Magic and the Inquistion

by Battleship Vytalia

Finding himself in a fucked up fantasy word, a wizard has to find a way to get back to his own universe. All that stands in his way, are demons, a mage-templar war, a great big fucking hole in the sky, a civil war in knockoff France, a female elf mage who finds him fascinating, and an ancient human mage who is in severe need of a makeover

25. Chapter 25 Confrontations

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragonage or anything else I may reference

Magic and the Inquisition

Chapter 25 Confrontations

Skyhold

Hail hammered harshly against the old grey stone causing a constant tapping sound that unlike the constant and rhythmic sound of rain instead served to only irritate the majority of the inhabitants within one of the many towers that made up the old fortress of Skyhold. Inside sat on his own by a table that was located next to a repaired glass window Nat sat still his eyes flickering over the book that floated gently in front of him.

The title of that book alongside the thirty other books that had been placed neatly onto the table and organised alphabetically sat there may of which had to the odd look of others bright coloured pieces of paper written in some kind of language that none other than Nat could understand. His eyes narrowed behind the glasses that still sat on his face Nat red every single line of the book seven times over before he carried onto the next, analysing every word, every subtext and thinking of ways this could have been said in another manner.

Quietly with deft movements that showed just how used to this experience, he was Nat gently picked up his cup of tea that as always was ever full and always at the right temperature as it sat innocently on a plate to the side next to the pile of books and another set of stationery. Taking a sip of the drink for a few moments his eyes still continuing to read through the words as he did so Nat kept progressing through the book at a pace that most standard readers couldn't ever hope to match but then again Nat thought, other readers were not in the position that he was in.

How many people had to contend with an individual who was essentially immortal he wondered silently to himself. In recent times he supposed there could be quite a few if one was to take a broad stroke to history and look at how many people opposed Voldemort in the last wizarding war, but he preferred not to do broad strokes in this rather he had to be more particular and in that case the number dropped drastically in which case there were only three that came to mind.

The golden trio he thought in a bored manner, the so-called great students that consisted of a boy who was only made special because people hadn't thought twice about a muggle born witch knowing ancient magic as well as the need for some sort of hero, a rather moody and quite frankly according to the teachers sub-average member of the Weasley family and the brightest witch of her generation who relied far too heavily on books and was seemingly helpless without them.

Those three were the most recent examples of fighting an immortal freak who could seemingly come back from the dead, unfortunately for him however those three had not taken the time to explain how they had gone about defeating the worst wizard since Morgan Le Fay and neither were they available for him to simply call up and chat. Not that it would have done him much good in the first place, Voldemort had used Horcruxes or that was at least how he had come to understand it seeing as any and all information that was linked to Voldemort's return from death had promptly been dealt with, or that was at least what they believed.

Even with Potter making the auror's a more effective force they still had not been able to defeat all crime and neither had they been able to confiscate all books on the matter. if one searched hard enough and had the currency then one could always simply get the book from the black market. Or in his case, one could simply use the power of the internet contact one of the few muggleborns that were still in their school years in another country and ask if they sold certain books that had been made inaccessible in the UK. Once that was complete there was nothing that simply prevented a young wizard from then booking himself a flight to a muggle country, find the respective magical section in that country, find the correct book shop, buy the book and then head home via muggle planes and nobody would be anyone the wiser of his actions.

He smiled internally, for all the talk of making the magical world like the muggle one that Granger was so keen about in every single social way possible, she could be entirely blind to using those very same systems against her. It was quite funny he found, the woman had put spells up to track what post was carrying to ensure they didn't carry out any dangerous items ensuring that in her mind she had done the best and yet he had still beaten her. He hadn't told anyone of course, many would use that information against him whether that be in blackmailing him for either political gain or simply to get their own version and the Gryffindors of the group would almost certainly tell the teachers who still seeing that trio as their little war darlings would be quick to tell on their own branch of students.

All the same, seeing where he was he was glad he had taken those quick and easy steps all those years ago in the pursuit of knowledge as right now this was the only real source of information he had on the topic of immortality. It was for this reason why his books got stared at when the occasional passer bye came around, not because of the titles, but rather because the fake covers eh had put around them to hide them from prying eyes all had incredibly artistic pictures of all kinds of things that simply did not exist in this world. Luckily though anything that was too technologically advanced like the fake cover of "The Battle of Britain" or with its spitfires on the front had quickly been changed and the same for books like "The battle of the Atlantic". He could only have imagined the confused and curious faces of passers-by as they picked up a book with an image of a metal ship with large cannons placed on the front and rear that depicted a destroyer guarding a convoy of other ships while flying the white ensign.

Just as he was about to return to reading his books, he detected the familiar sense of a rather gaudy and strange individual. Rolling his eyes behind his glasses he then kept them locked onto the book, hopefully, this time the blasted man would disappear and he could get back to work.

"Ah, I thought I'd find you here," The accented voice of Dorian said as he climbed the stairs his face peering over while a great big smirk formed over his face. "Looking at the books again I see, have you found anything interesting".

"No I have not read the book, I have no intention of reading that book and I will never have the intention of reading that book" Nat responded quickly as he felt the urge to sigh. Why had it had to be this man and why did he have to be the way he was. Seriously he thought the way he strutted around like a bloody peacock made the man rather easy to spot and distract attention when he was attempting to work.

"Oh and after all that trouble to pick that one out," Dorian said a set of crocodile tears rolled down his face. Nat was not impressed.

"Had the book been relevant to the topic at hand then perhaps I would have given it a look, but seeing as how it is nothing but a collection of bland erotic porn designed to seemingly dull the mind and give others unrealistic expectations of how reproductive anatomy works in the most disgusting and obscene way possible, the answer is no I have not read the book"

"Ah but the fact that you know what it is even about said just how much you read it" Dorian teased as his eyes brows wiggled over his eyes like a set of wigging caterpillars.

"I told you once already, I simply gave the books to one of the servants and asked her to read it silently to herself where afterwards she gave me a quick synopsis after about half an hour," Nat said calmly his face as ever utterly emotionless as though he was a wall of stone.

"Oh, so you got a female servant to read that and then tell you what happened" Dorian grinned evilly, "Is that your way of getting a girl ready for some fun? You like to give them ideas of what you're going to do, fill their minds full of rope and whips and-"

"Dorian do you have a reason for being here or will I need to throw you down again," Nat said suddenly taking some silent joy she saw the man wince in pain as he then subconsciously patted his chest as though he had just been wounded. Again Nat hid his joy at the slight fear in the man's eyes. Last time Dorian had tried to speak with him about such topics he had attempted to drag him out of his seat so he could go somewhere else.

The first attempts had been made using physical force, only the mage had failed as Nat had remained sitting there entirely ignoring the man's vain efforts to move him, however after enough attempts had been made physically forcing the man to try magically and this time threatening to use magic to hurt him slightly, well he had reacted instantly. One moment the mage from Tevinter was standing to the side of him looking irritated and the next he was falling several feet before crashing with a loud bang as he collided onto Solas's table covering him promptly in paint, much to the ancient elves disapproval.

"I'll get you back for that I promise" Dorian muttered under his breath, again Nat rolled his eyes at the pathetic attempt the man had made to try and get him to move.

"I have more important matters at hand then satisfying some sense honour Dorian and as you can tell I am rather busy at the moment. Either give me important information or leave" He said sternly one of his eyes flickering back to the page while the other still remained on Dorian, he would not put it past the man to attempt some form of magic to remove him from his seat and neither did he put it past him to lie to achieve the same goal.

"Come on now you've been staring at those books night and day for over a week now, have you even slept, eaten, bathed?" The man questioned pinching his nose in some effort to exaggerate just what he thought of the wizard's activities.

"We are at war Dorian; I have more crucial concerns then spending my time gallivanting across a castle looking for hidden secrets of long ago. As for sustenance and physical maintenance, I still eat, exercise and bathe so there is no need to make such a fool out of yourself in this pathetic attempt"

"Oh come on I like these dusty old books as much as anyone else but that doesn't stop me from having a good time. Take a break, relax worrying about future conflicts is only going to shorten your life and give you horrible spots, after all look at all the others, they take breaks and they're in perfect shape so surely you can as well" Dorian smiled honestly at the kid before him but that smile quickly faded when again he saw to his ever-growing disappointment that Nat did not return the smile or even laugh instead he simply picked up the device called a pen as he had called it and wrote a few notes on the pieces of paper beside it. Dorian didn't even bother glancing at it, he had tried that once already and he knew much to his own discomfort that he could not read such a language ensuring the information was entirely safe with the young mage from prying eyes.

"Tell Leliana that I am perfectly content with my work, there is no reason to be concerned with my health," Nat said calmly as he hid the annoyance that was festering inside of him. He had a job to do and all this man wanted him to do was simply set it aside, and for what so he could waste his time listening to stories or addle his brain with alcohol, it was utterly athletic and not to mention damaging.

"When was the last time you slept?" Dorian questioned suddenly his tone one of concern.

"I don't see how my sleeping habits are of any concern to you Dorian, now I will ask to to either hand over whatever information you have gathered or to leave me and my research in peace" Unfortunately for Nat despite asking the tanned man to leave Dorian refused and instead he simply snapped his fingers in what surely the man believed was a stylish man and summoned a nearby empty chair from across the room.

Rising high into the air before then rushing towards the man, Dorian caught the chair with both hands and then span around on one leg as though he was a ballerina where with a large grin he smacked the chair on the opposite side of the table from the wizard and jumped onto it sideways his legs spilling high into the air as he gripped the side where he then thrust his face forward. Once that was done in a slow but sensual manner the mage then brought out a set of purple grapes and made a rather big deal out of dropping them slowly into his mouth before then wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't have time for your theatrics Dorian, whether they are for your own entertainment to stave off boredom or in some vain attempt to cheer me up and distract me from my work, so I will give you one final warning, either assist me or leave".

"Oh do brighten-" Dorian froze suddenly, gulping down loudly he turned to face the wizard who was now in Dorian's mind giving him one of the most terrifying calm yet "do what I say before I flay you alive while at the same time boil you in a hot pit of tar before then allowing a pack of ravenous wolves to munch on your extremities while you were then tortured by a nightmare demon all at the same time. "Okay shutting up now"

"Good, the information please" With a reluctant sigh, Dorian gently placed the piles of paper that he had been carrying in front of Nat. With a subtle wave of his hand, Nat moved the book that had been floating before him and quickly picked up the documents where he then proceeded to read them in utter silence. After about twenty minutes of him rereading the documents multiple times to ensure he had neither missed something out or had read something incorrectly or instead interpret something in the wrong manner, he placed the paper down and leaned back on his chair.

"So what is the information our illustrious spymaster had me deliver to you?" Dorian asked. Nat looked at Dorian for a moment before nodding to himself; he could do with a second opinion especially one that was not as naive as the Inquisitors, one as utterly biased as the First Enchanters and one that did not belong to an ancient elf who he was trying to trick for information. Dorian was a rather good middle ground and from what he had gathered from Leliana, the man had been a prodigy which would hopefully mean the man could understand what he said when he went into complex terms.

"Have you heard of the Eluvian's?"

"The mirrors used by the Ancient elves, the ones they could apparently use to teleport around Thedas with and speak with one another, I am aware of them. How does this information relate to them?" Dorian said his curiosity piqued.

"For the past week, Leliana received word from some of her scouts from some elves who could seemingly appear and disappear at will and travel incredible distances as though they were ghosts. At first, she was confused but a few days later one of her scouts managed to tail one of the elves long enough to see them disappear into an old dusty room that old and decaying, Nothing was in there though, it appeared to all eyes that the place had been abandoned for decades. According to the reports, there were dull knives, dusty old boxes of old things and other objects that should have been thrown out. Nothing was out of the ordinary except for a strangely ornate mirror that unlike everything else had been kept in seemingly excellent condition. Now, this was somewhat strange or so the agent thought, seeing as the room had been kept locked constantly and nobody had access to it. so the agent investigated and after a while discovered that the mirror had only arrived recently as a guest from a strange and unknown benefactor who had died recently."

"Let me guess there was something wrong with the benefactor?" Dorian said knowingly.

"Yes, it turns out that this mysterious benefactor who had just so conveniently died and left this big ornate mirror to this noble had never existed in the first place."

"A fake, surely something as grand a big expensive mirror would have drawn notice" Nat shook his head as he relayed the story that had been told to him. Briefly, he looked outside the window into the natural white light as snow continued to fall heavily outside and blanket the coat in a very thick layer of white.

