Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from the game.

Author's Note: Well, stuff has been pretty hectic lately and I haven't got as much writing time as I would like. Hopefully I'll get more after a couple of days. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and do leave your feedback.

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Chapter 26 – Sparks

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"That's a beautiful weapon, Bravery." He said to the fade spirit before him.

The swordstaff hovered before Bravery as he put the finishing touches on it. He really was exceptionally skilled at thought-crafting. Bravery looked at him and smiled gleefully like a child. Bravery had always been somewhat enamored with him.

"Thank you." He said happily. "This is my greatest work. I have scarce been more pleased."

He could see that, it really was exquisite. He had discovered a while back that he had something of a weapon fetish. He looked at all facets, appearance, efficiency, reach and he could go on forever. To his horrid luck though, he was terrible at thought-crafting weaponry. Here, in the fade, weapons were as you carved them in your mind. And he had never been particularly good at giving shape to his thoughts like that. He was unique in other ways too. A spirit with no name so to say. Nothing to represent, he hadn't quite decided.

In brutal honesty, spirits bored him to some extent. So dull. And here, motivation was something you made for yourself. He had picked up a rather unsavory habit of preying on other fade entities. Initially he had done it only because he thought it would improve his skills at thought-crafting. Then he would be able to carve his own weapons, and not pillage from what was left of those he crushed. Since his beginning he had been exceptionally strong to begin with. Perhaps that is what led to Bravery looking up to him. He had grown friendly with the spirit only because of his lovely weapons. He was given some from time to time and it pleased him. And yet it was clear that Bravery had fallen in love with the swordstaff he had wrought. He had fallen in love with it too.

The one thing he had always been exceptional at was draining the strength of other spirits and demons too. Well, when you looked at it hard enough, demons and spirits were the same. Just that, on average, demons had more 'fun' than spirits. He had just had a most interesting encounter with a desire demon. It had been startlingly pleasant. Clearly, the demon had thought she would feast on him after indulging herself. Alas, relations between spirits and demons meant you were more of a demon than a spirit anyway. Or on the way there at least. So he ensured she had ceased to exist.

"You still do not have a name?" Bravery inquired as he examined his new creation in greater detail.

That swordstaff. So beauteous. Ah, what did it matter if Bravery never forged another weapon, he would never outdo this one. Exceptional, it could channel magic and hack as well. He was envious. But that was demonic. He didn't care. He had purpose and motivation, what did his nature matter. That weapon would be his and then he could start himself a… collection of sorts.

"Why, I have chosen a name." He replied.

"What is it?" Bravery asked with barely concealed excitement.

"Blazt." He said, a touch maliciously.

"What… what does that represent?" Bravery asked in confusion.

"Nothing. I just like the sound of it." He said as his magic tore Bravery apart in seconds.

He spun the swordstaff in his hands. Demon? Spirit? Who cared. He had power and something to do.

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Alisa strode through another fade portal, following the two gods. Ghilan'nain and Fen'jarel appeared to have settled their own issues but still spent most of their time locked in telepathic conversation. That left Lance and her to tag along and try to anticipate what might be coming. The elven goddess had been pleasant enough with them, even thanked them for releasing her. From the little the dread wolf had said, it would seem that the elven gods were already assisting them. It would seem that they had awoken ancient defenders of Arlathan to help stop the demons. They had spoken little since then. They emerged onto a platform in the middle of nowhere, reminiscent of the one from where they had freed Ghilan'nain.

Differences were present of course. The ground was rocky and visibility quickly became zero as a dense fog settled over the platform. Alisa turned as Fen'harel spoke.

"Here you shall free Sylaise the hearthkeeper."

"Sylaise is perhaps better seen as someone who has power over fire." Ghilan'nain elaborated. "She could temper even the flames of Toth."

"And those are the pinnacle of fire magic aren't they?" Lance asked.

"Only if you choose to ignore the black flames of Dumat." The dread wolf growled. "Go now."

"You would not dispel the guardian magic?" The goddess questioned.

"They must… prove themselves." Fen'harel said softly.

"I see." The goddess said simply. "I hope you manage your trials."

The warden and Lance walked to the edge of the fog as it rolled over their feet. She really couldn't see a thing. She conjured a flame at the tip of her staff and held it out. It proved to have no effect whatsoever.

"Take my hand?" Lance asked, almost shyly.

They locked hands and wandered into the mist, barely able to observe what lay beneath their feet. Alisa felt a force tug at her. She resisted it as best she could but she and Lance were quickly torn apart. She stopped for a moment to gather her wits and noticed that the fog had rolled away to some extent. She could see a small area around her. And then she was tackled from behind. She lashed out with magic, only to have it fizzle away against her assailant's magic as she disentangled herself. She found herself looking at herself. The woman in front of her was her or at least a manifestation that looked just like her. There were differences, of course. Her counterpart's staff was far more twisted and blackened and the clothing was considerably more… revealing.

