Chapter Three
Magic and Marshes
"So we're stopping by the Vigil before we head to the Wending Wood, then to Blackmarsh?" Nathaniel asked. "Yup. Oghren, I found some cloves for your home-brew."
Oghren snapped his head up to look at me and came over. "How'd you know?"
"Duh! Wynnie bee guessed the cloves, remember? Back when we returned from the Deep Roads in Orzammar, you gave her some ale. Now do you want em or not?" I was feeling better than I had in a long time. Anders hadn't made as good of a snuggle companion as Nathaniel so after only one night with Anders, Nathaniel had essentially moved into my room. I swapped out Aedans and Nates Armoires so they didn't have to worry about going back and forth for clothes. Anders was apparently one who shied away from contact in his sleep, which I understood, so I had woken in fits twice that night before Nate had kicked Anders out and 'took over'.
Oghren took the cloves and stashed them in his bag with a grunt. I smirked. We were almost to the Vigil, now. Only 3 day walk from the City.
The games had to have gotten the timing wrong for Awakening at least. We entered the Vigils grounds around midday and I giggled as Aedan and I got dragged over for the 'Oaths of Fealty' and thanks to a vision, I knew who the main source of fuckery was, but could unfortunately do nothing. Ser Tamra informed Aedan of the conspiracy, and the best I could do was tell her to be careful.
After the oaths, we all went to bed – it was quite late – deciding to head to the Wood in the morning.
"What do you mean?" Aedan asked, his eyes dark in anger.
I had just explained to him that we couldn't hurt Velanna because of her mis-information. It wasn't her fault that the Darkspawn had her sister and decided to pit her against the humans.
"Exactly what I said, Aedan. If you harm one hair on Velannas head for any reason other than self-defense, I will turn your hair bright pink for next… however long it takes to solve this whole 'talking darkspawn' mess! And if you kill her? I will leave you and make my way back to the damn Vigil and let you deal with all this bullshit on your own!" Aedan was trying to get me to agree to kill Velanna to stop the attacks on the Merchants, but I was having none of it.
She was pretty. Blonde hair done in a stylish bun, her eyes were a honey brown and her Vallaslin was a unique take on Mythals – it seemed to emphasize Mythals justice traits rather than the tree of Life. She was 5'4 with tan skin and wearing Keeper Robes. Her staff was made of wood, but carved with Elvhen symbols. She had addressed me, rather than Aedan, since I appeared to be Dalish.
She had called out that she didn't know or recall me from the last gathering of the clans and asked which clan I was part of. I said my former keeper was Zathrian, but that he was not dead. I told her he ended his own long life and why. She had been somewhat surprised, and even a bit civil to me.
Velanna had wanted to know why I would travel with Shems, and I told her 'This one is the Warden Commander of the Grey Wardens… and I call him my brother.'
"You work with the Shems? Have you no shame? They stole my sister!"
"No, sister, they didn't. If you will allow it, I can prove it to you." She hadn't responded well, and so here we were.
"She attacked us, Ara!" Aedan shouted, and I saw Anders whisper to Nathaniel.
"And I would have done worse, Aedan! She wants to save her sister. Can you not sympathize with that? Imagine for just a moment that Fergus was kidnapped and you thought a specific group was responsible because of the overwhelming evidence that was planted around you; at that point the true culprit was thought to be incapable of doing that, so you only have one suspect. What would you do, Aedan?" I felt my hair floating as my voice climbed higher in anger. He flinched.
"I… I see your point. Fine; we will go along with your plan, but if it gets any of us killed, I will retaliate." He rubbed at his face.
"You're not gonna like this next part…" Nathaniel was collecting what seemed to be money from Anders so I would be asking about that later.
"Tell me."
"When you go into… the lair, so to speak, I won't be coming with you. I can't. You'll know why shortly after you enter, but… I can't risk it." I was worried what would happen if the Architect got ahold of my blood. Would his experiment succeed; would he keep me? What if the bastard tried to turn me into a broodmother? It wouldn't work but that didn't mean I needed any more trauma than I already had.
Aedan groaned. "Fine. At least I won't have to worry if things go south…" I didn't tell him that things would certainly go south.
I dropped back to walk with Nathaniel while Anders walked with Aedan.
"What was that about?" Nathaniel blushed at having been caught. "Anders thought that it would take us finding the proof of Darkspawn setting it all up for Aedan to cave about not killing her. I bet that he'd cave before we ever started moving again. I won."