"You would think so, but this noble didn't really care about the mirror and so asked one of the servants to place it in that locked room, the same exact servant who had not only presented the mirror to the noble, but also the one who had then placed it in that room and who at the strangest hours would vanish with not a lone person able to find her," Nat said calmly, he wondered how long it would take for Dorian to understand just what was at stake here . He doubted it would take long he was a smart man; after all, it was likely more a case that the man was more interested in this story about the agent.

"And that's how Leliana knew it was an Eluvian, it seems a little farfetched"

"No, Leliana suspected something was strange, but she was of the opinion of demons and Corypheus, it wasn't until I reminded her about the Eluvian's and the reports of other elves appearing and disappearing combined with the message from another agent who had also found an ornate mirror that my suspicions were confirmed.

"And what exactly does this entail exactly, are you planning on visiting, have a look at the eluvians or instead planning on capturing these elves and demanding answers," Dorian spoke his voice barely above a whisper as he took meaningful glances around him his eyes locking briefly with one particular raven with bright red eyes that seemed to stare deeply into his eyes. Hiding his chuckle as he saw a staring match between a human mage and the bird, Nat waited for the match to finally end which it did when Dorian blinked first causing him to throw his arms up in anguish.

"Ah, stupid crow" The man complained.

"That is a raven" Nat corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"A Raven is one of the most intelligent species of avian in the world capable of completing puzzles and other problems that require thinking and learning. A raven is on average larger then crows with a slight blue and purple hint to their feathers whereas a crow will have a green hue. Ravens are also known for their deeper tones then crows and can give off different sounds, they are also more private creatures preferring to hunt solitary though they will also hunt in pairs with one distracting the target. Ravens also prefer to be away from cities and they often live up to thirty years old compared to a crow that will typically only last until it hits eight, and a ravens beak is also bigger and tends t curve towards the end rather than two thirds down." Dorian blinked unexpectedly, his eyebrows rising quite substantially on his face as he gave the bird who was now hopping along quite happily a look between respect and confusion.

"How did you know that," Dorian asked impressed of the knowledge of birds.

"The house I was a part of during my education was called Ravenclaw, it would be... unwise to not know information about that creature" Nat said slowly, he had seen it once already, the consequences of members of the house of Ravenclaw not knowing a thing about the two birds that represented their house. It hadn't been pretty. "That isn't our current topic at hand though instead, I wanted to alert you that you've been selected to join the research group, congratulations" Nat continued on dryly. Dorian blinked for a moment before then a slight and mischievous grin appeared on his face, then whether out of boredom or some other type of physical click Nat didn't know, Dorian began to wrap his long rather comically evil bad guy moustache around his finger and then play with it as though he was in a film.

"Research, I assume you want to learn more about the Eluvian's" Nat nodded. "Excellent such an ability to study ancient magic could prove to be an excellent time to gather new knowledge. Tell me when do we begin and what is the noble house we will be travelling to?." Dorian said with a smile, glancing up at them Nat watched through a neutral expression at the mans playful and excited eyes seemed to glimmer with fascination at the ability to research some old magic, it was almost as if he was a small child who had been brought to a sweet store. Nat didn't say anything however instead informing the man of what he could likely be dealing with.

"You are the first to be informed of this upcoming study and a select few others will also be told in time, however," Nat said calmly before his eyes turned stern behind his glasses and his voice became as cold as freshly sharpened steel that was only millimetres away from being thrust into a person's neck. "This will be top secret, you are not to alert anyone other than those who will also be told of the information about what you are doing, no hinting, humming, shouting, singing, code making or anything at all, whatsoever, point blank. Violate these terms and trust me when I say that by the time I am done with you, nobody will even know you ever existed". Giving the man a cold look Nat watched in a slight amount of joy as the Tevinter mage squirmed in utter discomfort at the threat. It was always fun he found when those with power and were considered to be utterly terrifying became nothing but gibbering wrecks on the floor when he just allowed a small amount of his power out, it only became even more interesting when those face became paler than snow when he allowed ice to freeze the entire room.

Unfortunately for him he had more pressing matters and by telling Dorian now instead of later it would hopefully keep the Tevinter occupied long enough for him to leave him so that he could carry on with his research. Lessening the stare Nat then leaned even father back in his seat before taking a long sip of his tea and spoke again.

You will work in an area set up just for you with as many resources that can be spared alongside the best security systems that I can put in place. While I will give you a large amount of leeway when it comes to your work, your main responsibility will be to see if you can discover not only how they work, but of more importance is if you can replicate the process. Should I discover that you are diverting too many resources away from that goal without a satisfactory explanation then there will be consequences?"

"You make it sound so serious," Dorian said jokingly, Nat however much to his disappointment didn't laugh instead only giving him that ever calm face that unlike normal which Dorian had considered odd it now felt far eerier as though the young wizard was staring into his very soul searching for... something. At that moment Nat seemed very unnatural, stranger entity as though he was a spirit like the ones that had served his family as servants rather than a person Dorian repressed a shiver at the thought.

"We are dealing with magic that could very likely win us the war if we are able to utilise it and failing that the Eluvian's could be a very powerful threat if turned against us. I have no doubts that Corypheus will attempt the same and should he succeed then the consequences... would be somewhat irritating to deal with"

"Irritating, that's an understatement. If Corypheus was able to show up out of nowhere and murder our supporters it would be a bit more then irritating, we would lose support from the nobles, the Nobility would be killed quickly and replaced or worse demons could take possession of immortal people. If one of his spies was able to sneak an Eluvian into Skyhold" Dorian spoke loudly his eyes darting to the walls all around him at incredible speed. Stone by stone the man observed his eyes tightening as though the very walls of this place could speak to him. "Demons could take over the advisor, only Cullen would have the training necessary to be able to withstand demon possession. It would be disastrous"

"As I said, somewhat irritating" Nat repeated not at all impressed by the man's performance. "Aside from that I will be placing you in charge of the operation since to my knowledge you were not only a prodigy in Tevinter where they have learned to speak through the mirrors, but you also showed your talent in the very fact that you were able to successfully cast temporal magic. A marvellous success by the way congratulations, now don't ever do it again. Nat said sternly breaking the sudden happy and proud face that Dorian had gained when he had been congratulated by the wizard into a tiny million pieces that could never be reformed.

"Preferably I would like daily reports if possible when working with this type of magic, the last thing we want is to create a wormhole to Merlin knows where. However, since both of us will be busy I will expect reports every three days; a week is the absolute longest that I will allow for a stretched report and nothing else. In the meantime, I will give you a list of candidates of those mages who I will be interviewing though as you are project manager I will also allow you to give suggestions, do remember though that they must not tell anything about this project apart from those who know. Even if they are of less quality then other mages you would prefer, secrecy is the most important aspect here"

"In that case who knows about this project?" Dorian questioned.

"Apart from yourself, there will be myself and Leliana who in her case, she will be kept alert of only the most necessary things so she can improve defences or allow for the procurement of anything you may need. So, in general, you may only speak to me about it outside of your group" Dorian blinked confused.

"But what about the Inquisitor and Solas would it not be advantageous to inform them of our research?"

"No," Nat said quickly as he shook his head vigorously. "The Inquisitor is too loose with her words and not used to the idea of secrecy or more vitally politics. There is the very real possibility that the woman might let something slip either by accident when she is drunk or when she "enjoys" her time in other peoples company, as for when she is sober, her lack of training in politics could very well lead her to blurting out certain secrets to either carry favour when believes she is being smart or worse to grovel for certain things when she can see no other option" A loud high pitched whistle escaped Dorian's pursued lips followed swiftly by a rather shocked and surprised expression.

"You don't hold a very high opinion of the inquisitor do you?" He said still surprised at the very idea that the Inquisitors closest advisor and the person who had been the most defensive about Nat thought so ill of her.

"She is a young woman with no training, education or experience in politics other than being told from a young age that she will lead. She may have shown some sensibility by chopping off your old masters head-" Nat continued calmly brushing past Dorian's outraged face. "But she is not ready for what awaits her, without that knowledge she will make drastic mistakes, mistakes that could very well cost us the war because of her poor judgment"

"But that is your purpose is it not? You, Cullen, Leliana and Josephine are there to advise her on the right path to take"

"Exactly, advise. I can drag a starving animal to food all I desire but I cannot make it eat and I can advise the Inquisitor on all the possible consequences, on the best ways to progress with certain actions but that does not mean she will heed my advice, especially if something were to affect her in some emotional way. Which if that were to occur then it is more likely the Inquisitor will see me more as an enemy as I would attempt to get in her way, to prevent calamity which could in her part lead to a resentment against me causing her to reject my advice until she finally gets rid of me" Nat took another sip of tea as he stared behind his glasses directly into Dorian's eyes.

"Don't you think you're being too judgemental on the woman, sure she's young, but she can learn, and your her advisor aren't you supposed to teach her these things" Dorian countered.

Nat resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow, teach he wondered to himself darkly. Him, teach a person something as in imparting knowledge via the use of words. He couldn't do that, a teacher was a person who could adapt their method upon the student on ensuring the student learned the information in a way that suited them but it was not only that, teaching took large amounts of time, a certain type of personality of being truly friendly and wanting to teach. He couldn't teach, well properly at least not in the way Dorian was implying it, there was a difference between teaching someone a basic fact like that polar bears did not live at the south pole and the same for penguins in the north, but that was only basic. What the man meant was to take the Inquisitor as his apprentice to show her how things worked and teach her everything like Flitwick had taught him before dying of natural causes.

"I don't have the time to educate the Inquisitor on politics as it is I already have less time then I need to complete my current duties, to educate the Inquisitor would only leave me more stretched and the tasks I am in charge of left to a poor standard. It's why I'm leaving you in charge of operation Reflex, I would like to spend my time researching the inerrancies of ancient magic but I have my responsibilities to take care of."

"And what responsibilities are those" Dorian inquired slowly, all of a sudden his hand darted towards one of the many stacked books that were sat gently atop the table and flicked through. For a few moments, he read the contents trying to understand just what Nat was attempting to discover but unfortunately, the books were still written in that mysterious language that only he could read. Sighing he put the book down again and this time picked up a book he could read before then placing it down again as the page that had a bright pink piece of paper sticking out of it didn't have anything interesting as its contents.

"Aside from advising the Inquisitor, I have my lessons from Cullen, Josephine, Leliana and Solas all of which take time and all of which are essential so as to prevent myself from making mistakes in my judgements"

"Are you still really that concerned over what happened, yes you lost people in Orzammar but you prevented a civil war from breaking out, you ensured that the Lyrium continues to flow, that's something to be proud of" Dorian stared at Nat, for a brief few moments the boy said nothing instead continuing to read his book while writing the occasional note down on a piece of paper. Had an outsider peered in they would have believed that Nat to be ignoring Dorian however the Tevinter mage knew otherwise. On one occasion he had said something as he had believed the wizard not to be paying attention only to his shock and horror however that Nat had instantly replied without looking up from his work as though he knew the exact answer without even thinking.

Finally though after a few more seconds where only the sounds of Nat's ballpoint pen digging into the paper and leaving behind a trace of ink with such incredible ease that Dorian would admit he was jealous over the device, Nat looked up and met Dorian's eyes with his own, black plastic staring into a mage's eyes.

"There is nothing to be proud of Dorian, they were my responsibility it was my job to ensure that they stayed safe and out of harm's way as much as possible. Now while you and the others can count your blessing now that the threat of another civil war has vanished with minimal losses, I will not. The loss of my subordinates could have been prevented had I chosen a different path; instead, their bodies are nought but ash on the wind, their lives ended." Though he spoke calmly his face again completely void of anything that would give him away, Dorian began to feel his muscles cramp in his body while the air transformed subtly to that colder than the blizzard that played havoc outside on the men and women of the Inquisition. Shivering from the onset of cold Dorian wrapped his left arm around him before then summoning a fire in his right hand where he brought it close to his chest and sighed in relief.

"Dreadful weather, how anyone can stand to live in such a place will be forever beyond my understanding, personally I think it would be better if we were on some nice warm island where we could wade into the sea and relax. Don't you agree" Dorian said quickly hoping to diffuse not only the growing tension but also that of the weather change, soon the man knew ice would start forming down the walls, freezing over cracks and then splitting the walls very foundations if this were allowed to continue.

"No," Nat said simply.

"No, that's it?, you're not going to inform me why you don't think we should be on a nice island with attractive servants who go round shirtless?" Dorian spoke teasing his young companion.

