"Come out, now. "
His voice was commanding, his accent strange. He had to be guessing where they were, and Lily seemed to think so too.
Both women remained silent.
The man raised his staff and illuminated their dark corner, and at the sight of them he seemed to drop his guard, just a little.
"Stay back!" the sister commanded, pointing her dagger at him.
Kena squinted up at the man, barely making out his silhouette through the harsh light. "You're a mage?" she blurted out, and the man sighed in annoyance.
"Good guess," he said, and then he waved his staff above his head, reviving the torches along the walls. He secured the staff onto his back, and pulled down his hood. The firelight of the torches danced off his heavily inked face, giving him a menacing and wolfish appearance, and with his high pointed ears it was obvious he was Dalish.
"I need your help, I'm searching for two women," he said, "a mage, and a chantry sister."
Lily and Kena exchanged wary glances.
The man stared intently at them, and he seemed to be studying their faces in particular.
"By chance, are you Lily and Amell?" he asked, yet he seemed uncertain, "I am helping my-"
"Who are you?" Lily cut him off quickly, "what does a bloodmage want with us?" she seemed needlessly angry at being asked for by name.
This is strange, Kena thought.
"Blood mage?" the elf retorted exasperated, "Is that all you shemlan think abou-"
"Galel!" called a familiar voice from just beyond the door.
Lily gasped, and Kena's stomach violently churned.
That voice.
Jowan's voice...
A disheveled, dark haired man tumbled through the door. He just barely stopped himself from tripping over the threshold when their eyes met, and even after all the years apart, Kena Amell knew him immediately.
He had barely changed a day.
"Jowan!" Lily gasped, and she seemed just as shocked as Amell.
Kena laughed out loud, whether out of shock or bitterness she couldn't tell, but she knew this was all too easy, too unreal. How could Jowan have found them, let alone come to save them? She couldn't believe it, not after so long.
Yet here he was. The same face, the same black hair, the same voice. Her best friend, the closest thing she'd ever had to family, that she remembered, and the only person the demons never got right.
But her acceptance came just a second too late.
With her momentary inkling of doubt came a slithering darkness that slipped through the cracks in her will, writhing its way over her skin and into her mind.
The whispers started again. She opened her mouth to scream, but all she could manage was a quiet rattle. The whispers grew louder and louder. She slammed her hands over her ears and scrunched her eyes shut, but it was useless. They were legion, relentless, all begging, and offering and threatening her with everything and anything. Amell had never felt so many crushing against the veil before, and they all reached for her.
She was afraid, and hopeless.
And just when the unholy chorus reached its unbearable crescendo, one voice cracked through her skull, silencing them all.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" it crooned in her head, echoing and warbling like a thousand tongues in one, "Snatched from the arms of freedom… how does that make you feel, my darling?"
And then there was nothing but a deafening silence.
She opened her eyes, and saw Lily and Jowan, their mouths moving but with no sound.
And as if all of the blood running through her veins turned to ice, she collapsed to the ground, paralyzed with grief.
Lily spun to face her, but her features were a blurred mess, and as Kena's vision began to spiral into dark, she just barely heard a muffled cry, maybe it was her's. A pair of cold hands wrapped around her arms, hoisting her up, and then her world collapsed into darkness.
"Amell…"
"Hmmm?" she responded lazily, flipping to the next page in her book. She had an exam coming up, and she needed to study.
"Stop that, and come here."
The voice was deep, smooth, and she felt him take her into a hug from behind. His lips quickly found her neck, and then they moved up and along her jaw, his hand wrapped around her throat, and began to tighten…
This isn't right. What are you doing?
She smashed her leg into the table in her haste to get away, what was she thinking? If Irving found out, or one of the other Enchanters, she'd be whipped for sure.
She spun around, angry, ready to tell him to bugger off and leave her be.
