to the receiving room. Aedan started to get that feeling in his gut, there was something not right here; it started in the kitchen. He felt there was something amiss more so than the obvious, it was a nagging sense that he was walking into a trap. Aedan tried to focus but his instincts kept screaming at him.

They reached the small receiving room and started to hear voices. Ser Perth motioned them in and to be quiet. They hid in the shadows mere feet away from the throne room entrance. They were close enough now to hear the conversation in the other room.

"Wake him up," a woman's voice said, she had an Orlesian accent. "I want him to see me take his brother again."

"Really Isolde… you're getting to be quite the bore with this…" a man's voice said. Aedan looked sharply at Ser Perth who just shook his head, this didn't make sense… the Arlessa couldn't be a part of this… could she?

"It pleases me Jowan… now wake him," the woman said curtly. Aedan frowned, this can't be right…

"Very well… since it amuses you so much." They heard a strange snapping noise and a scream. "Eamon wake up… your darling wife wants you to open your eyes."

"No… no more…" a weak voice said. "Please… no more…"

"Oh Eamon… I am not even close to being done with you. You are going to suffer as I have suffered. All of these years…being married to you in this backwards country, sharing your bed… having a disgusting old husk of a man like you rutting on me! Oh the pain I have waiting for you." They heard the sound of a slap. "Wake up Eamon!" Ser Perth gave him a desperate look. They couldn't just wait here and listen to Eamon being tortured, they had to do something. Aedan waved them forward, his eyes met Henric's who gave him a quick nod… he was ready. They crept forward slowly, hiding in the shadows along the wall. None of them were prepared for the site they saw in the throne room…

Along the far way near the dais to the throne were two cages, one was empty and the other contained a man dressed in what looked like Templar armor, it was hard to tell with the amount of blood covering it. Next to the empty cage was a wooden frame, tied to it was Arl Eamon, his face bruised and bleeding and his clothes bloodied and hanging. Aedan's eyes widened as he took in the scene and his stomach twisted in disgust. Not far from the cages directly across from Eamon was a divan, laying naked on top was Bann Teagan. Isolde was standing next to him dressed in a lose robe, she was rubbing his head like she was petting a mabari. He now understood what was meant by Isolde's earlier comment. Bile was rising in his throat as Aedan tore his eyes from the disturbing scene to finish scanning the room. There were four blood thralls standing still along the wall opposite the cages. His eyes sought the throne next, sitting on it was a young man with shoulder length brown hair. That must be Jowan, Aedan thought. Jowan was wearing Eamon's ceremonial robes and he was lazily playing with a staff as he lounged on the throne. Two guards stood at the base of the dais, their helms were on so he could not see if they were bleeding like the thralls.

The odds were not in their favor, at least four thralls, two guards and a blood mage. There wasn't a lot of time to strategize, he pointed at Jowan on the throne and at the thralls and guards. They quickly worked out the order of attack and got into position, each waiting for Aedan to give the signal to attack. Henric was at his side, his sword drawn and his face full of concentration as he gathered his will to drain Jowan's mana.

"Watch me Eamon… see me with the man that should have been my husband," sneered Isolde as she loosened her robe and straddled Teagan on the divan. Jowan was distracted watching events unfold between the nobles, Aedan gave Henric the signal. All they had to do was get Jowan's mana low enough and the thralls would attack him when he loses control… this was their one shot. The sound of the smite rang across the throne room as Henric unleashed its power onto the blood mage on the throne. A split second later as they rushed into the throne room, Aedan saw Jowan crumple and fall off of the throne and onto the ground. He had his swords drawn and was rushing to take out the guards when the blood thralls charged, they didn't attack Jowan. Aedan cut down the guards and turned to see Ser Perth engage the one of the thralls with is pole-arm, Will had managed to freeze the other three in place. He started to run to Ser Perth's side when out of the corner of his eye he saw Henric go down, standing behind him was another Templar, his blade poised to finish off his friend. Aedan knew he could not reach the Templar in time.

"Will! Help Henric!" Aedan yelled as he rushed towards the Templar standing over Henric. Will had managed to push the attacker back with a spell and his blade hit the stone floor near Henric, sending sparks scattering across the ground. Aedan reached the Templar and tackled him, knocking his blade from his hand in the process.

"FOOLS!" yelled Isolde as she rushed towards them. Ser Perth managed to behead one of the thralls but the other three had started to break free from the ice Will had frozen them in, backing Will, Wynne and Perth into a small enclosure off of the main throne room. A fine red dust seemed to stream from one of the thralls, it flowed through the air and engulfed Isolde as she stood there with her arms raised chanting. Aedan was pulling his dagger out of his belt to finish off the Templar when excruciating pain started to shoot through his body. It felt like his very blood was on fire, he screamed out in pain as his body contracted and writhed on the floor.