"Tropical environments are dangerous, they invite dangerous diseases like malaria and Ebola, and warmer temperatures also give way to more dangerous aquatic life especially those of the hunt and eat humankind. Not to mention one tires far quicker in the blazing heat where you are forced to drink water constantly to keep yourself hydrated which would possibly hider fresh water supplies, then there is also the case that warmer temperatures increase the likelihood of heat stroke, the spreading of germs. As for an island, such a position without the strength of a full-sized country that can pay and afford powerful naval forces leaves itself incredibly exposed to having it's sea lanes attacked with ships plundered and stolen which in turn could lead to the danger of starvation of it became incredibly successful. Then there would also be distance making it harder for the Inquisition to sortie out at a moment's notice if a new event should occur."

"Oh is that all" Dorian replied half-heartedly, he had expected a simple answer not some giant explanation as to why having a base of the Inquisition in a warmer climate was a poor idea.

"Yes and no I will not elaborate any father we have more pressing issues to contend with such as dealing with Tevinter's old ruler" Dorian stuttered his eyes falling heavily as he let out a long sigh.

"Obviously you don't seem to be much in the mood for humour" He muttered to himself as he picked up one of the books that were sitting on the table before then placing it down. "Do you find joy in being so dour constantly, does it fill your cold heart with joy or is it simply an act?"

"Joy," Nat said unimpressed. "I don't know if you've noticed but we are currently at war with a mad man who wants to conquer not only the planet and enslave all elves, but also a man who tore a hole in the sky simply so he could bring more demons into the world, that man, has also recruited what was once a well trusted organisation by the general public but is now on the blacklist for practically all nobles, then there is the fact that he has been corrupted by the blight has made a lesser archdemon via some sort of black magic, has also started a civil war in one nation, attempted to do so in another and is profiting of a third one while he also very likely tries to start new civil wars in other nations to destabilise them. Aside from that however the man also managed to lead a successful assault on the Inquisition, which killed a large number of agents, nearly killed the Inquisitor who was our only way to deal with the problem in the first place and severely hampering the Inquisition. Oh, and how could I forget, the man somehow managed to make a fake calling to lead the Grey Wardens off to their keeps and very likely plunge them into desperation to deal with it."

Dorian hid his gaze of concern behind a cheery mask, Nat was oddly calm he noticed, no trace of fear or panic, there was no worry in his eyes that he attempted to hide instead all that lay was a seemingly serious look on his face. It was amazing he thought with some respect, many of the others attempted to hide their worry and concern by taking their mind off it, Vivienne seemed to prefer spending her time enjoying luxuries, Bull that handsome piece of muscle very much spent his day fighting and getting whacked by a hard piece of wood, Cassandra and Blackwall trained ever harder while Josephine took her time listening to Varric's stories who was only glad to hear them. Cole. Didn't do anything but then again Cole was a strange boy and Sera? Well who knew what poor sod that woman was thinking of pranking next?

"You can take a break you know, get some rest, enjoy your time speak with the others, have a joke you needn't have to keep going from one job to another, in fact, it's quite dangerous from what I've heard. We have time use it" Dorian reached over his hand aiming towards Nat's shoulder however before he even got halfway across the table he found a stick in front of his eyes glowing a menacing deep red as it aimed deeply between his eyes. It was so fast he thought, he hadn't even recognised it happened, staring into those black things that covered the wizard's eyes he scrunched his face up before then leaning back, Nat refusing outfight any comfort.

"Time" Nat hid his utter revulsion at the term. "What time do you think a small family who lives in Orlais has when a demon turns up and butchers their village, what time do you think that a young elf girl has to get away when some Tevinter thugs hold her down and violate her, what time do you believe that a young mage has when the Templar's learn of them. No Dorian I do not have time to waste and neither do I have the time to be making jokes about the situation in some effort to hide a fear that I do not have and do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Dorian asked concerned.

"Because jokes don't win wars. Every single moment that I spend on myself that is not concentrated on trying to win this war is another moment that Corypheus exists and every moment that Corypheus exists allows for more horrid and terrible things to happen, things that I can prevent. What is sleep, eating, drinking or joking and having fun when people who I have taken a responsibility to protect die or face even worse punishments because I in my selfish desire spent my time wasting it on such frivolities?"

"Nat are you-"

"Yes I'm perfectly fine" Nat again said calmly. "I do not need your fake concern Dorian I do not need pity. Leave me to my work if you are not going to provide useful information." Oddly as Dorian opened his mouth a reply already made up in his mind he felt the words slip from his mind instantly as though he had dropped his purse, sitting there opened mouth he attempted to pick himself up again metaphorically however all he could do was feel his internal organs seemingly construct tightly of their own will suffocating him as he took in the calm yet harsh withering gaze of the young wizard in front of him. It was though as he had been caught in a blizzard with no protection, snow seemingly snapping at his heels while his body encased into a giant icicle. He opened his mouth again attempting in vain to get off some last words however he could not muster anything.

"Go" Nat commanded without looking up from his book "I have more important things than dealing with some overgrown child" With a heavy feeling in his chest Dorian nodded to the young wizard and followed the directions he had been given and left without a word, quickly disappearing down the steps that he had come up.

With the man finally gone Nat yawned quietly to himself and wiped his tired eyes with his left hand. How long had it been since he last slept? He could feel his energy draining from him as though he had been bitten by a vampire or taken some strength-sapping potion. His entire body felt weak, awkward and no longer holding that same strength and speed as it typically did, the very fact that Dorian had gotten that far over the table before he had managed to stop him was bad enough, but the talk he had just given Dorian.

Sweet Merlin

The poor sod was likely cracking so many jokes because it was the only way he knew how to deal with the situation, hiding behind all sorts of jokes just so he could keep his sanity, something that would be utterly crucial when one regarded that he was bound to be taking harsh stares from practically everyone because of his Tevinter heritage. The man was likely feeling lost, homesick and under pressure and was simply looking for some stress relief and he had simply sent the man away, essentially declaring him to be a cold cruel bastard for wanting a small amount of fun when he concentrated on work.

What made it worse was that he had done it just after telling the man he was going to be put in charge of a very special project, something that was bound to put mixed signals into the man's head about whether he was trusted or not. That was the worst thing he needed, as much as his own power and skills allowed him to act, he was still rather unknown to the magic of Thedas, he needed a person he could trust to a certain extent who did know these things, and even better, one who he could actually understand. It was why he had chosen Dorian, the man was what he needed and not to mention that with him being an inner circle council member it made it far less suspicious for the two to be having meetings in closed doors especially when it came to the Eluvians, something which was vital.

Technically, he knew he should apologise to the man, say sorry for seemingly being so angry at the man when he was only trying to help, yet despite this, he couldn't help but have his doubts. Dorian he could tell would accept his apology and easily accept that he was under stress and was, therefore, acting out, yet on the other hand what he said wasn't a lie.

Was it like this for Potter he wondered to himself darkly, constantly dealing with the knowledge that you had to do everything that you possibly could to prevent the enemy from getting stronger and committing horrendous acts? Did he also feel irritation when ether he had heard a death over the radio or the torture of others for refusing to bow to a tyrant?

He chuckled to himself darkly, of course, Potter did, he was the Golden Gryffindor, the boy who could do nothing wrong and was beloved by all for his compassion and love even when he faced a dark lord, of course, the man suffered. Still, though he knew that Potter had never truly fought in the war, yes he had his encounters with the death eaters and the now thankfully dead Dark Lord, but that had been rare and when the war had truly kicked off. Potter had spent his time away from the battlefields, for the most part, never having to truly see the likely horrors that were inflicted, to see the number of bodies stack up until the final battle when so many had died.

He only wished that the man alongside Granger hadn't gotten rid of every single book and pressured other countries to do so as well on immortality, it was making this project rather obtuse. He sighed as he opened up another book this time directly to a ritual section depicting how to cleanse the body of an unwanted spirit, a type of exorcist spell typically used for getting rid of annoying passed on spirits.

He re-read the list of items and steps needed to make the ritual work and shook his head before then closing the book. There wasn't a chance that if he fought Corypheus that he could get the man to stay in place long enough for him to start the ritual and even then more powerful entities could not only resist the spell but could also use it to bind that person to the spirit and become the next host if possible. Should he have succeeded somehow though in the man not taking his body over then the magister could still use magic to attack him and considering how supposedly strong he was, there was incredibly little chance of him being able to pull off a ritual and fend for himself.

Gently though in a tired manner reflecting that of just how long he had gone without sleep, Nat tapped his fingers against the top of the table he glanced outside and peered into the endless white void. It had increased its tempo dramatically, gone was what had been a standard blizzard and instead, there was nothing but pure white moving at such speed and thickness that it appeared as though he was staring at a blank piece of paper.

It was rather beautiful, the way it cascaded down or that was how he imagined it was doing, he was unable to even make out the tower not that far away instead the only thing that told him that anything that was out there was the ever so slight sound barely mixed in with the howling wind of something heavy crashing against the outside wall.

"Kate you would love this place," He said to himself as a grim smile appeared on his face. Though his half-sister was older than him and by several years enough to officially make her an adult by all stretches, the woman had always loved to play in the snow the very few times it did so thanks to global warming. Had she been here, then he had no doubt the woman would have been playing whether by going skiing, making a snowman, or even as he had come to watch amusedly as she would fling snowballs at Ant her boyfriend if he had come home from deployment.

"I know it has its faults, one being the current demon infestation and the other being the primitive technology of these people, but trust me you would have loved to take pictures of some of these places." He could already see it, Kate rushing everywhere all sorts of expensive camera equipment in hand as she set up and raced from one place to another getting as many shots as she could of the local landscape forming incredible compositions that she could later sell as part of her business, all the while Ant would follow up behind a bemused expression as he discovered that his downtime was instead taken up by climbing up steep hills and running through weathers while a thunderstorm blared overhead.

Perhaps he should take some pictures next time he was out, it would probably be one of the better souvenirs he could take back home, especially since he outright refused to take some kind of giant pet or other creature. Maybe he should also see if he could grab one of the Orlesian masks he had heard so much about, no he shook his head he couldn't see something like some ugly gaudy mask being placed on her face. What if instead-

Nat froze suddenly as he directed his attention downwards as he detected that familiar and strange presence. Cole he thought as he brought his wand swiftly into a position, aiming towards the top of the stairs where he could feel the man/demon thing ascend. Soon enough he began to see the top of the strange and rather oversized hat of the young man as it bobbed upwards before then it was joined by the pale and gaunt face of Cole as he climbed up the steps with the grace as a predator, his eyes locked upon him. Oddly though as he locked eyes onto him he saw that his blue eyes were brimmed full of concern.

"Cole" Nat said calmly as he watched the man approach him, for a moment the man eyes fluttered over to the wand in Nat's hand as it loosely followed him before then returning to the black glasses that Nat kept over his face.

"You were in pain" Cole said in that strange mix of a human and otherworldly tone. "I came to help" The boy for that was what Cole was even if he was biologically older than him, glanced towards the chair and then without asking placed a hand on the back and plonked himself down.

"I'm perfectly all right Cole, you can go back to helping other people" Cole blinked.

"But I felt it, you were hurt" He said seemingly not at all understanding why Nat did not want the apparent mind-reading demon nearby him, even so the moment he had detected the creature he had raised his mental shields to the fullest even as the sheer strain of a complete lack of sleep for over two weeks quickly began to feel as though somebody was twisting white hot screws into his brain constantly.

"As I said, Cole, I am fine; you needn't concern yourself with my wellbeing"

"You lie" Cole said quickly. "You hurt but you manage to hide it. That has never happened before," He said oddly "How?" Cole asked inquisitively his large eyes fixed upon Nat as though he was some great artefact to study yet at the same time as though he was but a newborn kitten who he desired to protect.

"I know a technique for keeping my emotions locked, preventing others from seeing, there is nothing to be concerned about" As soon as he had finished Nat a feeling smoother than that of the best velvet caressed his mind gently only to stop suddenly as a mere moment later the man realised that what he was touching was not the thoughts and emotions of the wizard but instead a large mental barrier preventing anyone from seeing in father and threatening anyone who dared to attempt access a very painful experience. "Cole" Nat said his voice still calm but with a slightly sharp edge to it. "Stop that"

"Why can't I feel," The boy asked in a mix between fear and fascination.

"I just told you, I have a technique that prevents others from seeing my mind"

"Why?"