Except, she realized this had never happened, or would happen. It all just felt so wrong. Kena Amell would never break the chantry's rules just to dally with a Templar, because that would lead to bad consequences, and punishments and-
The phylactery room…
She blinked, and for just a second something strange came into focus. It was hideous. Folds of pale skin with more teeth than she could count, but instead of fear, she felt a sadness so deep it hurt to breathe.
And then it wavered, and it was him again.
"Fuck this," she groaned, realization creeping in, "not again."
The Cullen demon laughed, "Almost had you that time."
Kena screeched, furious, throwing a fireball at him, which he dodged with ease.
"Oh come now, my darling..."
"Stop calling me that!" she hollered, but her voice was breaking, her will barely there, "I hate that! I hate him! Why are you always him?!"
"Why him? " the demon mocked, "because the pretty Templar always draws out the best in you."
"Was it all a dream then?" Kena muttered, twisting her fingers through her own hair and pulling so hard she felt the strands popping and breaking. Hot tears began pouring down her face, and she hated how real it all felt. "Is this another test? Am I in a cell?"
The demon shook his finger obnoxiously at her, the way Bran did when she went too close to the Circle's front doors.
"Idiot Amell, what do you think?"
She fell to her knees, crying so hard she could barely breathe. It was real, they escaped, she knew they did.
Yet, here she was. Still trapped, suffocated by the Aeonar's oppressive energy. Just another nightmare, but this one had felt so real, so thick and deep and strange that she couldn't move without every cell in her body telling her to just stop fighting already. It was utterly pointless. Everything was pointless.
But Jowan was there! Real as the Aeonar, and so was Lily and that Dalish elf too.
She had been so close to freedom she could see outside the door, she hadn't seen grass and trees in years, but she saw it, bathed in moonlight.
So beautiful...
And just like that he, it , took it away again. Would she ever be free? If two mages and Lily and herself couldn't even walk out of a front door, what purpose was there in trying anymore?
All she could see was a wet blur. She tried to take in a breath, but it hurt too much, and she felt so utterly empty and alone that she wanted to disappear into nothing.
"St-stop thi-s," she managed to choke out, "I-I ca-can't do this anymore."
The demon sauntered toward her, arrogant with impending victory. He smelled of soap and metal and when he knelt beside her, she knew who he was without looking.
"My darling," Cullen whispered, pulling her into a hug, "let's start over, and this time, stop fighting me."
And after seven long years, Kena Amell did just that.
Galel could hear arguing outside of his tent. He pushed himself up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and pulled on a loose tunic.
"It's not what you think!" she yelled, her voice piercing the heavy leathers of his door.
Did she sneak into the human town again?
He stepped out into the clearing, his eyes blinded by the sun for a moment. He saw his father shaking a lute marked with shemlen designs at his sister, and his suspicions were confirmed.
"You could have gotten killed, Fanora!" Lathelgar yelled, exasperated.
"They aren't all murderers father!" she retorted, attempting to take the Lute, but her father held it just out of her reach, "That's mine, I earned it!
"Fanora!" Galel called, walking up to his sister and looping his arm around her shoulder, "Didn't I say you should stop covering for me?"
Fanora laughed aloud and crossed her arms, "Oh please, you're not taking credit for this."
Lathelgar looked at his children and groaned in exasperation. He thrust the instrument to Fanora, "I give up, if you two want to risk angering the shemlen for toys, then by all means do so."
She grabbed her lute with glee and laughed. It was a funny, tumbling sound that she let out in bursts, and he had missed her so much.
The Keeper threw his hands in the air and walked away, and Galel laughed at his sister, who was happily admiring her new lute.
"So, I assume you traded fairly for that?" he teased.
"I won it, in a card game," Fanora tossed her blond braids to the side and looked up at her little brother, "nearly got shot with an arrow when the shems chased me out of town for cheating. But have you seen this thing? Never thought a bunch of humans could make something so pretty."
"You just told father that all shemlan aren't murderers, yet they nearly murdered you?" he said, upset at her recklessness again.
"Well, I never said they weren't sore losers.
She hummed to herself and strummed the instrument, a beautiful, melodic tune rising into the air.