"Always a safe bet to put money on the Seer. Anders will learn… eventually." I gave Nate a sly grin and he nodded.
The Wood was really dull. I found the Northern Prickleweed – with Anders help – before we ever found that botanist that Wynne wanted us to look for. Apparently, she was really easy to convince seeing as we had an immaculate specimen; Anders had gotten the roots and everything into the planters pot I'd pulled out.
When Velanna was convinced of the humans innocence, the five of them all went into the tunnels. I camped out by the entrance, killing any Darkspawn that got close to me. I caught sight of the Architect once and managed to use magic to hide before he could pull any tricks. Sadly, it took 3 days before I saw them again.
I had dinner made and 'spare' tubs of water run for bathing in each room as soon as I got a vision of when they'd be back.
"You must be insane! No way will we all fit in that small tent!" I heard Velanna yell.
I poked my head out. "Just in time. There is cheesy-chicken pasta bake with a side of corn and tea for drinks. There is a tub in every room with warm water for bathing, plus the shower room. Get to it, you all stink," I gave a cheeky grin and stood to the side as everyone but Velanna entered the tent that looked like it could only fit a dwarf from the outside; her eyes widened as she stepped in behind Oghren.
I pointed to the room next to mine. "That is your room. You don't currently have a roommate since we haven't picked up the Legion of the Dead member yet, but I hope you'll like it. Your side of the room is done in a way to make it feel like you're outside under the stars and your clothes were all styled after the Dalish Clan I was 'part' of." She gave me a look before ducking into the room, and I heard her gasp of surprise.
The room, as I said was done in a way that one half looked like a forest under the stars, with a bed made of vines and leaves though it felt like a real bed. The other side was done to feel as though it was underground with a stone bed. The wardrobes were filled with magically fit clothes. For Velanna, Dalish style clothes and foot wraps; for Sigrun, all sorts of fun, brightly colored clothes and sturdy boots and armors.
"How is any of this possible?" she breathed.
"You should see the other rooms! Not easy. Aedans half of his room looks like his room in Highever, Oghrens looks like a pub, Anders' looks like a hotel, the other half of Anders' looks like the fade since we will be picking up a spirit of Justice soon, mine looks like an Archery range since that's what Nate likes and I have no preference. My magic is unique, and we have no real clue where I came from or how I'm here." As I spoke, I released my wings and her jaw dropped. "I'll leave you to bathe, hun," I winked and walked out.
It was an hour later when everyone was sitting at the table. "You want to tell me why you let us get captured?" Aedan asked looking put out as everyone was served food and drink.
"It was the only way you would see Seranni. I was not going to deprive Velanna of seeing that her sister was still alive with her own eyes. If I had warned you, you would have fought it." Velanna looked stunned but subdued.
"He took our blood! Fuck, Ara, what does he plan to do with it?" I sighed and told him about the Architects plans. "He plans to… free the darkspawn. It works in some aspects, but in others… well, the reason for our most recent Blight was because he was trying to 'free' his Old God, not taint him, but managed to fuck up. The Mother you keep hearing about? She's a 'freed' Broodmother who went nuts. It doesn't work and it's not worth the price. He's… one of the Seven original Magisters that walked in the Fade and Brought the Blight back from beyond. It always existed, you know? It was simply trapped until then." I had taken to rambling, and only realized when I saw the horror on Aedan and Nathaniels faces.
"Wait… the Chant of Light is true?!" Anders cried.
"Not exactly. The Magisters did breach into the fade, and they did bring back the blight, but the Maker foisting it upon them for their sin? Didn't happen. If the golden city really was the Makers seat, it was already abandoned. I have a theory that the golden city was actually the Temple of Elgar'nan. Since the Fade and the Waking World were once one, it makes since to me. I mean I know for a fact that two of the Elvhen Pantheon are still walking the planet…" I slapped a hand over my mouth and shot my head to look at Velanna. As expected she began shooting questions at me. 'which creators?' and 'how do you know?'
"Look, I can't tell you! I shouldn't have said as much as I did, and I'm sorry for that. All I can tell you is that I've met one in person and that they are both trying to restore the People. And while you may guess one, you would never guess the other." With that I stood and walked to the room I shared with Nathaniel.