"Because people do not appreciate it when you start rooting through their heads, and especially not when you try to gather information that they really don't want you to have. It's the utmost invasion of a person's privacy" Nat narrowed his eyes on the creature, it was almost naive as though he could not for the life of him begin to contemplate something utterly different to what he was used to, that it was so utterly foreign that it just did not work and not even it being explained could it either change his opinion. To him, it was probably the same as two civilizations beliefs clashing against one another with neither being able to comprehend the others instead they would simpler prefer to be what they had grown up with.

"But if I could see then I could help you"

"I don't want help Cole, I want to focus on my work" Nat gave the strange being a stern look, he had already heard the rumours of the man saying rather personal things to anyone that was nearby and wished to hear them. According to Cole, it was so that he could help them heal from whatever hurt they were recovering from, yet even as Nat saw no desire to hurt him in that blonde haired boy's eyes he felt no comfort from them either. Magic could, after all, be used to hide a number of details and considering what this creature was the boy could be using the pretence of compassion to actually draw power for itself and use it on its opponents in future. That was not something he would allow from him, at least not while he was aware of it.

Cole stared at him a moment his bright eyes attempting to pierce through his stern veneer while his own magic attempted to break through his mental defences and gain access to any secrets that lay within. Though outwardly he seemed utterly serene, inwardly it was requiring an awful lot of energy simply not to scream in pain as he felt the lack of over two weeks' worth of slain thrust into the back off his head as he beat off a continued assault from the creature. Pain and agony swept over him as if he had been captured and then stabbed a million times with white-hot needles or that he had done the mental equivalent of stepping on a leg barefoot however instead of it being a normal Lego brick, this Lego brick had instead been modified to have an even larger pin stick out from within the centre causing incredible pain.

He didn't scream instead before Cole could even realise what had happened he fired off a stunning spell, the bright red light whizzing across the room and smacking the creature directly in the chest. Cole flew backwards from the force his body flipping multiple times before it then crashed with a heavy bang into one of the many bookshelves behind him. Letting out a gasp of pain, Cole felt his breath catch in his throat unable to find its way in and out, forcing him to choke without moving as his back screamed with pain.

"I don't care if you did come to warn the others of the Templar attack," Nat said coldly his eyes locking onto the creature as he rose swiftly from his seat. Cole's breath hitched as he saw the strange wood the way it was pointed at him so ruthlessly the complete and utter lack of guilt from the bys actions instead all he could see was a dark look in his eyes threatening to kill him there and then. "If you ever try to violate my mental privacy again, trust me when I say that the emotion's you feel, will transform you into a demon."

Cole stared there his eyes focused on the glowing stick in front of him, he shivered all of a sudden his eyes turning black from memory. Not the dark place, it had been cold and damp and he had been so hungry and alone, the pain, the hurt all those who were treated unfairly because they were different, all those that the Templar's took advantage off. He remembered a young girl, bright beautiful and powerful, she would have gone far in the circle he had heard the rumours say but that all changed when one night the Templar's came. He remembered watching from afar hidden partially by a pale wall as the girl screamed and screamed her mouth eventually turning dry and her voice entirely horse as the Templar's dragged her by the scruff of the hair until they eventually reached a quiet place outside surrounded by other Templar's.

They watched stone-faced, not caring about the young girl, in fact, some of them seem pleased, their eyes glimmering with hatred as their hands itched at their swords. One of them a young recruit asked to be the one to make the kill but they were refused, instead, they take the girl to a block of wood in the centre, cradled in blood from lives lost long ago. The girl struggles her lithe body twisting and turning as much as she van but the Templar's did not let go, a few laughs as the girl then cries asking for mercy saying she'd become tranquil, begging for her life that she didn't do anything wrong, but nothing happens. She became enraged her eyes afraid of what would happen and she tried to use her power to defend herself to keep safe, but the Templar's stop that and instead growl and insult her, a few even stating what they were going to do to her dead body when she was dead.

The Templar pushed her to the block and forces her head there with some iron, the girl cries some more and screams and begs for the maker as tears run down her face. She wants to live, she wants to see her friends, her family, she didn't do anything wrong, why does she have to die, she doesn't want to die, she wants to live, live. But the Templar's only mock her crying and watch happily as the Templar picks up his sword and then swings, the dull blade fails to cut her head of and requires a second and then the third cut in order to make sure the girl dies painfully.

And then she does her head rolling to the floor her pale one of utter fear, her once clean and beautiful hair all knotted and wet and her talent destroyed. Tomorrow the Templar's would come for one of her friends and do the same thing stating that the child was colluding with a traitor and had to be dealt with.

Cole gasped loudly as his heart pounded faster and faster until it eventually reached the point that it actually hurt as if each time he breathed it was as though a pride demon was smashing a Warhammer into his ribcage each time he opened his mouth. His head swivelled around quickly while his eyes flickered madly taking in every sight. That couldn't be right, he was in the Haven with the Inquisition with the boy he could not read, but how was that so he had just been at-. His mind stopped completely as he realised, slowly but surely he then turned to the boy in question and quivered in fear.

"How" He barely muttered under his quivering breath. "You saw"

"I did," Nat said calmly his eyes locked onto the spirit a spell just on the end of his lips.

"How?" Cole whispered, he felt cold, incredibly cold as though he had been outside. Struggling he reached for his legs and pulled them close to him, wrapping himself into a small ball that quivered his head entirely protected by his knees and arms. He glanced up for a moment hoping that the strange mage would go away instead though Nat took but one though loud step forwards the sound seemingly echoing for miles in Coles mind.

"It's different isn't it," Nat said his wand at the ready, "Having your own privacy violated instead of somebody else." Cole shivered up into his ball again not willing to even run, he couldn't run through, not from whatever was in front of him.

"Impossible" He muttered scared as he pulled back onto one of the bookcases. "You, you should not be able to"

"I warned you, Cole, not to attempt that with me, I let you off the first two times because I was being kind, but you chose to persist, you chose what occurred to you."

"No, no," Cole said backed up father across the cold stone floor, desperate to get away from the mage.

"Don't try to run away from me?" Nat said taking another step forward from the retreating spirit. "You wanted to look into my head and you tried and failed, yet when I peer into yours show you what it is like to be on the receiving end of such matters you panic and flee. What's the matter Cole, scared that I will find something you don't want me to find out about?, scared that I will discover the truth, that I will let the others know."

"Stay away from me" Cole barely whimpered. Nat took another step forwards again his full attention was on this creature. He held no pity for the boy, if one went around peering into the minds of others at will without any regard to privacy or the consequences of doing so, then one was bound to react in such a manner when they found that their thoughts and memories had been viewed by anyone else.

"No" Nat took another step closer, now he was at the very end of Coles' feet as he stared down the scraggly haired boy. He was so scared, Nat thought. Give him a teddy bear and he would have looked like an oversized child then what was supposedly a mass serial killer known as the Ghost of the Spire. Nat kept his wand still lit and kept forward not dropping his guard for an instinct, whether Cole looked pathetic or not this moment, made apparent with the way drool and snot was coming out of him as he approached, did not matter. Cole was dangerous and for all, he knew the creature would attempt to kill him out of fear or compassion or perhaps because he allowed his darker side to take over him and become corrupted just like Solas had told him days ago.

"Please stay away" Cole whimpered again.

"You attempt to violate my mind and ask that I simply leave you be after such an attempt," Nat said in a mock incredulous tone. "Back home use of such magic on another without just course is a one way trip to Azkaban, especially on a minor like myself"

"I tried to help," The spirit said pitifully.

"And you failed, utterly" Nat responded harshly. Cole sniffled, for a moment he thought of running away from getting away from the mage but he simply froze the moment he attempted such a thing, allowing only the slightest wing of his muscles before he gave up entirely.

"What are you going to do?" Nat stared at the man, what was he going to do? On one hand a part of him was screaming to kill him this instant, to end the life of this creature before it could do any more damage before it could report anything important to anyone else, yet on the other hand, he thought of the problems it would bring. If he killed Cole then the others would look at him suspiciously as even if they did not like the spirit man, they were also not as trustworthy as him who appeared and disappeared from places with ease.

There were benefits to killing Cole here and now, one of them being that he didn't have to keep track of the young man before he did something stupid, but on the other hand, he had more serious issues. Corypheus. He felt his blood boil at the thought of that pale bastard hiding out somewhere in the world with his army of Templar's and other scum that he had recruited to his side. That bastard had taken so many lives already was in the process of taking even more lives whether by direct or indirect actions of his cause to return a long-dead empire from the ashes.

On the other hand, Cole was still a member of the Inquisition and has been brought on by the Inquisitor herself rather than those like Blackwall and Bull whom he had recruited. As such killing the creature in front of him even if he truly did desire to would spark off quite a bit of trouble for him with that woman. Not enough he couldn't handle but enough that it would cause headaches and probably cause the woman's own opinion of him to deteriorate which could later down the line, cause substantial issues in terms of morale and cohesiveness of the inner council. If she didn't trust him and second-guessed his decisions under the belief that he wanted to take over, many more lives would die.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy allowing the magical pressure that he had formed onto the boy's chest crushing him downwards as though it was his foot to dissipate slightly. Cole's breath hitched his eyes still fearful of the strange mage that had managed to peer into his mind. He was going to live, he felt relieved he whispered to himself shutting his eyes and allowing him to be wrapped up into the temporary loving embrace that was the darkness that plagued at him from the side of his now closed his eyes.

It was a mistake as the moment his eyes crept into the darkness it instead grabbed him fully it's black tendrils taking a firm hold of him and bringing him down yonder before he could even scream and his body went slump. On the outside Nat rolled his eyes at the dramatics the boy had given over something casual, he hadn't killed the spirit/demon thing, simply knocked it out with a stunning spell yet none the less Cole had acted in his mind as if he was being taken to oblivion to have his soul wrenched apart by a whole host of legions.

"Idiot" He muttered to himself as he looked at the slumped body of the scraggly haired boy. The fool had left himself wide open for a spell to strike him and take him down easily as he had but worse than that the boy hadn't even tried to fight in any meaningful way, instead he could only watch in a small sense of amusement as the boy had simply rolled into a ball of fear. So much for the lethal ghost of the Spire, he thought grimly, if this being could not take having his own memories redirected back at him then his mental defences were entirely lacking or that the boy held not enough courage to continue fighting.

Sighing loudly this time Nat approached Cole, his wand still raised and aimed at the boy with another spell on lips, not at all taking comfort in what his eyes told him. Senses could be fooled and for all he knew the boy slumped on the floor, his body spread out in awkward positions like a puppet with its strings cut could all be an elaborate distraction geared towards him approaching, investigating and thus leaving him exposed to an attack.

Conjuring a stick out of thin air, Nat forced the stick to move closer to Cole's seemingly limp body and demanded the stick to poke the spirit softly in multiple places. While this occurred Nat moved around the body making sure he maintained a safe distance that in the case that the boy lunged suddenly at him that he would have the time to not only back away swiftly, but also shoot off as many spells and possibly call for help if required.

He would not take any chances with this thing, not when so many like it had been so easily corrupted by mere and emotion and not when so many other demons he had killed had attempted the same parlour trick of attempting t hide a fake wound to grab another strike.

Finally after five minutes of the stick continuing to press into the soft pale flesh of Cole leaving some red marks in places, Nat nodded to himself carefully before then flicking his wand towards the boy. Instantly the boy was picked off up of the ground where he then began to float through the air until he was finally deposited on the seat that he had sat on earlier. A few quick spells later to ensure that the boy's hands were in the correct place so that his head could lie on them, giving the boy the impression that he had fallen asleep at the table, Nat got to work.

"Obliviate" He whispered the words leaving his mouth as the tip of his wand began to glow a luminous white, Soon wispy strands coiling around one another in a clockwise motion before then uncoiling and then recoiling again in the opposite direction emerged outside of the boys mind emerging into the cold air before then vanishing entirely as the memories were erased. As they emerged from the boy's mind, Nat extended his magical signature down to where Solas inevitably was located.

He could feel the man as he worked on extracting Coles memories, the power that the man held at his fingertips, the way he moved with an almost odd grace to it that not even the average Elf had, more vitally though he felt the age of the man and how that relatively thirty-year-old looking exterior held back the age of a several millennia old being.

Could the man detect this, could the very act of meddling with somebody's memories so close to Solas, a being who likely had many years to learn the equivalent of ancient mind arts, know that this being, this Cole was having his very memory stripped away by what he likely presumed was nothing more than a pathetic child in his mind. Solas did not seem to react or at least now how he knew, there was no surge of the Fade nearby no hint of Solas using his magic as he hummed a very quiet tune to himself only audible to him thanks to just how much his senses were now attuned to the world around him.