And Galel felt his stomach drop.
He stepped away from her, his chest tightening and the truth snapping into focus, "No…"
Fanora looked at Galel and laughed, "What now? Jealous I can actually play a tune?"
His hands sparked, "My sister never learned to play the lute."
She laughed, and her voice was a guttural, low moan, "But isn't this version better?"
The demon began playing a Dalish lullaby as she walked toward him, her smile wide and toothy.
Galel agreed, this version was better. Fanora should have had time to learn to play, but she was gone a month from this moment, and he could never look at a lute again.
He unleashed a blast of shock at the creature, and Fanora's face melted away, replaced by the screaming anguish of a lesser demon of desire.
"He promised me an easy meal!" the demon shrieked, but Galel was stronger, and he disposed of it quickly.
Too quickly.
The world around him began to churn, the camp melting away, and he found himself falling through a canopy of trees before landing painfully onto a pile of soggy hay.
"Oi!" Jowan yelled, running up to the pile and brandishing a pitchfork at him, "what are you doing ruining my hard work?"
Galel stared up at the strange version of Jowan, at least, he thought it was him.
"Jowan?" he asked cautiously, scrambling to his feet.
"Huh?" Jowan paused, "how do you know my name?"
"Because we've been friends a long time, and this isn't real," Galel said. "Judging by the fact I'm still stuck in this nightmare, I'd wager a bigger demon is at play, and we don't have time to indulge in these fantasies."
Jowan raised a confused eyebrow and started laughing. Galel resisted the urge to slap him, he knew it wasn't his fault but he was not in the mood to argue with a dreaming shemlen.
His hair was shaven, and he had a bushy, unkempt beard. His clothing was dirty, but he looked healthy, almost fat, and there were children playing not far from him.
Galel felt sorry for him, to wake him from the fantasy, but there was no real joy in the fade. Sooner or later, the demon would come, and it would all have been for nothing.
"Jowan, please, you know this isn't real," he pleaded.
"I don't have nothing to do with demons, and I'm happy to say there are no mages here," he leaned comically on his pitchfork and seemed to think he had explained quite clearly why Galel was mad.
His friend had always seemed interested in magic, albeit wary of much of it. Yet it seemed here, in this fantasy, he was nothing more than a farmer.
The woman from earlier walked up, holding a flask and slice of bread, "Jowan! It's lunchtime, I've been calling you!"
"I'm sorry Lily, but I'm almost done with this," Jowan said exasperated, looking between Lily and Galel. Galel turned to her, unsure if she was another demon in disguise.
"Are you a demon?" he asked point blank, readying a spell in his hand. If she were a demon, she would defend herself.
Lily seemed afraid, but she quickly gathered herself, "How dare you threaten me? Leave at once!"
Galel raised his hand to shock her, but she threw a plate at his face, catching him by surprise, he grabbed his nose pain, and the smell of iron filled his nostrils.
He looked up just in time to see Jowan thrust his pitchfork at him, and barely managed to dodge out of the way. He spotted the barn, and bolted for it. Even though he knew this wasn't real, his nose was still gushing blood. He managed to barricade the barn door, and could hear Jowan and Lily frantically telling their children to hide in the house.
The children.
Demons were never far away, and they were most likely playing the parts of children. Feeding off the desire and despair of a couple that had been forced apart.
"This isn't real!" Galel yelled through the barn door, trying to formulate a plan. If he could make it to the house, eliminate the demons.
"Lily! It's too dangerous!" he heard Jowan warn. He heard scraping along the barn's outer wall, and just a moment later Lily jumped through the upper window, landing on the interior ledge.
She had a small garden sickle in her hand, "You need to leave, or I will kill you."
"I'm not here to hurt you," Galel said, readying himself, "think woman! Where did you learn to use a weapon? Where were you before today?"
He was trying to trigger her real world memories, memories that might snap her back to reality.
Lily wrinkled her brow, but shook the thought away, yelling as she jumped down at Galel, "Leave my family alone, mage!" she spat the last word out like an insult.