"Don't kill them yet Isolde," said a shaky Jowan as he pulled himself back into the throne. "Let's have a bit of fun with them." The Templar pulled himself to his feet and searched for his blade, when he found it he brought it up above his head, ready to use it on Aedan. "Ser Maron, come… we don't want them dead just yet," he said casually as he leaned back in the throne. The red dust poured from another one of the thralls, it circulated through the air to Jowan. "Isolde you too." The Arlessa let down her hands and stopped the spell. Aedan felt some relief instantaneously, he rolled onto his knees and looked at the three standing before him. The Arlessa was a blood mage… he never even dreamed that was even a possibility. He could hear Ser Perth and the mages still fighting the three thralls near him in the enclosure, he tried to turn his head and look but found that he was paralyzed. Isolde sneered at him.

"I know him," Isolde hissed. "That one is the dead Teyrn's son… Aedan Cousland… Howe didn't finish the job." Jowan got up and walked down the steps of the dais towards him, his face was smug.

"Well this is interesting… you are supposed to be dead. We'll have to fix that… but not until you kill the rest of your friends. I doubt we can persuade you as easily as Maron, all we had to do was offer him the flesh of one of his mages before he killed the rest of the guard for me… poor girl… They really shouldn't make Templar's take those vows of celibacy… so much repressed anger." Jowan laughed manically as he knelt down and squinted at Aedan. "No… you'll be a bit of challenge but don't worry… I will get into that head of yours." Jowan concentrated and began muttering a spell under his breath, Aedan could do nothing but stare… his body was still frozen in place. "Oh this is definitely interesting… Isolde we have another one," he said as he stood up and took a few steps away from Aedan. "He is like the Templar in the cage… I can't get in there. This one is different though… he reeks of her. Come…" he beckoned to the Arlessa. "He is even marked by her!" Isolde came over and cast a spell on Aedan, her eyes widened and she looked at Jowan.

"What do we do?" she asked. "Do we kill him?" Jowan shook his head.

"She is our Master's bride… do you think it wise we kill her pets?" Isolde shook her head and backed farther away from Aedan. "We will cage him like the other…" Jowan said as he walked over to where Ser Perth and the mages still fought the blood thralls. "Valiant fight you are putting up there Will…" he called over the sound of metal clashing against metal and the hiss of magic in the air. "You and Wynne are the last people I expected to see here." Neither mage entertained his bating. Jowan laughed and walked back towards the throne.

"We should kill them," Isolde said as she nervously looked towards the battle on the far end of the throne room.

"Where is the fun in that? Soon the thralls will tear them apart… maybe I'll give Wynne to Maron. I don't think he'll mind the age difference… she'll just break a little sooner than the last mage," he laughed as he started to step up on to the dais again. Aedan's mind was spinning between complete despair and hopelessness over their situation and elation… they saw Amara's runes and they acted like she was alive. Maybe she didn't die in Ostagar… maybe they knew something? Maybe he was losing his mind because there was truly no hope now? They had failed, soon he would be locked up and the others would be dead, it was nothing but irony to learn that Amara might be alive. He never thought things would end like this… his eyes started to water and bitter tears rolled down his cheeks. Aedan was wishing he could close this eyes but the paralyze spell wouldn't let him, he was cursing the spell when he saw movement for just a second out of the corner of his eye. If he had the ability to blink he would have missed it. He saw that the blood mages and rogue Templar were fixated on the blood thrall battle, they would not have seen it either. A spark of hope ignited in Aedan, it was small but it was enough. He made note of where his blades had fallen and waited, he prayed to the Maker that he wasn't hallucinating.

The crackling sound of a smite echoed through the throne room just before Aedan crashed to the ground, the paralyze spell broken. He looked up just for a moment to see Isolde fall to the floor when he dived forward to grab his blades off the ground, he rushed the dais as fast as he could. The Templar Ser Maron was charging towards him, his sword raised. Aedan spun, ducking down and slashed his swords across the Templar's exposed knees. He could hear the tendons and muscles tear apart from the cuts his blades started. The man collapsed, his legs no longer able to support him. His sword skidded across the stone as the Templar fell forward. Aedan brought his blades down on the back of the man's neck severing his head, both of Aedan's blades were covered with blood when he charged the dais to the throne. Jowan stood bent in a half-standing, half-sitting position frozen in place by a paralyze spell. Aedan did not wait, he brought his blades down swiftly quickly ending the life one of the blood mages that had decimated Redcliffe. He turned ready to cut down the Arlessa only to find that the blood thralls were already on her. Judging by her limp form, Aedan knew she was already dead as the thralls tore her apart before collapsing on the ground themselves.