He wanted to say no, that Solas was not aware of what he was doing that he was free to wipe the memories of the being who had attempted to bring his out, but yet he could not help but feel a horrid feeling in his gut when he considered this man. Aside from the knowledge the man likely held, aside from the possible true power that the man possessed, one thought bothered him greatly about this person.

Solas, just like had just so conveniently been in the right place at the right time, yet at the other was far more suspicious due to the knowledge he presided over.

He could not help but find it suspicious how a man of his knowledge just so happened to be nearby and just so happened to stabilise a form of magic that had never been seen before. And then there was the very question behind his age, just how in sweet Merlin's name had he managed to survive for so long?

All the other ancient elves were long dead, their immortality took from them, leaving them nothing more than slightly prettier versions of humans. Arlathan was in ruins and so was Halamshiral after, yet Solas had managed to live through those catastrophes to end up here. Nat wondered in a concerned manner only briefly looking at Cole as he finished extracting the memories and instead began to replace them with brand new ones.

Solas was obviously alive, but how had he accomplished that? Black magic? Perhaps, but if that was the case then there would be a mountain of bodies and a host more stories to follow, not to mention that there would be records of other mages who had managed to achieve a similar feat. Then again could it have been achieved under the men own power, a large portion of it he imagined would have to be used to keep away the creeping problem with age, but again if that were the case how come there were no other ancient elves still alive to this day. There were other methods, of course, most likely lost but may still lay within the hands of an entity as old as Solas who as the man had taught him meant pride in Elvish.

He sighed to himself and released the spell of Cole, his memories of their meeting had been changed to that of him falling asleep very early on. It was a fanciful tale, but with the privacy charms around him, nobody else would be able to say that the boy had instead been attacked and had a simple meeting erased.

With that complete, he pinched the bridge of his nose and strained under the pressure of moving his body much father before he opened his mouth and yawned in a tired manner, no doubt that if his illusion was taken away he would see bags under his eyes, amongst other horrors. He yawned again before flicking his wand towards the large stack of books and other documents that had sat contently.

Rising of their own volition, the books shot in the air at rapid yet ordered pace, moving in and out of line as though they were a group of soldiers as they ordered themselves both alphabetically and regarding their current subjects until they finally formed a straight and solid line. When that was complete, Nat pushed aside the left half of his jacket, exposing the small pocket that could easily hold a Smartphone though not much else. Undeterred by the prospect, however, the books began their march through the open air, moving in tandem with one another as the other equipment behind them such as pens and paper also rose up and neatly organised themselves before then joining in on the queue of books.

After it had travelled the first two thirds of the distance between him, the first book began to shrink, getting shorter and shorter by the second until eventually the book became smaller and no thicker then prefects badge where after approaching the young wizard, the book then happily crawled into the open pocket and allowed gravity to take it. The first book was not alone however instead being joined by the second book and then the third and then the fourth until after only a minute the entire set of thirty plus books alongside the pens and other equipment had fallen into the pocket leaving the table completely bare of all but a lone candle and the resting face of a sleeping Cole.

That boy was going to be trouble, he could already tell and not simply because of what he was, investigating too closely into people past was never something appreciated by others. He shook his head, if Bull didn't kill him, then eventually he would push Sera over the edge until he was dangling over a moat via arrows that had pierced his ears courtesy of the elven archer. He let out another yawn, stretching his arms out wide as he did so, Merlin was he tired.

He could feel his eyes grow heavy with the strain of having been awake for such a long period of time and unfortunately, he knew that a pepper up potion would do him of little use at this moment. That dwindling supply of potions he had was meant for one or two days at a time, not for keeping him as active as he had been and he could feel the effects as his foot took to the stairs. The strain in his legs, the way it seemingly wanted to buckle at any moment and allow him to fall down to the floor and allow his eyes to sleep was growing ever louder. He rubbed his eyes removing the illusion of the mirror image of everything he saw combining it with the original before he continued onwards and yawned yet again.

There was no time to rest he grumbled to himself, Corypheus was still out there, still haunting across the land of Thedas still killing and butchering, sacrificing elves to his dark gods and mustering ever more forces to his banner. At the same time there was also these gods he had to worry about, Fen Harel and the other one which still stalked the land, yet he also knew that was Imshael and all his machinations that would ruin life after life as he forced people into situations that would force them to make deals to satisfy his pleasure. Yet that was not it.

He rubbed his eyes again his head twitching to his left focusing on what his still alert mind informed him was an illusion made up from his mind as the tiredness began to affect his mental thought processes giving him the idea that he was in this place with them. Whether he knew it was fake or not didn't matter, he kept his eyes fixed to his left meeting the large, deadly and nonetheless black tainted eyes of what he knew to be a large dragon as it stared down at him.

It was an impressive beast, its large maw was open revealing layer upon layer of razor sharp teeth that glowed bright orange as a wreath of flame began to sputter outwards racing towards him. Behind that large maw, he noticed the thick and powerful body that the dragon possessed, it's once likely beautiful scales tarnished with writhing masses of tainted flesh that squirmed around constantly like maggots under the skin. Blood was wreathed on the side of the dragon, blood that the creature had seemingly bathed in giving it's scales and wings a dark red and black crimson colour. It snarled at him for a moment letting out a putrid breath that brushed over the young wizard's body as he stared into a painful death, ready to either burn him alive or consume him whole.

Nat shook his hand dismissing the image instantly and carried down the stairs however the point was made abundantly clear to his tired mind. He was utterly surrounded in this war, surrounded by so many enemies, so many monsters, people and other threats many of which could be yet to reveal themselves and there was nothing he had done.

He felt his body go weak and his once tight grip on his wand began to falter as a new image appeared before him this time it was not of the Archdemon's that stalked the land this time it was of a demon, of Imshael. He resisted the urge to growl instead levelling only a harsh stare at the smirking demon's face as he floated there contently above the stairs. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to, just the presence of the demon alone reinforced the knowledge of what would occur if the Inquisition was unsuccessful. Imshael had likely taken that body by force or methods' close to it and how he could enjoy his time stalking upon the land making deals.

Nat grit his teeth the memory of that forest, of how it had snuck up on him and that elf girl on how it had attempted to force a battle between the two of them, and of before it had even begun he had killed that girl without hesitating. It was a necessary sacrifice, one made with the knowledge that he had at hand and the situation that was being dealt with at the present. As much as he cared for the belief of equality, the fact remained that people would never be equal, not unless there was one person alive. And in the case of the girl, her life was simply not of the same worth of his, he was the advisor to the Inquisitor, one who would help her navigate through this time whereas that girl was likely just a girl. She very likely had hunted and helped her clan, but in the end, there was not much lost from her death, but all the same, he could not help but feel that it had been unnecessary.

Had he still had his magic at hand, then he would likely never have encountered the demon and even if he had then he could have killed the creature, although now that he thought about it perhaps him being in a position of weakness was an advantage. He hated the thought, people had died because he had not had his power but on the other hand that weakness was what had alerted him to the demons connection to Corypheus and it was that knowledge that they would attack Corypheus from next.

Was it the smartest plan? Perhaps not, their best course of action in a time where the Inquisitions preferred to minimise risks was simply to inquire into old books and documents, scour the known world for any hint or clue that could tell them how to destroy the enemy once and for all. And while that would occur they would send troops out to secure areas denying Corypheus the capability to rebuild his forces and then strike back with more force thus ending their plans. But still, this war could not go on forever.

He could still remember what that dragon had yelled, about how it had plans for Tevinter, how it would raze cities to the ground and slaughter and feast on anyone it desired. No doubt the beast would have made a tremendous ally to Corypheus, and no doubt when he discovered that the beast had been killed the man would be angry beyond all reckoning. What would occur afterwards he did not know, the man's current plans of trying to incite civil wars indicated that he had no desire for a hard-fought war where tactics and manpower would play the day, instead, the man was intelligent playing the game to every advantage he could.

The Inquisitor had mentioned that in the future that Corypheus had only conquered the continent after Celene had been murdered leaving Orlais without its ruler, and weakened after another civil war. That indicated towards a modicum of patience and cunning, he was willing to bide his time and let his enemy weaken themselves in trying to deal with other matters. Perhaps that had something to do with his own immortality.

If he was willing to bide his time then it would make sense that the man would not leave his weaknesses so easily exposed and gotten too, nor so easily worked out. He wanted the enemy to weaken themselves, to put themselves in a position where only after they had believed that they had gained a victory would they then be led into a trap and sorely defeated.

His head raised sharply his eyes drawn into the image of Imshael and those dark menacing laughing eyes of the demon. It was a trap he realised, his stomach churning at the thought. Corypheus was bound to know of Ishmael's age and therefore was likely to understand that even if he didn't know the truth behind how he had gained his immortality was bound to have an idea that could set them down on the correct path. What made it even worse, was that Imshael did not seem like the type of demon to be controlled if he could strike a deal with the Inquisition for more power or something else exciting then he would likely tell others of Corypheus's weak point.

He felt his muscles tighten at the thought. Of course, this was a trap, Imshael wanted the Inquisition to work things out, the demon had specifically drawn the attention of him by stating his name, alluding to the possibility of hidden knowledge. He would know of the Inquisitions desire to stop Corypheus and would happily take advantage of that situation; it was why he had let him go in the forest when he could have killed him so easily after ruining his plans.

Imshael wanted a meeting with the Inquisition; he wanted to make a deal with the Inquisitor, one that would likely be very expensive one that could perhaps even divide the Inquisition itself, possibly causing some kind of civil war leading to a possible fracturing that he could then take advantage off. As this occurred, Corypheus would be close by waiting for Imshael to betray him but more vitally waiting for key members of the Inquisition to walk straight into a certain location where he could then cut them off from any support and overwhelm them with pure numbers.

If it worked then the Inquisitions head would be cut off and there would be nothing to prevent the man from massacring the Orlesian's like he had done so in the future while at the same time hiding the secret behind his immortality. Nat sighed again as he realised yet one more problem, very few people knew about Corypheus's immortality.

If the Inquisition was wiped out then the kingdoms would probably raise a force to kill Corypheus, and whether they won or failed would not matter as instead, they would discover much to their horror the first time round that the man could come back from the dead. The armies would strike with everything they had believing that if they killed the creature that the war would be finished, instead though they would learn to their horror later on that the man could keep coming back and no matter how many times the demon host was wiped out there would always be another at the creatures back and call ready to butcher the people of Thedas.

Truth be told, the more he considered this war that he had to fight, this ancient evil that had long slept the more he couldn't help but have his doubts about their assured victory. Undoubtedly they had delivered blow after blow to the man, weakening his resources and pulling all efforts against him in this war, but was it enough to win?

As much as he hated to think about it, this was only the beginning stages of the war as time went on both sides would get stronger and also gain allies to assist them in their campaign. He knew Leliana wanted to grow the Inquisition to countermand the threat but was it such a great idea to leave those who should be their allies so out of the loop in this fight.

They needed to know, if the Inquisition fell because of a mistake or because they were defeated in battle, then the leaders of the other kingdoms had to know what they had discovered. The question would be whether those in charge would believe their words were sincere enough as well as convince dear Leliana that telling them the problem with killing Corypheus was a good idea.

Josephine would agree he knew, the Inquisition's power had to come from more than just the strength of its spies and soldiers, but also from just how well they could converse with their allies and make peace with their enemies. It would with any luck prove to their allies that they were dedicated to fighting Corypheus and had no desire to take power over the continent as certain rumours stated.

He continued walking his still tired mind entirely abuzz as he once again went over what the consequences could be for every action. The other inner council members knew this as well, and no doubt would be irritated by simply how much time he spent thinking about things that they had already decided on; no doubt they would say to use his time more effectively. Perhaps in the future when victory was on the horizon and they had dealt enough blows to the man to ensure their victory, but for now when the war was so far away from either victory or defeat, they had to be very careful with how they moved.

Once again that led him to the smirking face of Imshael that seemingly chuckled in his mind. If this was a trap, a plan to lead out the leadership of the Inquisition in order to ambush them then it was a very effective one and they should avoid it. On the other hand, was losing the possible chance of discovering Coryphaeus's weak point such a large risk to take as well?

It wasn't hard to find Imshael nor was it difficult in the slightest to find anyone else in this world, not that he had told the rest of the Inquisition that. It was somewhat laughable at times just how often witches and wizards forgot the most basic of spells or ever bothered to use some simple common sense onto them. Had he been the Dark Lord during the last wizarding war he would have won quite easily.