Galel couldn't move in time, and was sliced along the shoulder. He cursed, managing to thrust Lily backward into the opposing barn wall with a force spell before regaining his footing. If Lily wouldn't see reason, he'd have to remove her from the fade the good old fashioned way.
Lily rounded on him with the sickle, and he threw a fireball at her that she dodged effortlessly. Where had she learned to move with such purpose, such grace? Jowan's woman was formidable, and Galel could see why he loved her so deeply.
She was nearly putting the Dalish huntresses to shame.
Galel dodged the swipe of her sickle and caught her under the chin with his elbow, which gave him the opening he needed to disarm her with a small firespell. Lily screamed and grabbed at her burned hand, and Jowan began smashing against the door.
"Lily! Are you ok?!"
Galel tried to ignore his friend, "Lily… this isn't real." he said, looking down at her.
She looked up at him, confusion and rage on her face, "It feels real enough!"
"Where did you learn to fight?!" Galel bellowed, "A farmer's wife wouldn't know how to do that."
"I wasn't always a farmer's wife," Lily spat, and then her face dropped. She looked at the sickle, and her burnt hand, and like pieces of a puzzle falling into place, she slowly returned her gaze to Galel, "I wasn't always a farmer's wife… I…"
"Yes?" Galel urged, kneeling by her, "try to remember."
"I… I was a thief. I didn't want to be… but…" she bit her lip, and her eyes turned red, but she blinked it away, "we need to get out of here," she growled, furious.
"Lily!" Jowan yelled. He didn't know what was happening, how had his wife climbed the barn so quickly? He was panicked, frantic, he punched the barn doors so hard they broke open. How had he done that? He looked into the barn, and made eye contact with Lily. She was on the ground, clutching her burnt hand and that elf was leering beside her.
"What have you done to her?!"
Lily grabbed her sickle, and stood up, stalking past the elf and toward him. Her eyes were murderous.
"Lily?" Jowan said, eyeballing the sickle, she began to run, closing the distance between them fast, she raised the sickle above her head and thrust it downward.
"Lily stop!" he yelled, shielding his face, but the blow never came.
Then there was a whimper, and a soft gurgle next to him.
Lily was breathing hard, her sickle embedded in the throat of his eldest son.
"Maker why?!" he wailed, falling to his knees and shoving Lily away. He grabbed his son and cradled him. The boy was gurgling, clawing at the sickle.
"He's not real!" Lily yelled, "Wake up Jowan! This is a demon's trick!"
"Maker, what are you on about!" Jowan cried, his vision blurred with tears, "You've killed our son!"
Lily walked back, and she swallowed hard, "I know it's hard, but-"
The boy's gurgles turned into a guttural moan, and his body began to twitch, and twist, and collapse into itself.
Jowan screamed, dropping the boy and crawling backward into the barn door, "Andraste's mercy!"
The boy exploded into a mist of gore, and the other children were suddenly filling the room, more than Galel had seen earlier.
Too many.
Jowan was paralyzed with fear, and Lily grabbed her sickle, futilely swiping at the cackling children.
"Forget that, protect Jowan," Galel told Lily, "this is going to hurt all of us."
Lily ran to Jowan, grabbing him by the arm and dragged him under a wagon, he was too shocked to fight her off.
Galel summoned all of the strength he had, and the air within the room began to crystallize into shards of razored ice.
"Why, why did you have to bother our parents?" the children whined in chorus, their fingers and limbs elongating into frightening forms, "we were happy-"
Galel released a burst of energy into the sky, a storm of cold and wind engulfed the room, the shards of ice spun like tiny arrowheads, and he felt his own skin shredding under the effect.
"It's not real!" he yelled, "remember it's not real!"
The demons shrieked, scampering for the barn exit, but the world around them began to break apart, mottled floating islands and rough ground bursting through the illusion. Galel couldn't tell what kind of demon he was fighting, but it seemed fragmented.