We went directly to the Marsh after the Wood. We did have that 'random' encounter with the Merchant on the road, so we had recruited both for the Vigil since Aedan had gotten the one in the Wood while I collected as much Granite and Silverite as I could find and store in a void-bag.
The Blighted Werewolves didn't seem to see me, which was odd since regular blighted creatures could; but Aedan shrugged it off as them going after what they deemed to be 'bigger threats'. We had collected all but one Dragon Bone fragment, but otherwise there wasn't much else to do except trip the trap… though I did give Oghren the toy pony and told him I'd totally buy a bridge; Aedan and Anders had found it hilarious.
The moment we were all around Kristoffs body, 8 Darkspawn surrounded us. The First, and 7 Hurlocks. The First was fucking ugly. 5'9 with peeling grey bits of skin hanging off him… everywhere. His eyes were milky like a dead body might have, his armor looked scavenged and 'repaired', and he had no nose at all. The smell was horrid; a mix between decaying body, three-day old vomit, and cat piss that I knew would haunt me for days to come.
"Yes… that is your Grey Warden," The First said, his voice deep and scratchy, as though from long disuse – which was quite likely the actual reason. I gagged and shouted, "It's times like these I wish I could puke. Goddess that smell!"
The First ignored me and approached Aedan who gripped his daggers tightly. "The Mother told it to me that if he was lured to this place and slain, that in time you would come. And the Mother, she was right. The Mother is always right."
"Yes, yes, we know it was supposed to be a trap. Can someone spray this asshole down with perfume? Or do we think that might make it worse?" my eyes were watering as the First looked to me. "If you knew, why come?"
"I'm no cliché monologue-type villain; can't we skip this part? I feel like we should skip this part…" I was holding my nose. The First held up his palm and what seemed to be a rift appeared in his hand. And all went 'Dark'.
Unlike everyone else, I was standing when we 'came-to'; I hadn't felt myself 'fall asleep' at all.
Ugly Butt growled like an animal and shouted, "No! We have come to the Fade as well? It cannot be this!"
I was fucking ecstatic that the stench didn't transfer to fade at least. "You weren't first in your class I take it?" Aedan actually sounded amused as Anders and Nate high-fived over that one. I was taking deep breaths and literally singing Hallelujah under my breath.
"The Mother, she has deceived me… I am betrayed." And here is where I began feeling sorry for him. He sounded so broken; not angry like in the games. "I can never trust my mother either." Oghren grunted and looked disturbed.
"Looks like someone was considered expendable, hmm?" Nate grunted as my elbow met his gut – I was too short to hit his ribs.
"I am the First! I am not being expendable. Both the Grey Warden and the Mother will be learning this!"
"Now look, you made him angry. Depressed, I could work with; Angry, not so much." I pouted.
The Children and Hurlocks around us attacked as the First turned and stalked off. They really weren't much of a fight, strangely enough.
"Ara, look!" Anders shouted and I turned. He was staring at me and I realized my wings were out and looked different. They were solid and glaringly gold. Everything that came into contact with me reacted too. The ground seemed more real, enemies seemed weakened, allies were strengthened…
Anders set his hand on me and wounds that had been on his arms from a few arrows closed instantly, causing him to shoot back. I flinched.
"Sorry! I'm not… it's just startling to experience." Anders said before hugging me.
"Did that… thing say the Fade? We're in the fade?!" Oghren shouted. "Oghren, use your inside voice."
"Sod that! I'm a dwarf; I'm not supposed to be here, that's where humans dream. Dwarves don't dream!" he was panicking so I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "You know what I am; trust me. We will be out of the fade in no time. We will be back in the Waking World within the day. Your body is fine, just asleep. I swear to you Oghren, we will be fine."
My words did seem to calm him. "You better be right. If we get back and my body isn't fine, I'm making you buy me several rounds."
"When we get back, if something is wrong, I will have Alistair buy you a set of Casks, deal?" he nodded though Velanna looked at me curiously and I realized we hadn't told her my relationship with the King. I chuckled as Nate awkwardly explained I was his mistress before Aedan shouted, "Blood of the Maker, she's his wife. Whatever she is, she married their souls together, but of course with pointed ears the Landsmeet wouldn't want to hear it. That information doesn't leave the group, because I have no desire to kill people only to protect my sister. Can we get a move on?"