One lone point me spell combined with a map and the image of who or whatever you were looking for could give an individual the exact location of that desired target so long as they did not have any spells to prevent such magic from locating them. Admittedly it was rather easy to get rid of once you knew how to protect yourself as it was but one spell, but for those who didn't know about such magic.

In his case, he had known the exact location of both Imshael and Corypheus ever since he had known about the individuals and had the magic to cast them while he had only added Solas to that map once he had realised just how suspicious the man was. The reason for why he had such a vital strategic asset secret, however, was to deal with any spies or with those who held sympathy to other groups.

Dorian held a great love for his country and though he was not too begrudged for it, there was always the possibility that the man could turn on the Inquisition to defend it. The same could be said for Bull and the Qun or for Sera and her "little people" or even for Blackwall and those he believed t be in need. More crucially though it was to stop Solas from discovering just what he could and thus making him a threat as well as ensuring that Vivienne did not use it to assist those few templar's still left in the wilds or worse to oppress those mages who lurked nearby.

Leliana would adore such magic though, and should she find out he would be in no doubt that he would be bombarded by the woman for half a dozen million maps differing in everything to be drawn up and then to be enchanted to protect them from enemy spies reading them. However if just one map was lost or read or even just glimpsed at enough to be realised of what they can do, then again the Inquisition would have to deal with a certain amount of infiltrators.

He could act this very moment if he wanted to, simply apparate away and take Imshael before the demon could even understand what had happened, in such a case he could shorten the war considerably by such action. Imshael would find itself locked in a tower within the home of the Inquisition leaving Corypheus alone to fester in concern and worry about if the demon knew how his immortality worked.

It was a potential victory, but one that would only gather him even more suspicion from his fellow teammates about just what he was capable of doing. Soon they would ask why he hadn't done more to help earlier, Leliana could inquire ever father into his past and perhaps even the Inquisitor would gaze at him with suspicion as she attempted to work out what was going on in his mind and if he could be trusted.

He could not act yet he thought grimly not with his story of fighting and killing an Archdemon single handily, something that had certainly gained some complete looks of shock and doubt from the others. It was just a good thing he hadn't told them of how close he had come to death, of how he was saved at the very last moment. How or what by he did not know but nevertheless he had been saved, he had not gotten lucky.

That only led to even more questions in his mind, questions that should be answered, questions though that he doubted would be answered any time soon and unfortunately as much as he desired them to be the fact remained he had far more important matters to deal with, matters such as the fact that the Lady Inquisitor was heading directly for him.

"Nat" He heard the warm and friendly voice of the Inquisitor as she saw him.

"Inquisitor" He replied calmly.

"I was hoping that we could talk about things"

"Could you be more specific Inquisitor, I do have my own duties to return to" Nat glanced past the woman to the dark empty corridors of the castle, even with more torches having been lit up the castle still felt more dark and dreary then Hogwarts ever had, the sound of the hail and snow continuing to howl outside however did nothing to help soften his mood.

"I was hoping we could just talk," Valeyna said. "You know about things"

"Inquisitor I have a rather busy schedule, meetings with the other mages, lessons with the other advisors, checking up on the current affairs of the continent, hiding my face from those Orlesian nobles before they get the chance to corner me down and ask questions. Then there's still the upgrades to the castle, I have yet to actually put down magic guarding the castle proper as I've been far too busy assisting Leliana and Josephine with other matters. I'm afraid that if you truly want to speak to me about non-urgent material, then it would be best if you book an appointment for my office"

"Oh come on you can't be that busy" Valeyna joked merrily, not at all gathering the message that Nat was attempting to silently convey. "I generally have all my work sorted out rather early and since we can't leave until this storm lets up that means I get lots of free time. Surely you can spend some of it with me" Nat resisted the urge to pinch his eyebrows at the girls lack of concern, she was the Inquisitor of all things, the leader of this group whose goal was to stop Corypheus, it was her job to meet with the nobles alongside Josephine, to learn the information constantly from Leliana and to regularly check in on the state of the soldiers of the Inquisition. Instead, however, the girl currently preferred to stay in her room, sometimes reading the stuff she needed and she always made sure to attend the required meetings but aside from that, he noticed that she did seemed to have an awful lot of free time on her hand for somebody in such a powerful position.

"With respect Inquisitor, every moment that I'm not working is another moment that Corypheus has time to rebuild his forces, to gain more allies and to build up his reserves of currency and other vital resources including this future demon army that I have heard so much about" Valeyna stopped her bright blue eyes twinkling in concern as she looked at her younger companion.

He looked different now compared to before, older far more mature as though once could tell in his strong movements in stride that he exuded a certain aura. One that at times was quite funny to watch. it was hard to notice at first, mostly because physically he was still the same, the same height, the same build, the exact same boy physically that had left for Orzammar over a month ago. He was also still hiding behind what she knew now to be an illusion for some reason, a secret that he would not divulge, but there were other things. For one he had no time for games now, outright refusing any and all requests made by anyone to join them for a game of Wicked Grace instead insisting that he had work to do. Then there was also the rest of his demeanour, he preferred now to work even as he moved never once allowing his mind the simple time to relax instead it operating constantly whether that be in his training with one of the other advisors or researching through a large number of books for something obscure.

"You're truly that worried about the demon army? Why Dorian and I stopped that when we killed Alexius, not to mention you prevented another civil war and got us the Lyrium, we'll be fine, they won't attack during winter" She approached stretching her arm out as she tried to grab his, however like before he was quick to pull away from her not allowing the slightest graze of even the fabric of their clothing to touch as Nat continued to head in the same direction he had been going before being accosted by the Inquisitor.

"Men and women are dying every day to those demons, Inquisitor. Families ripped apart, murdered by sloth demons if they aren't already taken by desire demons whilst children are likely forced to watch such horror until they are killed last and in the most painful manner possible. As for our soldiers, they may be able to fight off a demon here and there, but even with the current training, they have, too many of them die before they can become competent and that's against only standard demons. According to one report, I received one Pride demon managed to wipe out three whole patrols, the only reason the fourth is alive is due to some Orlesian Cavaliers arrived once the fourth had nearly been wiped out and slain the monster."

Nat said his eyes fixed ahead of him as he ignored the painful screaming that his mind was in. Valeyna not aware of what he was feeling as the effects of so long without any sleep or rest whatsoever began to affect him, simply tried to give a reassuring smile a she rushed to catch up with the still impressively quick pace that the wizard set as he twisted and turned around the various stone corners avoiding the occasional servant here and there with a strange amount of grace born from his years of navigating around Hogwarts.

"We'll win," Valeyna said putting on a smile. "We'll regroup our numbers and come spring we'll find Corypheus and beat him in battle."

"Whatever makes you think that he would fall for such an obvious ploy, not to mention that such a plan would hardly be risk-averse for us as well? If we were to meet the man on his battlefield then we would have to deal with a corrupted dragon as well." Valeyna smirked playfully. Brushing her head backwards in a dramatic manner she rushed ahead of him and fluttered her eyebrows confidently.

"Well I have you for that don't I"

"And whilst I'm dealing with the dragon, who fights Corypheus?" He said seriously his mind already having imagined a battlefield with all the little icons in coloured dots. Already he could imagine what the design of the enemy would be, most likely it would be a line of Red Templar's at the front who would charge at their lines while the Venatori would either flinging of spells from the back if they were mages or act as the weaker flanks for the red Templar's, moving to try and box the Inquisition forces into a large clump. Once that was achieved it would be a simple matter of could the Inquisitions soldiers hold the line long enough to allow their mage allies to keep defending them from the Venatori magic bombardment.

It would be a matter of Lyrium in the magic duel. Both sides would require it to restock their magic so that they could keep their magic going the longest, if the Inquisition won and they could drain the Venatori of magic then they might stand a chance, but on the other hand if the Venatori won then the magical defences would be smashed and leave the Inquisition open to a bombardment of magic. The casualties would be horrendous, but if the Templar's being elite warriors could cut through just one section of the Inquisition lines and able to cancel out the magic of mages via their abilities then the entire battle could be lost in an instant.

While this went on though, Corypheus would likely try and kill the Inquisitor, most likely by pinning her in a location with only a select few bodyguards where he could then kill her at his leisure. Meanwhile, as that occurred the dragon would probably be fighting to keep everyone else as far away from them as possible to prevent anyone from interfering.

Nat hid his doubt of victory in such a battle, the fact of the matter is that while he had hindered the normal Templar's, those that had joined Corypheus were still alive and until the man left them alone in one spot where he could then butcher them without recompense they were safe.

"I can fight Corypheus, Me, Cullen, Solas, Dorian, Vivienne, Bull, Cole and Blackwall and then you when you kill the dragon," The elf said confidently.

"It won't be enough "Nat spoke gravely shaking his head at the thought. "I fought the Architect, I sensed the power that creature has lurking inside of it, the monster is far more powerful than any mage that I have met, the things it can do are likely terrifying"

"But you beat it, you can beat Corypheus"

"No" Nat wanted his eyes turning his head in the direction that the monster lurked. "I tricked the architect into defeat, I didn't in a fair fight and I most certainly could not overpower him, at least not at my current age. Give me another six years of constant fighting and I probably would have a better chance, but not at the moment and with respect if I can't beat the Architect you most certainly can't"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like Inquisitor. The fact of the matter is that while you are a powerful mage, your education and your magical combat skills are something to be desired if you desire to fight a proper war." Though he said it calmly there was almost a hint of disapproval in his tone, actively stating that he did not approve of her position as head of the Inquisition. Valeyna baulked her eyes fluttering defiantly at the tone, stepping back she attempted to stare down the young wizard her eyes meeting his.

Raising one of her palms in front of her chest she watched as a blue flame sprang forth and danced in her open palm, moving left and right gaining and losing power as the spell became both more powerful and also less powerful.

"I can handle myself"

"No, you can't, not against the Architect and most certainly not against Corypheus in a one on fight. You don't have the training and you don't have the combat experience to pull off a victory through trickery and deceit either"

"And you do?" Valeyna replied angrily, her mouth turning into a cold and distasteful expression. "You're just a kid, what makes you better at magic then I am?"

"I already said, a proper education Inquisitor" Nat replied already tired of this conversation.

"And so did every other mage when they escaped, so did that girl that followed you around like a little lost puppy, that didn't help her" As she felt her blood begin to boil angrily within her veins at the criticism, Valeyna became so utterly focused on what she believed to be an insult that she did not notice as Nat had ever so calmly and subtly began to cast the necessary privacy spells around them to ensure that they would not be heard by others.

"Elyria's death was not due to her training, but a poor judgment on my part" His eyes locked onto the elf, she had fought Corypheus herself, she had seen the damage that he could bring to any and all that dared oppose him, she had been there at Haven holding back the line of Templars as they tried to buy time for the Inquisition to escape into the mountains and survive to fight another day. She had been the one to experience his power first hand, Merlin even Hawke had struggled to beat the monster and had Corypheus not only recently awoken, then there was a large chance that the woman would have likely died.

They did not have that luxury; Corypheus had years to regain his strength and to set his plans into motion, years to learn anything new that might be necessary, and years to learn the weaknesses of the groups he wished to oppress. And it had been successful or at least to a certain degree, Orzammar had fallen into civil war and Ferelden had nearly been placed within the same position, all the while Orlais continued to fight amongst themselves while demons were allowed to trespass freely on their land, butchering, killing and murdering anyone who got in their way, amongst other horrendous crimes.

Yet despite all this knowledge, the Inquisitor believed that she could take on Corypheus, at her current state. Had the situation not been so serious he would have found it rather amusing, like a first-year Hogwarts student trying to compete in the Tri-wizard tournament.

"A poor judgement that would get more people killed. I can beat Corypheus, he's powerful but I'll have every other mage I can find and Cullen to hamper the fade around him."

"It won't work, we don't have the power needed to beat Corypheus, and even if we did it would all be for nought since the moment we killed him the creature will simply come back alive again making all our efforts in vain and leaving us dangerously exposed.

"Why are you so unsure, I've seen you fight, even if I can't beat him on my own, with you by my side we can-"

"It won't work" Nat repeated this time more sternly. Crossing his arms he walked to the side of the wall and leaned back against it his eyes now fixed utterly on the bright ones of the Inquisitor.

"Why not?" Valeyna demanded forcing herself on the wall opposite in some type of display of stubbornness.