"Hey." Her doppelganger winked at her as fireballs clashed in the air.

"Why so hostile?" Her counterpart giggled. "I'm here to set you right."

"Shut up!" Alisa spat as lightning met lightning.

Magic quickly proved itself to be an impossible way of stopping her doppelganger as spells simply met spells. Alisa briefly wondered if her counterpart would tire of the magical exertions. It was after all a construct of magic. And yet it felt unnerving to face. It didn't that the warden had never seen magic quite like this before. Eventually, her counterpart gave up the magical struggle and pounced on her. Their staffs clattered away to the side, out of reach. Alisa struggled as her doppelganger attempted to connect a punch.

"So tell me, have you fucked Lance yet?" Her counterpart asked with a grin. "It'll be fun you know, to fuck him. You should have fucked Morrigan too, and Leliana. After all, you're really nothing more than a whore, right? Maybe you could even arrange a foursome; that would be fucking fun."

"Die, damn it." Alisa shouted as she let off a blaze of lightning that clashed against an identical wave.

"Truth hurts, right?" Her doppelganger laughed.

"You're just a magical construct." The warden said through gritted teeth as she lunged.

"Maybe, but I'm still you. Right to the last. At least, what you really are."

"No." Alisa said flatly as she managed to get an arm around her counterpart's neck. She released lightning after knocking her doppelganger to the ground. The electricity connected cleanly.

"And a murderer too, lovely." The construct managed before it dissolved into magic.

The warden grabbed her staff as the fog began to clear.

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Lance found himself in a barren town after being separated from Alisa. His memory was beginning to fog a bit and he couldn't quite remember what he had been doing. The town was a mess, most of the buildings burnt to ash and mutilated bodies lay scattered throughout the street. He could see a single old woman weeping as she leaned against a half collapsed wall. He approached her slowly.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "What happened here?"

The woman looked up as shock spread across her face. "You." She hissed. "This is all your fault and then you have the gall to ask what happened?"

He recoiled at the harsh tone and deadly look. "What do you mean?" He asked, uncomprehending.

"You know only too well." She barked. "Since you had your little damned affair with that warden, things just fell apart."

He stepped back further, he didn't remember. Or did he? Alisa, had he really spilt his feelings? He had been considering it but he couldn't remember a damn thing.

"How? How?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Silly boy." The old woman spat. "The dragon gods are wrecking the world. And you know damn well why it's happening."

The dragon gods? Something clicked in place. There had been a woman, Leliana. The person who the old gods had blessed. And Alisa and her… Alisa and him…

He could only guess now. Was it really that he had gotten together with Alisa and then nothing had stopped Leliana from releasing the gods? It was what he had been afraid off, he could remember that much. Afraid…

"You may as well kill yourself." The old woman said miserably as she tossed him a dagger which caught.

That's right. He may as well kill himself. All his fault anyway, he didn't deserve to live. He brought the knife to his wrist, letting it hover there. Something still didn't quite fit though. It was something he had always been afraid off, and it had been realized. Like living a damn nightmare. Nightmare? The bringer of nightmares…

The knife withdrew a little.

"Kill yourself. Come on. Do it." The old woman coaxed, somewhat desperately.

"No." He muttered as he tossed the knife aside. He was beginning to remember now.

"Then die." The old woman snapped as she mutated into an abomination.

Lance fought it with magic instinctively and with each blow the construct around him began to break away. Eventually, with the death of the beast, he was back on the platform. The fog was gone. Alisa rushed to his side as he struggled up.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He murmured. "Get the door before something else pops up."

The warden nodded and he watched as the prison door collapsed to dust under her hand.

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Blazt electrocuted one of the village guards as his swordstaff slew another one. This was all a result of his mistakes at Redcliffe. Now the old gods were essentially mocking him by giving him such trivial tasks. This village was defenseless and pathetic. It didn't matter if he was alone or not, any demon could have taken this village apart. He lobbed another fireball as another of the buildings exploded in flames.

He stalked through the street, his swordstaff spinning in his hand. Almost all the people here were dead by now. He caught sight of a small number of them who were attempting to flee. A simple tugging gesture with his arm brought them back as he skewered them quickly.

In all essence he was done. He set the last few buildings alight as he cast a careful spell. The villagers' corpses rose and shambled roughly towards him.

"Go, destroy." He said in a dismissive tone as he pointed in the approximate direction of another town.

He felt a fade portal open behind him as he walked through it. The voices addressed him at once.