"Galel!" Lily called, Jowan was staring wide eyed and horrified as they were torn apart by his storm.
He felt his skin cracking in the cold, and he closed his eyes.
It's not real.
A sudden whirl of green and grey consumed him, and he once again found himself falling through the void.
Galel woke with a start. How long had he been out? The rotunda he was in was dimly lit, books and scrolls beyond counting lining every inch of the walls all of the way up into the tower's dome. The distinct smell of pine burning in the fireplace greeted him warmly, and if it weren't for the feeling of utter despair he would've thought it was a rather nice place.
"What are you doing here?"
He looked over his shoulder, toward the voice, and saw her. The darker haired, haggard woman he had seen before being forced into this nightmare. Amell, that was her name he suddenly remembered. It was strange the things he forgot in the nightmare.
She was standing by the door staring intently at him, a massive tome squeezed firmly against her chest.
He stood up, and dusted himself off. He was struck by how different she looked. The gaunt, haunted looking woman he had seen earlier was gone. Robes of deep red, with black fur around the arms and collar draped over her now full figure. She looked healthy, a far cry from the emaciated woman he had seen briefly before being thrust into this nightmare.
"Your name is Kena Amell, right?"
Kena's face was expressionless, and Galel found himself feeling flushed and off kilter. She was acting strangely, even for someone lost in a faded delusion.
"I'm a friend of Jowan-"
"I remember you," she whispered.
She entered the room, closing the door behind her, "you should go."
"If you know who I am, you know this is-"
"The fade?" she interjected. Walking over to the fireplace. She sat down on the plush lambskin by the fire and opened the tome, studying it intently.
Galel was unsure if he was being toyed with, if she really knew what was going on, why wasn't she fighting? Trying to escape?
He decided to approach her anyway.
"You need to wake up, I can only assume a demon-"
"I said please go," she hissed, "I'm so tired of this."
"We're all tired," Galel protested, "Jowan, and Lily, are stuck here too."
Kena paused, looking up at him. He swallowed hard, her gaze was unsettling, and he found himself having a hard time looking away.
"It won," she muttered, "no use in fighting now."
Galel felt his skin prickle, "You're an abomination…"
She furrowed her brow, and looked down at her hands, "Am I? I don't know. Just let me pretend here, I'm tired."
"You've survived this long, why give in now?" Galel asked, but his voice was harsh. Amell's head shot up, and she sneered.
"You think I just gave in?" she scoffed, throwing her book into the fire, flames and ash erupting into the chimney and filling the room with a burning heat.
"Haven't you? Tell me where the demon is," Galel demanded.
"Seven years…" she muttered, "do you know what seven years of humiliation does to someone? I don't know how many times they, they-" her eyes squeezed shut and her hands slammed over her ears, "that's not real here… my books are."
Galel's stomach dropped. She was so pitiful. Here was the sin his friend Jowan was trying to fix. He knew Aeonar was an evil place, his sister had perished here. He'd never had his freedom taken, yet the sickening miasma of misery and despair hanging thick in the air already weighed heavily on him. If only a few hours in this place was enough to make him feel hopeless, he shuddered to think what seven years would have turned him into. Yet, he had visited evil places, and seen terrible things, and nothing quite matched the intensity of this specific misery.
And then it hit him, an answer so obvious it hadn't occurred to him until now.
"Despair…" he murmured to himself.
The door to the room creaked open, and as if summoned by the name, a human man walked entered the rotunda. His strawberry-blonde hair was cut close, and he had a smile on his face, but it was twisted, his light brown eyes betraying an evil thriving just beneath the surface.
"A guest? You didn't tell me we had visitors Amell…" the demon said, his smile wider than any normal man's.
Her shoulders slumped and seeing him seemed to pain her. She turned away to stare into the fire, her expression a blank shadow.
"What's your name?" the demon asked, maintaining a steady eye contact with Galel. He walked over to Amell and pulled her into an awkward hug from behind, "I assume you're here to visit my darling charge…"
Galel recognized the man's armor, a Templar's, glinting against the firelight and polished inhumanly clean. Perhaps a tormentor from her past? Demons of despair enjoyed taking on the forms of people who had betrayed or hurt their victims.