"Simply?" Valeyna nodded. "I don't have the magical power to destroy the barriers or other defences that Corypheus could put up," Nat admitted. "I'm fast and a competent duellist, Merlin I can hold my own against aurors easily enough, but Corypheus is in a different league, and it doesn't matter if I can out range him or out speed him. The sheer amount of magical power he carries is similar to wearing thick heavy armour, it's not invincible, but it's not something I'm comfortable dealing with since my only shot would be to increase the power of each individual spell, which is fine in theory. But against Corypheus that will leave me drained far too quickly."

"But why would it be so difficult? You talk about the speed of magical attacks and the power, but why are you saying you don't have the power to do anything?" Nat smiled gently, finally, the woman asked her first reasonable question.

"The magic I use is... different," Nat said slowly.

"Different?" Valeyna inquired tilting her head to the side subconsciously.

"The way all of you mages use magic, yourself, Dorian, Solas, Vivienne and every other mage I've come across is like a hammer. It's powerful, effectively allowing you to bash down enemies and leave them on the ground in nothing but ruin, an example of this is by how often I've watched you take out a whole host of opponents with but one spell whether that bee with a gout of flame or with a bolt of lightning that leapt across to other opponents burning them on the inside" Nat explained slowly as he waved his wand producing a colourful holographic images as he spoke.

Watching intently Valeyna observed how she seemed to watch a strange type of picture of herself and Solas in battle. It was almost mesmerising to watch as well as sort of terrifying to see how one moment a bunch of Venatori would rush her with a sword and the next they found themselves encased entirely in ice while a different group of mages could only scream in horror as Solas opened up an earthquake beneath their feet sending those men down into untold depths where if they did not die of the fall were bound to encounter those horrid creatures just lurked in the Deep Roads.

"In contrast, the way my people use magic is far more... refined. Each spell has a specific purpose and why it can take so long for my people to become healers since unlike you we do not have one generic healing spell that will remove injuries and disease, but instead have spells to specifically mend broken bones, heal cut's, repair damaged material. It's limited in scope compared to one of your healing spell, for instance, I can't use a spell that closes wounds to repair a fractured pelvis but what it does do is far superior to what your magic does. Because of this, my spells cost less compared to yours, yet at the same time they are also weaker because they do not to require so much power to cast."

"Okay but why don't you use other spells, more powerful ones to deal with Corypheus, I've watched you blow people into small chunks, wouldn't that work on him as well?" Nat shook his head.

"The core of the problem is the difference between our magical defences. When you cast a barrier spell, I've noticed that it will stay intact for a few minutes and whilst it is up you are entirely invulnerable to damage enabling you to bring down those mighty storm spells that wreak havoc upon the battlefield. Your barrier essentially acts as a temporary set of armour that lasts, my shield spell, on the other hand, is exactly like using a shield in real life, it's used only briefly to take the hit and then lowered straight after."

"Wait so is that why you move so much? Because if you keep casting a shield spell it will drain you of magic" Nat nodded in agreement. "Then why even use a shield spell at all, surely a barrier spell is far better"

"Not really, the thing with a barrier spell is that while it does last for a few minutes, it takes time for you to be able to cast it again, time that leaves you utterly defenceless not to mention it is also more powerful than a shield charm thus draining you of your magic more. If I was holding a shield spell as long as you did a barrier spell then you would most certainly have the advantage, but because I can cast the shield charm whenever needed so long as I have enough magic, it means that I'm never without a defence and combined with a far more active fighting stance I am able to limit the amount of defensive magic required"

"I get it, using shield spells allow you to really concentrate your magic into getting more attacks off and making them faster and more powerful if needed, but that doesn't explain why you never cast more powerful spells to kill more people at once?" Nat chuckled at the look of confusion on Valeyna's face, it was rather amusing at how her nose had scrunched up like that and how her eyes were pointing towards the floor as she tried to think of certain things. She would never be a Ravenclaw, but he could probably see her as one of the many Hufflepuff she had seen hunched over a book in the library as they tried to work out just what certain things meant, failing to understand and then asking the closest Ravenclaw for help.

"That's a case of different societies, the magic here is often used in war within conjunction of large battles so powerful spells able to wipe our large groups at a time are essential. In contrast fights in my people are typically one on one and that's not including how fast we can truly move if we want, so spells that take time to cast and leave you exposed are just useless and asking for a quick stunning spell"

"I get it," Valeyna said quickly pushing her chest up as she began to feel a sense of pride as she began to understand these lessons in magical theory. "Because your spells are designed for speed and complexity it means that they can't get past the defensive barriers that Corypheus puts up" Her eyes squinted tightly and her face took on a very troubled look as she contemplated just what that meant in a fight. Nat was a lethal force on a field, easily dispatching foes with an utter speed that she had never seen before, but he was correct in theory. Without the necessary power behind a spell, there was practically nothing that he could do except for wait until a barrier had ran out of its charge. "Is there nothing you can do?" She asked curiously. "No spell in your arsenal that can bust through barriers or something similar?"

"There might be one," Nat said slowly hiding his revulsion as he already began to feel those words come front and centre in his mind, the photograph of a dead muggle her face entirely devoice of any emotion as she lay on a cold hard floor. "It can't be blocked by shield spells or even enchanted clothing"

"Great, then why don't you use that spell"

"I can't," Nat said shaking his head.

"Sure you can it's just one spell it can't be that difficult" Valeyna almost joked entirely oblivious to the darkened atmosphere that had descended around them. In the corner of the hallway, flames began to flicker with an unnatural light turning a baleful sickly green for just a moment. A servant gasped in the background and the sound of clattering plates made itself known to the other servants downstairs, but Valeyna didn't notice that and neither did she notice the uncomfortable feeling that began to swirl in the young wizard's chest.

"It surprisingly is Inquisitor. It's a rather powerful spell, one that requires a rather powerful emotion to fuel it as well as the express will and intent to cause such an effect."

"Oh, so it's a rare spell?" The inquisitor sighed.

"No, but I am unable to cast it, in fact, I doubt I would get any effect from the spell at all, my emotions are... well my emotions are far too in check for me to be able to cast such a spell"

"But cold you cast it? If you had the right amount of emotion I mean, could you cast a spell that could break through the barrier" Nat took in a deep breath at the question, gently he felt his fingers shake at the prospect? Him cast that spell of all things, the Cruciatus and the Imperious were not out of bounds even if he could only cast them for a limited time, but that spell, a spell that had claimed the lives of so many whose words were the last words that may people heard whether they were the sender or the receiver.

"No," He answered gladly. "With luck, I shall never be capable of casting such a spell"

"With luck" Valeyna stepped back horrified at the implications. "Just what kind of spell is this, shield breaker and why won't you cast it, isn't it better for you to kill Corypehus and save lives better than some type of morals" She accused him angrily her bright gleaming eyes locking onto those glasses of his, yet no matter how much she started to push him into a corner she found to her surprise that he would not budge as though he was an unmovable rock that not even the mightiest of magic could move or break even if they tried to.

"The spell is black magic Inquisitor. Not dark which is typically given to any magic whose purpose is to harm, but black as in its very purpose destroys the very magical laws put in place and violates certain fashions of nature that you cannot comprehend. It is an evil vile spell, one originally designed for nothing more than a simple means of ending a duel between wizards quickly but one that has instead been used over the centuries to commit heinous acts and become the go-to spell whenever one desires to kill"

Nat stared darkly at the holographic image before him as the image of the infamous spell appeared and cut down some made up mage in an instant. He watched carefully as the Inquisitor stared at the image curiously yet not in the same manner as he had, she did not hole a look of revulsion on her face as the dead mage crumple to the ground as though his body had lost its entire skeleton structure, her eyes did not seem haunted by the blank vacant open eyes as they stared upwards into nothing, and neither did she seem at all bothered by the strange paleness of the body as all spark of life was extinguished from the corpse in an instant. This was no cutting spell or blasting spell that he was more accustomed to where the result was bloody and mess of gore, it was quick, clean, and surgical even with its efficiency.

"He looks so peaceful" Valeyna muttered under her breath. Turning towards the lizard she gestured at the dead man's face. "Does it hurt this spell?"

"Only one person has ever survived the spell and even then only due to incredibly ancient magic that supposedly existed in a time of gods if not father back," Nat said grimly. "According to that one person, the spell is simply like falling asleep, there is no pain, no horror, and no last sudden memories of suffering. One moment a person is alive and the next they are dead, their soul departed from this world"

"That's it, I would have thought that such a horrid spell would deal untold harm, would be like living a nightmare or something similar, not something so... peaceful" Nat dismissed the holographic image hiding his look of disdain the woman had for such a spell. It was the same story every time, the killing curse was not something evil but rather a spell that should be used to grant mercy, after all why give a person a painful death with a hundred other different spells when they could instead send a person to the next life in a peaceful manner that left their body entirely unharmed and could be given a proper funeral in whatever custom.

"It is not what happens to the body that condemns this spell, it is how it goes about its job" Nat replied politely though in truth he almost wanted to spit the words at her. "Do not be fooled by such things as a quick and painless death, this spell does not act like most spells do by destroying the body and thereby removing the soul of its cage so it can leave. This spell instead rips the very soul out of the body by force, that is why it is painless and that is why it is so far more devastating for in one's desire to steal that soul and remove it from its anchor, it becomes all too easy to damage and chip the soul, leaving it in so many places that a person may not be able to pass on, instead being forced to linger in the world for eternity due to their soul being shattered. "

"Nat waited for a moment his eyes still fixed intently on the Inquisitor. Did she finally understand now why he was incapable of beating Corypheus through conventional means, why attacking him on an open field or in combat at all did nothing other than slow the monster down for a brief few moments? There was no killing that creature, not from what he had sensed from the Architect and that creature was barely aware of its power instead believing it was simply a Darkspawn. Had it learned of Corypheus, who knew what the monster would attempt? Would they join together or would the Architect try something similar to all those years ago in the hopes of making his Darkspawn kind like him, immortal and unable to die? It would be a horror unseen in this world.

"That's brilliant" Valeyna explained joyfully her face twisting into a happy smile. "You can kill Corypheus"

"Pardon"

"You can kill Corypheus" Valeyna repeated joyfully entirely bypassing the rare moment of utter confusion on Nat's face as he saw the complete opposite reaction then what he had been expecting.

"No I can't, I just told you I can't cast the spell and even if it did work Corypheus would be able to move to a new host. It would be of no use and only waste our time"

"No, it wouldn't" Valeyna remanded. "You said that the spell can break and fracture souls if you were to cast it enough times on Corypheus than after enough times he wouldn't be able to gather enough of his soul to be able to take over a next host. It would leave him without a body and we can then trap him or use Solas to send it back to the Fade"

"Decimate his soul" Nat almost cried. "Obliterate it into so many different pieces that he couldn't possibly reform. Do you even know what you're asking for, the type of evil that is?" Nat stared at the woman in horror, she had to be joking right. Sure this was a war but there were laws of nature that had to be kept to, certain magic locked away and never used, certain actions never to be committed, yet she wanted him to do that, to violate another soul in such a manner.

"Oh please how is any different to you turning people into abstract art on the wall"

"It's his soul" Nat almost yelled. "A body is nothing more than a set of flesh and bones, it can be re-grown, repaired and other things with magic. Merlin a new body can be created from scratch if needed, but their soul. That's black magic, the things of horror that we're taught about, the stuff that only the vile use, something that hasn't been seen since the last wizarding war and before that only Morganna Le Fay herself is rumoured to have committed such utter acts of barbarity. And you want me to do such a thing even on a person as utterly twisted and vile as Corypheus. No, point blank no, I will not violate the natural laws in such a way, not now and not ever.

"You refuse" The Inquisitor yelled back by now her entire body had turned into a picture of pure unabated rage. Her body physically shook with anger as she stared at the young mage who met her gaze with a cold ruthlessness, for a moment she felt a chill run down her back at the look he gave her, as though she was nothing moiré then a prey animal looking at the deadly weapons of a predator. At that moment she wanted to bow to, to present herself and ask for forgiveness for her actions, yet it was only a brief moment and one that was replaced swiftly with one of pure derision. "How dare you, people are being killed but this man, and you say that you will not cast such magic because it violates some rules. Do you have any idea what will happen to those people, what will happen to my clan once Corypheus learns of them?" She spat on the ground. Marching herself closely so soon that they were almost nose to nose, Valeyna brushed past the almost constant passive aura allowing her to feel the heat of his skin as he was now trapped against the wall.