Aedan looked up to see Henric leaning against the wall near the receiving room, the relief apparent on his face. He was being supported by Petra, the mage they had found in the dungeons. She never went to the windmill… she must have followed them.

"You have no idea how glad I am that you didn't listen to me," Aedan said with a relieved laugh. The mage smiled and nodded, she helped lead Henric to one of the chairs near the wall before rushing back to the caged man. Will and Wynne quickly made their way to the Arl and stunned Bann while an exhausted Ser Perth stumbled over and took a hard seat on the dais next to him.

"I had no idea the Arlessa was a mage… not to mention a blood mage," Ser Perth said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Aedan was impressed, Ser Perth had managed to hold off those blood thralls for a long time.

"No one did… that's why they were so successful," said Aedan. Ser Perth nodded and pulled himself up, the fatigue obvious in his movements.

"I'm going to open the gates, we need to get the men in here… look for survivors and start cleaning this up." He looked at Aedan and then Henric, "thank you both… it has been an honor," he said with a bow before he left the room. Aedan sighed, he closed his eyes and leaned back, so many things were running through his head about what the blood mages said. He was so lost in his thoughts he barely noticed when the battered Templar sat down next to him on the step to the dais with Petra's help.

"I remember you… you're the warrior that was traveling with the Grey Warden Duncan. You carried Amara for me…" the Templar said. Aedan's eyes snapped open as he stared at the man sitting near him.

"Bran…" Aedan said softly. The battered young man smiled, pleased he remembered him. "Do you know what the blood mages meant when they said we've been marked?" Aedan blurted. The young Templar frowned, his eyes grew distant before he nodded.

"Yes… when they were not beating me they talked about it. It has something to do with Amara… her magic. Anyone that is around her a lot gets marked somehow… I was one of four Templars assigned to guard her for years. It made it so the blood mages couldn't mind-control me… or I would have ended up like Ser Maron," he said with a shudder. "They talked about some prophecy and a Master… I don't know what it meant. I thought they were insane… what they said was just crazy."

"What were they saying?" Aedan asked.

"They said all kinds of crazy things… about Tevinter and the old gods, some prophecy… they said Amara was the bride of their god… like I said, it was crazy talk." Aedan felt his blood run cold. "I don't know… Jowan was always fixated on her when they were in the Circle. I think the blood magic took his mind and he somehow convinced Isolde of his delusions," Bran said shaking his head.

"Was that all they said?" asked Aedan, doubts over what he saw at Ostagar and the events of the days leading up to it filled his head. The words the witch Flemeth said reverberated in his mind.

"… it isn't everyday a prophecy lands on your doorstep and with so many of its players."

Aedan remembered the morning before the Joining ritual… when he went into Amara's tent to look for her. The book, the note from Morrigan warning her about a prophecy. He remembered the conversation he had with Amara before they left to go to the ritual.

"The book is cryptic, the insane ramblings of a broken mind… It is full of riddles using archetypes, Morrigan said the prophecy involves me, after reading it I have no idea how."

The pieces all started to fit into place in his mind now. Things that have been bothering him, things that didn't seem right were now taking form. Everything was connected…

"No there is a lot more… I was in that cage for almost a week, they were not exactly discreet," said Bran as he gave Aedan a confused look. "You think this is more than insane ramblings…" Aedan nodded and pulled himself up, he looked at the two Templars and motioned towards the door.

"Let's go find something to drink… I think we all need something to drink," said Aedan as he started walking towards the doorway. He remembered where the liquor was from his past visits to Redcliffe with his family. The three men rounded the corner leading to where Eamon's meeting room was and ran into a very angry Fergus.

"What in Maker's name were you thinking? " Fergus growled, he looked like he was ready to start throwing punches again. "I said no heroics!"

"Trust me brother… there was nothing heroic about what we just faced," Aedan said as he felt his lips curl into a smirk. "Besides… you left out the stipulation of no crazy… you left me a lot of room." Fergus' face started to turn red as his hands clenched at his sides. It was obvious it was taking every bit of restraint Fergus had to keep from hitting him. Aedan raised his hands signaling his surrender. "We're ok, it worked out… no need to start punching me. I'm happy brother… happier than I've been in weeks." Fergus gave him a confused look, only a small bit of his anger defused.

"Happy for worrying the piss out of me?" he asked annoyed.

"No brother… I'm happy because I think Amara is alive!" he laughed and clasped his shocked brother's shoulder and pulled him down the hallway.