Oghren nodded and gripped the Axe I handed him. No one had weapons in the Fade except what I 'conjured'. I had been testing a theory and found I could do what Valor had done in the Mage Origin – make things from nothing in the fade, will them into being. I handed Velanna and Anders staves, Aedan got daggers and Nate got a very pretty bow, though he didn't like it as much as the Howe Bow that Aedan had 'found' for him.
I led us around to heal the tears in the Veil, though there were no 'chests' to send to the 'real' world. After all 4 were dealt with, we headed around to the docks.
"You… you're not a spirit like everyone else. How did you get here?"
"Drop the act demon. I know the girl was taken over. You cannot fool me," I snarled and tossed a dagger as Aedan jumped away from me to avoid being hit. As expected the Demon changed forms and attacked. Velanna kept sneaking glances at my wings as I used them in combat. I shot one wing out and tripped the demon while the other stuffed feathers in its eyes.
"You seem adept at using Wings but you don't have them outside the fade?" Velanna asked causing the men to all laugh though I flared my wings and knocked em all on their asses with a chorus of grunts… Velanna smirked.
"I'm a fairy. I actually do have Wings on the outside, but I keep them hidden for obvious reasons. Remind me to show you when we make camp tonight?" she nodded and we headed into the catacombs, clearing out the dead 'resting' there. I was happy enough that nothing seemed able to hurt us with my 'aura' weakening any enemies around us.
Upon emerging, we encountered the 'guard'. "Halt! Who enters the Blackmarsh?"
"Grey Wardens, Trapped." Aedan said.
"Trapped? Then you're just as we are; locked in this nightmare. We've been here so long at her mercy. I almost forgot what it was like… before. There is a Spirit that's come to free us, perhaps you could help him? If it's possible…"
I gave the poor man a smile and nod as we headed off to meet Justice.
"The Mansion will not protect you, Fiend! Come out and face your crimes! Be cautious, my friends. The Baroness has power within her lair, and she knows it well. We rush in at our peril." The Spirit was see-through and fully armored, just like in the game. He stood at 5'8 though Kristoffs body was at least 5'10 so he would have that extra height later. His voice was ethereal and deep… almost soothing. I could see a hint of red eyes under the visor of his helmet, but otherwise, his armor covered him completely.
"Hello, Ser Justice. Would you like some help?" The spirit turned to me, startled. In fact everyone around us looked at me in awed silence.
"What are you?" He seemed cautious. "I am a Fairy, and I wish to see the Baroness defeated for what she's done here, same as you." He nodded. Justice gave the people his speech and we charged the Mansion.
"My, My… all that shouting outside, and now you've finally decided to barge in? Without a proper invitation?" she was… I was feeling more insecure. If even the villains of this world were so pretty, what hope did I have? Her wavy black hair hung to her shoulder-blades looking freshly cleaned, her eyes were green and her make-up perfect. She was thin, but not horribly so, and her skin was flawless. She wore a red Victorian-esque dress that would have been the 'fad' in Orlais years ago, and her voice held that French accent that came from the region too.
"Foul sorceress, you will release these poor souls and submit yourself to Justice!"
"Justice; is that what you are calling it? What of their punishment, for burning my home and me within it?"
"You were stealing our children, using their blood to feed your ill-placed Vanity!" on man shouted and I winced at the insult. She looked pissed.
"As was my due! You lived on my land, and I was your rightful ruler! Your blood was mine then, just as your loves are now."
"Actually, if you had been in Tevinter you may have been right, but not here." I shrugged.
"What's this? The pathetic fools have managed to recruit yet more sympathizers?"
"We are not alone, Baroness; your reign ends here." Justices voice really made me feel powerful… like having his approval meant that I would succeed.
"As it happens, I am no longer alone either." The first came around her. I laughed causing people to look at me.
"Oh, Baroness… your new pet has already lost to us once, and will lose to us again." Aedan was smirking as he spoke, causing the fight to begin. Justice engaged the First while our group handled the shades and wraiths.
When it was over, she didn't just use the First to sunder the Veil… she used the souls of all those trapped here too.
We woke up exactly where we started, by that hut near Kristoffs body. Kristoff, as I said, was 5'10 with tan skin blue eyes and stubbly black hair and beard. Justice stood there, armor red and black in Orlesian fashion.
"What… where am I? What is happening?" Justice looked around before it dawned on him. "No! This is the world of Mortals; beyond the Veil! And this… a mortal body of Flesh. I'm trapped within!"