"I know perfectly well what will occur, Inquisitor, I've read the daily reports."

"Hundreds will die"

"Thousands" Nat answered swiftly his tone completely lacking in emotion. He held his ground not allowing the woman to win this display of dominance, usually he would step back, but in this time he could tell that this was not one of those kinds of arguments where he could not step back, the very moment he backed down and gave her the victory she would demand that he cast that spell, that he commit such acts and in the future having experienced such a victory she would attempt even father to dominate him, to use force if required.

"And you will simply let them die" Valeyna attempted to step forward yet again only to find her foot striking against the stone wall and preventing her movement unless she fell forwards and pressed herself against him.

"There are casualties in war Inquisitor, my job is not to prevent them, It is instead to limit them and the prompt devastation that follows."

"By refusing to use a spell that could destroy the enemy? I don't see how that helps, I only see a coward hiding behind magic and letting others die for it"

"As I have told you, I am not physically capable of casting such a spell and even if I was, there is no guaranteed way that it would work in the way that you so desperately desire. I would have to repeat the process so many times, to rip apart the man's soul on so many occasions that we would simply give the man either the time they need to win by delaying this war, or by showcasing that the Inquisition is incompetent and has no true method to stop the creature.

"You're not physically capable" Valeyna scoffed harshly her temper ever growing making her body feel warm, they were nearly touching now, their noses yet despite this Nat was ever calm, ever emotionless, not even this close could she catch even the slightest hint of movement that might indicate something. "And what does physically capable mean?

"The spell is one of many that requires an intense emotional output, either a memory, desire or even simply suffering from the pain of something truly awful in the case of this spell to draw up the sheer amount of anger and desire to kill to cast. That is simply not a branch of emotion I have"

"Anger, you're telling me that you can't kill Corypheus because you can't get angry enough?" Valeyna said her voicing seething enough that even a novice could tell that she did not believe a single word he had said to her in the slightest. "Do the deaths of people mean so little to you, does the subjugation of my race, the likelihood of my people being used as nothing more than toys for sexual pleasure not offend you in some manner that you cannot bring up the emotion to cast one spell? What about those who were under your care, are they not dead because Corypheus started this whole mess, do you not feel anger at their deaths, a desire to kill Corypheus and gain revenge for what occurred?"

"I am a Ravenclaw; I will not allow myself to be overwhelmed by such petty emotions, to do so would lead to only more disaster, to even more unwarranted death. Your desire for me to languish in a hatred I do not have would illogical, and lead me to do nothing but obsess over the man, something that would prevent me from seeing the larger picture, to mitigate my capabilities to even see the specifics instead turning me into nothing more than a blood raged monster whose every moment was dedicated towards death and al for what?

"What, are you afraid of your own power? That demons will take you over? That's ridiculous. I know you, you'd never turn into a monster" Nat shook his head at the woman hiding his utter doubt. The way she had just spoken, with such conviction as if she couldn't possibly be wrong, as though he was a fool for limiting himself in power because he was afraid of the consequences. She did not understand he realised, she could never understand her mind was only simple not having experienced the war of politics and the change of things as time progressed.

"Ridiculous," Nat said slowly. "Already their Inquisition has interfered in the business of sovereign nations and desires to do so not only again but also on a far larger scale people"

"We're fighting a monster; the kingdoms haven't done anything about it so we need to?" Nat looked at her calmly hiding his doubt at what the woman said. This was just like what those people wanted, to tear down nation states entirely and allow something like the UN or better yet a more powerful institution to do whatever it desired so it could keep the peace.

"Action is needed I have no doubt of that and if the nations will not take action we have to, but all the same you are asking me to cast such vile magic is the same as me asking to use the blood of a thousand virgins for whatever reason. I simply will not do it"

"Virgins" The inquisitor scowled "What, are you even on about, we're talking about Corypheus not some stupid philosophy thing. Why does this even matter?" She blinked confused her entirely taken back at the strange manner in which he was speaking.

"I've already told you, I physically am incapable of casting the spell" Nat repeated

"And if I ordered you to become capable of doing so" Valeyna replied sternly.

"I would refuse" Nat replied plainly, not a hint of doubt in his voice.

"You wouldn't" The elves blonde hair whipped around her head. "You would dare to defy me, to allow lives to be killed for something like your morals?"

"Yes"

"You would allow millions to die, after all, you've done to try and prevent it" She shook her head disbelievingly "I don't believe it"

"I will not cast that spell Inquisitor, that is the end of it," He said softly before pushing the woman away from him and turning around to face the direction of the corridor. "Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting with Cullen to get to"

"Meeting," Valeyna said curiously. "What kind of meeting?"

"I have some new weapons that I need him to see, new weapons that may help us win this war of ours" Then without saying another word Nat increased his pace so that soon he had passed through a manner of halls and doorways giving him a substantial lead over the elf, all the while ignoring the pain and the ever-growing feeling of tiredness that began to strike at his body.

He shook his head fiercely and blinked the tiredness out of his eyes; there was no time to sleep, not when so many lives were on the line not when the fate of so many people was a horrid one. As naive as the girl was, she was correct in that people died, their families butchered and slaughtered while he remained safe in a castle simply thinking of ways to defeat the enemy rather than actually doing them.

Suddenly he felt a wet sensation in his left palm. Throwing his hand to the side he saw to his momentary confusion a large pool of blood, he checked his hand searching for any wound but there was none, yet despite this he could only observe as the pool became larger and larger, soon that small drop had taken over his entire hand and was now freely falling to the floor. At first it was only a few drops here and there but after only a few seconds it became a constant, ever growing more and more until the sound of constant water gushing forth as though he was staring at a waterfall erupted from his hand and began to pool all over the place filling the entire area with nothing but deep dark liquid. Quickly it began to flood its way behind him falling back to where he knew some soldiers retreated.

He stared down back at the floor his eyes meeting the glistening area, yet instead of his face he only saw that of Corypheus, of the man who had killed so many, who would continue to take even more. The face chuckled darkly yet did not say anything after that, instead simply watching him with a grin; this was only made worse when beside him appeared the face of the Architect and that of Imshael as well as that of a familiar scaly creature that had once been worshipped as a dragon.

Before he could concentrate any father on those faces, on those who had wrought death and destruction in order to bring a horrid world to bear, the pictures suddenly scattered as a long howling noise surrounded him from nowhere. Then there before his eyes he watched as the blood parted from those face, instead changing its shape entirely until it took on a new form, one with a large snout, sharp razor teeth and deadly looking eyes that seemed to pierce him, all of which then rested on a large powerful body that appeared as though it was going to lunge at him.

Fen Harel

Just why this once previous water of blood had now changed to that of an entire ocean that now crawled up the walls filling every crack and crevice with blood, he could already tell. Somehow, for some reason Fen Harel that supposed god desired to bring forth a massacre of unseen proportions, to kill so many people that it would be unprecedented for this world and perhaps only to be matched by disasters such as the Black Death on Earth in such equivalent times. So many dead, so many corpses and so much fear, and this Fen Harel wanted to bring about that, to bring such destruction and decimation?

He met the beast's eyes with his own and moved his wand to aim at the creature. He would not allow such a thing, now while he was here, not while it was his job to protect the people of this world from the horrors that inhabited it. The beast snarled again and lunged forward, but he held his ground all the while ensuring to keep his eyes aware of the surroundings, somehow he knew that if this was the lead wolf, then there were bound to be others, all following its orders with one perhaps already behind him, ready to strike.

The beast did not cower instead it only raised itself up staring at him, unconcerned as the blood continue to soak into the walls of the very castle itself turning them red with the blood. Yet despite the snarling, Nat couldn't help but note the slight look of sadness as though the creature was almost sorry for what it was about to do, for all the lives it was going to take and ruin it but just a few moments. It snarled again challenging him not to a fight but almost to move and get out of the way, as though he desired for him to be away from the damage. Nat ignored the warning that he somehow understood and instead continued to stay in the way of the large wolf, even as it attempted to walk around him and get to its target. It growled one last time this time demanding that he move instead of waiting patiently like a somehow civilised wolf or he supposed god as the elves would call it.

A look of finality passed between the two, his stern and entirely unsympathetic as he readied a battle stance and the wolves' one or acceptance that the two were now enemies. The wolf howled once and ten pounded it's feat towards him and leapt high into the air. He raised his wand a spell on his lips, he would kill this monster now, before it could hurt more people and fare more importantly before it could massacre of a bunch of people.

The spell struck hard against the wolf a loud bang as though somebody had fired an artillery bombardment against the beast but it did nothing. Instead smoke billowed around the wolf's form as it approached closer and closer. This time he instead cast a more physical spell; two large pillars shot out from the ground and rocketed up towards the wolf. Both struck with tremendous force, easily enough to bring down skyscrapers if they managed to hit the support columns and topple it, yet against this wolf, they simply crashed and broke into a million different pieces. The wolf howled it's fury at him and kept descending towards him, it's mouth no so large that it could seemingly swallow the largest ever great white shark in but one gulp, or failing that cleave him in two.

He took advantage this time calling summoning up a small fast bird where he then drew out and attached some black powder and flung it towards the wolfs large open maw. The bird reached closer aiming entirely of its will to be eaten, just as it approached, however, the wolf's jaw slammed shut. The bird crashed into the wolf the explosive blasting into the wolf's face, knocking it off track as debris flew everywhere.

A large cry was heard as the sharp pieces of metal that made up this grenade flew straight into the wolf's left eye and shredded it harshly into nothing but a bloody red mss. The wolf was partially blind now he realised, partially blind and had fallen to the floor in pain leaving it exposed to more spells.

He raised his wand, the tip cackling with electrical power and aimed for its eyes, and everything went white.

"My lord, please wake up, my lord" He opened his eyes again, the familiar sight of the stone walls meeting him.

"Ugh," He groaned rubbing out the feeling of intense pain in his eyes lids, he felt even weaker than before and his eyelids, it was as though somebody had attached them to five hundred elephants that had then been pushed out of a plane. It was almost impossible to keep them open and even when he did barely manage to see through the cracks, the world was blurry, devoid of any and all detail. Not even when he looked to his right, noticing the servant who was now gently poking his shoulder could he make out anything other than a slightly tanned appearance and dark hair.

Was he that tired? It had only been over two weeks maybe three since he had even the barest hint of sleep, he couldn't be feeling tired, yet that was exactly what he was feeling. He took in another breath allowing the cool air that poured in to wake him up slightly, but it was not enough.

"Hello," He said sleepily. "Is there a problem"

"My lord, I found you unconscious on the floor" The sweet voice answered.

"On the floor? Was there any blood?" Nat responded tiredly as he picked himself up step by step, as he did so he felt his muscles scream in utter process. His body wanted to sleep he realised.

"No my lord, but are you okay, should I fetch a healer?"

"No" Nat cried out far more forcefully. "I'm perfectly okay, just tripped is all" Yes trip, far better to give that lie then allow the others to think that he was spending too much time studying. If the Inquisitor or Dorian discovered that he had fallen unconscious due to fatigue. He shook his head in disgust, he had no freedom to fall unconscious or to sleep, Merlin he had not come close to earning such a privilege. The last time he had slept was when the Architect had grabbed him, forcing him to lose weeks of effort and the deaths of. His eye squinted at the thought and then mentally cursed his weak pathetic body, he could still work in this state, he just needed some extra tea, there was more caffeine in it and it helped to clear the mind enabling him to not think about that all feeling sensation of the walls crushing him from pressure.

"My lord if you're not okay, I can get a healer"

"As I said, miss, I'm perfectly alright; I simply bumped my head that is all." The girl did not look convinced in the slightest.

"My Lord of you have tripped then I insist that you see a healer, you could be seriously injured"

"I am fine, that is the end of it. Now please return to your duties, I can handle myself from here"

"But-" Nat glared at her heatedly his blurry eyes focusing in on hers burrowing into her soul forcing her breath to hitch and her back to shudder. "Right away my lord" She muttered and ran off not even daring to spend another moment with the young mage.

Nat sighed loudly again his eyes trailing over the blurry vision of the servant running far away in the distance. He couldn't go to sleep; he had too much work to do. So many lives depended on him. He repeated this time and time again in his mind as step by step he fought against his ever weakening body, taking in another breath of fresh air his eyes closed and did not open again; instead, forcing him to travel forward a few more steps before all strength left him and sent him crumpling to the floor. Just before he did, however, he muttered one final word and allowed the small portkey on his neck to activate teleporting him out of the castle to his chambers.