Let them build up, almost reach the precipice of contentment, and then tear them down with a familiar face, a triggering smell.
It enhanced their meals.
"You already know my name, you filth," Galel spat.
The demon tsked and began toying with Amell's hair, "Come now… I'm sure we can make a bargain. You've already caused me enough headache with the other two… I was just about to have their youngest drown… how delicious that would've been…"
The demon sighed and began pulling strands of hair from Amell, she winced, twisting her hands into the sides of her robe. But she didn't pull away.
What won't she fight the damned thing!
"Because she deserves it, she knows that," the demon laughed, reading Galel's mind. "It took some time for me to convince her, but in the end, she realized that this is where she belongs. It's exactly what she deserves."
The demon seemed proud of his conquest, his speech boastful. The demon grasped her around the neck and twisted her face toward his, planting a rough kiss on her forehead, "My darling…"
The display was unnerving. Galel had never encountered a demon of despair, and he found himself having a hard time focusing. He began remembering his father, aged and waiting for him, his sister who had died alone in this hellish place.
And himself, a Dalish elf without a clan. Faithless and empty, wandering a world with no place for him.
He bit his tongue.
You're sleeping, this is the fade, and you have to remain vigilant, he reminded himself. The thoughts, the despair, were only an illusion. A trap created by the filth in front of him.
"I know what you are, Despair , and you would be wise to release us," Galel threatened, his hands lighting with a green flame…
Despair laughed, releasing Amell who quickly scuttled over to the fireplace again. She fell to her knees and covered her ears, muttering to herself. Galel knew he should pity her, but this display of weakness was frustrating to him. If she would just help, they may have a chance at escape, and it infuriated him that she had simply given in just for pockets of happiness amongst the despair.
What kind of life is that?
"Don't let it keep feeding on you!" Galel commanded, "Jowan said you were strong, smart, why aren't you fighting this?!"
Amell let out a wail.
"My darling knows where she belongs," Despair crooned again, and his visage waivered, a sunken face with gray, pale skin was only momentarily visible, and Despair seemed confused.
But for just a moment.
Something must have happened, somewhere else in the nightmare. Galel hoped it was Jowan, perhaps the mage was putting up a fight of his own, and that meant they had a real chance.
The demon coughed, and adjusted his gauntlets, his face once again that of the regal Templar's, "I don't have time for this… if you won't realize this is where you belong. Then perhaps one of my pets will have more interest in you. Sad that desire trash wasn't up to the task…"
Galel threw a fireball at Despair, sick of the demon's voice and managed to catch it off guard. The creature screeched, it's form shattering, rippling like streaking paint, but Despair managed to counter with a cone of cold. The ice tore through the thick carpeting and nearly impaled Galel, who was barely able to use a force spell to thrust himself out of the way.
He landed on his back by Amell, she was still covering her ears, her eyes squeezed forcefully shut.
The demon blasted another cone of cold toward them, and Galel threw up a barrier just before he and Amell were shattered.
"If you fight him, he'll hurt you!" she yelled, "Just give in!"
"He's already hurting me! And he's hurting you too!" Galel gritted, his barrier beginning to crack, every fiber of his being was fighting the demon, but he just wasn't strong enough.
The demon laughed.
"Fool, Aeonar has been my home since before your empire fell!"
A shard of ice broke through the barrier, and sliced Galel along the face, he winced, forcing every last ounce of power he had into the barrier.
Galel look to Amell, pleading with his eyes for help.
And she stood up.
Her face twisted and pale, but she seemed angry, what had changed?
"You have me, let him go!" she yelled, "What's the point of this fight?! I just want to rest."
Despair's face was twisted into sick delight, he stopped his assault on Galel, and rounded on Amell.
Galel fell to his knees, gasping.
"Remember our bargain mage," Despair warned.