"Justice… it will be okay. For now, let us go kill the bitchy Baroness." Justice looked at me as I spread my wings. Something had happened to them. They were still spectral in the Waking World, but their color had changed. Rather than white-to-black fade, they were white-to-gold now. Velanna looked at them and moved to touch before glancing at me. I nodded and held a wing out to Velanna and the other toward Justice.
Each companion reached out and ran a hand through my feathers. "It is… solid. How unexpected," Justice said. His voice was still that soothing deep one from the fade and overlapped Kristoffs natural baritone.
I smiled as we headed off to seal rifts and fight demons. It didn't take as long as I expected; there weren't as many as in the game.
Before the final battle, we stopped for a moment… nothing more awkward than the Hero of Ferelden needing a bathroom break mid battle. While we were stopped, I pulled a Lyrium Ring out of my bag and handed it to Justice who looked confused for a moment.
"What is that sound? Such beautiful singing… the stone within this ring, is it Lyrium?" Nate, Anders and Velanna watched with interest while we waited for Aedan and Oghren to get back – apparently the Dwarf was on watch.
"Am I… allowed to keep this? Is it to be mine?" Justice asked, though his eyes never once left the ring that sat in his palm. I smiled, "That is the idea of a gift, hun."
"When mortals dream of Lyrium in the Fade, it is not like this. This song… saddens me, but it is breathtaking. Of all the things I hope to see in this world, this will no doubt be the most precious. I shall keep it by my side as a reminder that even in misfortune, good can be found."
I caught sight of Nates astonished face and Anders looked thoughtful. Velanna… well she looked indifferent.
About then, Aedan returned and we approached the Baroness. "So this is the world of Mortals? How very dull it seems… so immutable and unchanging. Yet, I am here; I have crossed the Veil! The Spirits will watch in envy as the mortals of this realm bow down before me," I could see the faint smirk on the demons face as she looked around.
"Good luck doing that when you're dead, bitchy bee," I snorted. She whirled to look at us. She caught sight of Justice. I saw her gaze flick to the ring for the slightest of moments.
"It seems I was not the only one drawn here… How very tiresome. When I defeat you, I will take that trinket as my prize," she began changing then, turning into a 10 foot tall purple demon with 4 black horns, 8 neon green eyes and lobster clawed arms. I sniggered and flapped my wings, drawing the demons attention.
One claw shot out to try and hit me back down, but I performed a circular loop to dodge the arm. I decided to simply distract her by flying around the head and horns while the demon tried to bat me down to the ground. Thankfully, my companions were smart enough to take advantage of my antics, and blades and magic began flying around to damage the Demon.
I sliced at the back of the neck, missing the first two times when I had to retreat too soon, but managing to embed and retract my dagger on the third swipe. When the demon fell forward, Justice dashed up and took the head off.
I landed and shook my wings free of blood before folding them.
"And so it is done. For what it is worth, thank you. May the victims of this place rest in peace, wherever they may have gone. It seems I cannot return to the fade, however, I am trapped here in the body of this… Grey Warden? I can feel the memories of this poor man. They are difficult to see, but he was a Grey Warden? He was slain by the Darkspawn… the one called the First that we beat in the Fade?"
"Yes. His name was Kristoff, and the First was doing the bidding of the one known as the Mother. Grey Wardens are the only ones in the entire world who can kill Archdemons or the leaders of the Darkspawn that emerge every few centuries. Before a few months ago, the last Archdemon was 400 years ago. In fact, Aedan here is the Warden who ended the blight a few months ago…" I explained.
"It seems I am at a loss. I know nothing of this world beyond the few memories of this… Kristoff, and what I have seen in the Fade; yet I do not wish to die. What shall I do? You seem to be a creature of Good Character, and you are of this world… can you advise me?" wait, me?
"Join us? Get Justice for Kristoffs death, then when you are more knowledgeable you can make your own choice?" I was hesitant. I knew it needed to happen, but I wasn't sure why he was asking me rather than Aedan.
"That… would be a good purpose. To get Justice against the ones who commanded this mortals death… Very well, I will join you."
"Good. Come along, you lot, I've set up the camp tent."
Without a word, everyone entered the tent. I set up baths for everyone, taking the first shower for myself. I made it quick then walked out to see Aedan waiting for the Shower; he'd explained to Justice how to bathe while I cleaned up, then took his turn in the Shower while I made Steak, Green Beans, and Mashed Potatoes with brown gravy for dinner.
