Moments Touched By Love

Anders made sure the door to his room was tightly locked. He moved to the far side of his room with the salt and poured it to form a star, around the star he poured a circle. At each point he placed a candle and lit it speaking softly as he moved. "Spirits of the earth, Spirits of the air, Spirits of the burning flames, Spirits of the seas and Spirits of the Fade I call to you seeking aid."

Anders stood and stepped away from the circumscribed star. He felt his magic swirling inside of it and called on it to move into the salt as he continued. "I seek a spirit of Fortitude, of perseverance to carry on when I feel I cannot, to hold me to my course when I desire to wander or give in."

He paused as pale green flames licked up from the salt and a vague humanoid shape began to form inside of the star. As the spirit's form became clearer it appeared to be a woman with her hair cropped short, clad in the raiments of a scholar.

"Your call has been answered mage."

Anders bowed his head, "Thank you."

The spirit laughed, "You are not known for your humility, Anders."

Anders smiled a little, "No, I suppose I'm not."

"So, why does a powerful mage, such as yourself, who already has the help of one extremely powerful spirit, call for another?"

"I need your help to save my sister."

The spirit narrowed her gaze and Anders felt trapped in it. The spirit was a lot stronger than he had at first assumed. He forced himself to relax under her scrutiny, he had nothing to hide from the spirit and he always had his charm to fall back on. It wouldn't be the first time he had talked himself out of trouble with a spirit.

"Who is your sister?"

Anders didn't hesitate, "Flemeth's daughter."

"And you want me to help you save her?" Anders thought he might have heard derision in the spirit's voice.

He tensed not sure he was dealing with a spirit at all; perhaps a demon had come at his call. "Yes." He responded, simply.

"And who is it you wish to save her from?"

"Her mother."

The response was followed by silence but the oppressive pressure that had been building in the room seemed to dissipate.

Encouraged, Anders pressed on. "Please, she does not want to have her mother take over her body and push her out."

Silence from the spirit again.

Anders took a deep breath, he would not let this spirit unnerve him, what was a spirit to him, he had defeated a Darkspawn army practically by himself. "I am fighting to end the fear that even Flemeth's name brings, not just to my kind but to spirits as well. Yes, I want to save my sister but I have a plan to rid Thedas and the Fade of Flemeth's presence for good."

The spirit tilted its head a little, "Tell me your plan."

Anders spelled out his plan in detail to the spirit, getting more excited as he spoke of it. Each time he repeated it he became more convinced it would work. He would save Morrigan and Trelain both; he would rid the world of the terror that was Flemeth. And lauded or not he would know that he had done something truly worthwhile for once in his life. As he came to the end the spirit was silent for a few moments.

At last she spoke, "And why do you need me?"

"I am unable to generate enough power to bring the non mages through into the Fade and they are an integral part of the plan."

The spirit blinked slowly, "You are using blood magic."

"Not myself, my sister, but yes, we are utilizing blood magic."

Fortitude nodded, "You, of course, understand the dangers of blood magic."

"Better than most."

"Using non mages is dangerous; they do not understand how the Fade works."

"I am hoping to have a chance to work with them in the Fade, to teach them how to bend it at least partly to their will."

"Flemeth is still a dangerous foe."

"She has never faced a group such as us before; I believe it will be enough to defeat her."

"I want to approve who you bring through."

Anders wasn't thrilled, but the plan did depend on the spirit so he couldn't exactly disagree. "Of course."

"I will watch you and your companions for a time and decide if I will assist you or not. Who do you plan to bring through the Fade other than yourself and your sister?"

Anders had thought about it a lot, who he should take with him. He thought that the more ties they had to each other the better they would work together and the more they would fight for Morrigan's life. He needed Alistair, his Templar abilities featured into his plan, and of course no one was more tied to Morrigan than Sareyna. He wanted Nathaniel who had ties both to Morrigan and Sareyna and lastly he would bring Zevran. He shared his thoughts with the spirit who just nodded as he spoke.

"Very well, I will watch them closely."

Anders felt a bit anxious, worried because Justice had explained that Spirits really had no concept of time. "Please, she might not have much mortal time at all."

The spirit didn't respond but instead dissolved into translucency before disappearing all together. Anders sat on the end of his bed hoping that it would not take the spirit too long to make a decision. After a few moments he stood and grabbed a broom sweeping up the salt and discarding it.

He sat down in a chair rubbing his forehead. He was so tired, even when he slept he never felt truly rested. Nightmares of Darkspawn and Templars plagued him. Skyla should be back in a few days with a response from the Circle. Anders hoped that whether the news was good or bad that at least knowing where he stood with them would be enough to quell the nightmares.