"You aren't keeping your bargain," Amell cried, and her hands were suddenly ablaze, "let him go, or we're finished."
"Finished? Stupid girl, you're already mine!" Despair cackled. It's human features finally burst like a bubble, an endless maw of teeth and tightened skin now standing in its place.
Amell's body was instantly engulfed in flames.
Was the demon killing her? Galel thought, but his panic was short lived. The flames bulged outward, whirling around her like a cyclone, and Galel was thrown into the wall. He barely managed to regain his footing when he saw the demon wavering, throwing shards of ice at Amell that fizzled into steam.
"I'll kill him! I'll kill her!" Despair shrieked, "Stop! Stop it!"
"No you won't, you're a greedy bastard," Amell growled, she slammed her hands together, and an arrow of flames tore through the air, slamming Despair in the face. He let out a piercing howl, twisting into a pillar of ice and shattering into pieces.
The flames around Amell began swirling bigger, and Galel knew he would soon have nowhere to hide, "Amell!" he called, forcing up another barrier to protect himself from the heat of her flames.
She was raging, unhinged, whips of flame lashing in every direction. Galel doubted the demon was dead, but perhaps she scared it off long enough for them to escape. Yet she wasn't stopping, she was burning hotter, and hotter.
She needs to calm down!
"Your anger is keeping this realm alive!" Galel warned, "Let it die, don't let him win."
Amell whirled on him, her eyes aflame, "What do you know? Are you tricking me too?! I'm so sick of tricks!"
She whipped flame toward Galel, but his barrier held firm, "I am not, calm your mind! This place is a falsehood! You know this!"
"I won't be tricked again!" she wailed.
"This is no trick," said Galel, but his eyes were burning from the heat, and he knew he didn't have much left in him.
"You've freed yourself," he wheezed, trying to stay calm. He took a step toward her, and she screeched, the flames burning brighter.
"Stay back!" she commanded.
"You can force him, it , out… Kena. Let yourself be free," he said, his voice shaking with exertion.
"I can't believe you, I can't-" she sobbed.
A blast of cold pierced through his barrier, and Kena's flames were snuffed out. She flew into him, and they both smashed into the ground. A cone of cold pummeling them both against the burning floor.
Galel hissed in pain, Amell was unconscious on his chest, she had taken the brunt of the cold, and her face was blue.
"Look what you've made me do, all a waste!" the demon clacked its teeth, "You owe me."
It tossed Amell to the side, and grabbed Galel by the face. The wall of misery slammed into his soul full force, and all hope drained from his body. His soul was empty, he was empty, and despair's clawed fingers sunk into him like worms into a rotted apple.
And somewhere far away, he heard a boom.
And then another.
And another.
The air pressure plummeted, and the breath was torn out of him. Thick vines erupted from the ground, the books fell, faded, and Despair hollered, releasing him. Another branch burst from under them and pierced the demon's abdomen, blood and gore splattering Galel in the face.
And a woman's gravely voice echoed through the air.
"XANTHE'MECK!"
"What do you-" the despair demon shrieked, but a large vine tore through its insides and skewered it like useless meat.
The fire in the room was snuffed out, and the air pressure rose, allowing Galel to gasp in a breath.
The demon's mouth was forced open by a massive root, wet gurgles escaping the gash in its throat. Xanthe'meck clawed uselessly at its own neck, and from the shadows, a strange figure emerged.
A horned woman bathed in light, she glided toward Xanthe'meck and Galel watched in awe as she raised her arms above her head, pulling a massive, spectral dragon's fist down through the air and crushing the demon in a cocoon of tree bark.
And the room was suddenly quiet.
"Who are you?" Galel finally wheezed, shielding his eyes from how bright she was.
The woman turned to face him, and a dry cackle escaped her lips.
"Questions already? A thank you would be the more proper greeting, at a time like this..."
A/N: I guess it ain't Dragon Age without the main characters getting shrecked in the fade, but onto the next chapter! I thank you all for reading, you guys are the best!