Very well. It is time to proceed. You shall have your next target shortly.

"Of course, mighty ones. I exist to serve." He said softly.

Do you know this human? Or any of these other mortals?

A series of images flashed through his mind. "No." He replied simply.

The first one is called Alistair. The others are his companions. He is a grey warden and will likely turn out to be the greatest annoyance in bringing the world to its knees. He will be watching for demon attacks.

"You wish him destroyed?" Blazt asked.

If the opportunity presents itself, do not fail.

"Of course not. He is as good as dead."

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Morrigan stared blankly for a moment as the raven transformed into the familiar form of her mother. It did take her somewhat by surprise. She had always expected Flemeth to be back, there had been no doubt. But this one was surprisingly soon. She was already steeling herself to protect from possession and magic danced at her fingertips. She did not intend to take chances. She could actually take some comfort in the fact that Leliana was with her. The bard was incredibly powerful and she hoped that Leliana would be inclined to assist her, should the need arise.

"Hello Morrigan." Flemeth said plainly. She then gave a distasteful look to the orlesian. "Leliana."

"Mm, you have been keeping tabs on me I expect." The bard said smiling. "You must feel quite disappointed about what happened."

"It does not matter what I feel, what I know is that you should be cut down where you stand." The shapeshifter said, her attention drawn away from the witch.

"Ah, but you are unaware of which side I am on." Leliana replied.

"How can you be on anyone else's side when the powers of the old gods course through your veins?" Flemeth snapped.

"It appears I have learnt to resist their calling." The orlesian said, still calm.

"What is going on?" Morrigan asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Your mother was in contact with the old gods for some time." Leliana said flatly. "The ritual you were to conduct Morrigan, to bring about a child with the soul of an old god, it was their idea."

"How did you know…" The witch started.

"They told me." The bard replied simply. "If you though you would have been able to control the child, you are gravely mistaken. It would hardly have been human, it would have been Urthemiel. With one of their number in the world, they could achieve their freedom. I expect Flemeth was promised power in return until they decided I was the safer option to go with."

"Mother…" Morrigan started. She was still tense but she was hiding it as best she could.

"She is not wrong." Flemeth said. "I have told you before, girl, power is what matters."

"How are you back so soon?" The witch blurted. "You were killed; it would have taken your spirit some time to…"

"The tricks of the old gods are worth something at least." Flemeth replied. "I was betrayed."

"So, now you move against them." Leliana laughed. "I suppose I cannot fault your actions."

"I do not have time to blabber endlessly." The shapeshifter said flatly. "If you wish to help, I suggest you meet me in the dragonbone wastes. Frankly, I would suggest you do it if you want any chance of victory."

Flemeth turned to shapeshift again, ignoring Morrigan's protest. She stopped for a moment and turned around.

"And I would suggest you do not wait on Alisa. She is busy in the fade."

"Doing what?" The bard asked with narrowed eyes.

"Freeing the elven gods." The shapeshifter remarked as she turned back into a raven and took to the sky.

Morrigan took a step forward but Leliana held her back with a gentle arm on her shoulder.

"The elven gods…" The witch murmured.

"She's probably telling the truth you know." The bard said softly.

Morrigan settled herself on a stone. "This is almost… too much. Everything is so sudden and…"

"It's alright." The orlesian said, laying both her hands on Morrigan's shoulders. "Things can be fixed, you shouldn't worry."

The witch didn't wish to project herself as vulnerable in any sense of the word. Flemeth's few words raced through her mind. She had thought this situation could not possibly get more complicated. She was used to seeing things as they really were and yet here she could barely grasp what was happening. She was grateful for the comfort the orlesian was trying to offer. She had, perhaps somewhat grudgingly, come to call Leliana a friend of sorts in the past few days. She certainly couldn't deny it to herself any longer. Although, she was far from willing to admit this to the bard however.

"Thank you." Morrigan muttered. "Now what?"

She looked up into the orlesian's blue eyes. As usual, she couldn't tell what the bard seemed to be thinking. Those were very pretty eyes though, especially when the coldness seemed to have reduced.

"Now this."

The witch's eyes widened in shock as Leliana claimed her lips.

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Author's Note: Yes, I did that and I'm going to end the chapter there. What can I say? Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and do leave your feedback. Next update will probably be delayed but I'll try to get it up as soon as possible.

To my reviewers:

Nightwish11606: Thanks! Blazt will be discussed as time passes. But yes, those were the dragon gods speaking to him, I can assure you. Morrigan and her mother's proper interaction will have to wait just a bit more.

interesting2125: Thanks for the review! I shall tell Blazt's story over the next few chapters, bit by bit. I hope you enjoy it!