Ser Pounce-a-lot climbed up into Anders' lap and Anders petted him absently. After a moment Pounce stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on Anders' chest, rubbing his head against Anders' chin. Anders chuckled and stroked his fingers down Pounce's back. "I've been neglecting you lately, haven't I? I'm sorry, Pounce. I'll try to pay more attention."

He stood with the cat in his arms and headed out of his room. "I'm hungry, how about some fish? Could you forgive me for some fish?"

Pounce meowed loudly and it melted into a contented purr. Anders' smile reflected the cat's happiness. A bit of food would do them both some good. Maybe if he was extra nice Shannon would give him some sweets.


"What's wrong Morrigan, you seem distracted."

Morrigan looked up at Nathaniel and couldn't stop the smile that touched her lips. The days since Nathaniel had returned with Anders had been wonderful. Nathaniel had told her how he had found Anders, what the Templars had done to him and as horrified and appalled as she had been, she had been grateful when Nathaniel apologized to her for his assumptions about the Templars and mages.

The two of them did not spend much time apart; in fact, the only time she knew for sure he would not be there was when she was working with Anders. Things between Nathaniel and Anders were strained, not that there was animosity between them. It seemed as if they both knew a dirty secret about the other and was afraid to spill it.

Morrigan's mind had raced the first few times it had happened wondering if Anders had somehow managed to sink his hooks into Nathaniel. But when she stopped being ridiculous she realized Anders was not only not Nathaniel's type, he wasn't even the right sex. Sareyna had given Morrigan good advice and she had decided to follow it. She was going to be happy for what she had with Nathaniel.

Nathaniel touched her cheek lightly, "Something on your mind?"

Morrigan nodded lightly, "Anders thinks he has a way to get rid of Flemeth once and for all, but we keep falling short on some parts of his plan. I'm just worried we'll never get it straightened out."

"Anders is a smart man, he'll figure something out."

"And what if he doesn't?"

Nathaniel took Morrigan's hand in his own. "Then we'll figure something out, we'll keep you safe Morrigan. I promise you, I won't let her take you."

She had an appropriately acid remark about how she didn't need to be taken care of, but Nathaniel was not insinuating she could not take care of herself, merely expressing his desire to help her. It was a distinction it took her months to figure out, and it was still an effort not to just snap at him, but she managed not too, instead Morrigan smiled again. "Thank you." She turned to look back out the window at the grey clouds that were rolling in. "I think a storm is coming. We should probably shut the windows."

Nathaniel stood and patted Morrigan's shoulder to let her know to stay still. He circled the room closing the shutters. "There, all battened down."

"Play for me?"

Nathaniel smiled but picked up his lute from the corner before sitting back down. "Anything in particular?"

Morrigan closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch, "Something sad."

"As the lady requests." Nathaniel's fingers started pulling a slow sad song from the strings of his lute. It had only been a few moments when they heard the first raindrops against the shutters.

"Dark skies, sad songs, and rain, some things were meant for each other."

Nathaniel didn't speak he just kept playing the lute and listening to the rain.


Zevran was sitting on the floor in Trelain's room. Trelain was walking on unsure feet and laughing as Zevran's puppy danced around him barking happily. It soothed Zevran to watch them playing and having so much fun. They both looked so happy, so unburdened.

Zevran sometimes wished he could remember more of his childhood. He wondered if he had ever looked like that, if he had ever been just happy and unconcerned. He must have at some point he was sure, but it was too long ago to remember. At least he was able to see it in Trelain.

Zevran closed his eyes; a momentary stab of pain took him by surprise. He told himself dozens of times that he was over what had happened to Sareyna and the child. But sometimes, like now, the pain of having lost a child took him by surprise. He had known it wasn't really his child, just as Trelain wasn't really his child, but at the same time it was.

Everything that Alistair and Sareyna were, every part of their lives was shared with him completely. So to him, and to them, the child would have been as much his as theirs and he felt the loss acutely. Until Trelain he had never had any desire for a child.

Trelain's innocence, his curiosity and delight with the world enchanted Zevran. He wanted to hold and protect the boy, wanted to watch every moment of his discovery of the world. Every one of the boy's laughs was like the most precious jewels to Zevran. He longed for a way to preserve them; Trelain was growing up too quickly.

The boy gripped Zevran's tunic as he reached him. Zev smiled at him and the boy playfully pushed him, Zevran let himself fall backwards. His breath exploded from his lungs with a laugh as Trelain threw himself across Zevran's middle.

He moved the boy so he was lying on his chest with his head cradled on Zevran's shoulder, stroking the boy's back as he held him still with his other hand. He felt Trelain's fingers curl around a lock of his hair and smiled. Trelain was asleep in moments and Zev stayed lying on the floor holding him gently to his chest.

Zevran curled the hand that had been stroking the boys back under his head and felt Menrva curling up next to his side. He let his mind wander, imagining that this must be what it felt like to have a normal family and a normal life. There was nothing in the world better than moments like this one.