-O-

The full extent of the horrors Jowan and Isolde unleashed became clear later in the day when Eamon found his son Connor. Isolde had told him the boy was sick and that the nanny was caring for him… he never checked, that will haunt the Arl the rest of his life. When the handful of survivors that were locked in their rooms were released the grisly discovery was made. Isolde had used her own son as a sacrifice to start the blood plague. Will had found the spell in written on torn parchment next to the body… the heart of an innocent was required. She had murdered her own son and used his heart to poison the main well in the village. Just one more monstrosity to join the rest… whole families were killed in the plague, Eamon's army destroyed… an entire Arling in ruins. Aedan was having a hard time comprehending how two people could cause such destruction. If he had not witnessed everything with his own eyes he would not have believed it.

The Arl and his brother had retired for the remainder of the day, neither were in any condition to oversee the cleanup efforts, Fergus took charge like Aedan knew he would. He had the remaining soldiers and Ser Landry's men removing the dead to burying them in large mass graves that soldiers from Ostagar were digging… there were too many to burn. Henric and Bran had cleansed the wells just to make sure there were no linger effects of the blood magic spell that could harm anyone. No one drank from them, they still only drank water they knew was safe, the lake water.

Bran had told him everything he heard the blood mages say, everything that he could remember through all the beatings the man had endured. It just built onto the belief that Amara was alive, every piece of information just reaffirmed it to him. Aedan learned a lot from Bran about Amara's life in the Circle and the Templars that Greagoir had assigned to guard her. There were two he had not met, Ser Bryant and Ser Hadley… Bran said they were sent from the Circle on assignments. Ser Hadley had just returned before Bran was sent to Redcliffe with the others. Four men that could not be mind-controlled by blood magic, there had to be a purpose behind this. Aedan didn't think it was coincidence or dumb luck that it had happened. This was a giant puzzle and he only had a handful of the pieces.

He sat alone in Eamon's study reading through a pile of letters Will and Henric found in Jowan's room. There were several letters from a person called Caladrius, they were short and vague but provide enough information to draw up a rough time-line. This plan had taken root a few years ago, at least that is where Jowan's involvement began. Only seeing one side of the conversation made it difficult to get the whole picture.

"Any luck?" asked Will as he took a seat next to Aedan.

"This wasn't by chance… looks like this has been planned for a long time," Aedan said as he flipped through some of the letters and found the one that instructed Jowan to seek out Isolde and handed it to Will. "Look at the date…" Will grabbed the paper and shook his head as he read it.

"That was last spring…" Will sighed and reached into his bag that hung around his shoulder. "I found something else…" he pulled a small leather-bound book from it and dropped it on the table next to Aedan. "Is this the book Amara had?" he asked. Aedan picked up the book and opened it, he read the title.

"The Green Dales Prophecy… yes, the binding was different… hers seemed a bit thicker but that's the name. Amara said she read it the night before the Joining… that it was just the ramblings of an insane Templar," Aedan said as he flipped through the book.

"Amara was not one to dig too deep, she's more of a practical person. Amara liked her books on plants and potions and her Orlesian novels she thought that she was good at hiding from us," Will smirked at the memory. "But since she didn't have the experience of fighting through the cryptic spell books like the rest of us, she'd hate having to read a book like this."

"Everything seems to focus around this prophecy Will… everything going on with Amara and this attack," Aedan said as he reached for some blank parchment nearby. "Do you have time to go through this?" asked Aedan. Will smiled and pulled out a bottle of Antivan brandy from his bag and sat it on the table. Aedan smiled at his friend, "I take that as a yes…" Will retrieved some glasses from a shelf near the window and poured them each the first of what would end up being many glasses.

It was late in the night when they had finished, a stack of parchment laid next to them on the table. Both men just stared down at the pile of paper, neither spoke… they had unraveled the cryptic prophecy but neither truly wanted to deal with what it had said. It was Will who finally gained the courage to speak…

"Aedan…a prophecy is not an absolute. This whole thing could be just a story… those blood mages just took it literally," Will tried to reason. "There are hundreds of prophecies out there, two large bookcases are reserved for them at the Circle in fact… this one is no different." Aedan nodded, he could see Will's point… that made sense, perfect sense. It was just a story… nothing more. No matter how many times he told himself that… it didn't matter, deep down he knew it was no story.

"Let's not bring it up with the others… just wait and see. If nothing else happens we know it's not real," Aedan said, trying to keep his voice casual. Will let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Sure, that sounds like a plan… I'm going to turn in, I'll see you in the morning." Will got up and gathered his things before mumbling a good night as he headed to his room. Aedan sat there sipping the last of the brandy, he pulled the list of archetypes they had matched with names off of the stack of papers and stared at it… his eyes focusing on only one name.

"I'm not going to let you take her Urthemiel…" he whispered.

-O-