Chapter 54: Repentance pt2

"In all my studies, I must say that the most intriguing was my interview with the desire demon. That the creature was willing to speak with me was a sign that this was no mere monster, mindlessly driven by its nature, but rather a rational being as interested in me as I was in it. It took a form that I would call female, though I had no doubt that it could appear otherwise. I wondered if it appeared as it did because I wanted it to or because I expected it to. She... and, indeed, I could only think of her as such now... smiled warmly at me and laughed a musical sound that seemed to thrill my old heart.

So frightened was I of this creature's legendary abilities to twist the hearts of men, and so relieved was I when I looked across the table into her dark eyes. This was a fearsome creature of the Fade, but as I spoke with her I slowly came to realize that this demon was merely as misunderstood as we mages are, ourselves."-From the journal of former Senior Enchanter Maleus, once of the Circle of Rivain, declared apostate in 9:20 Dragon.

Harimann Estate-Cellar

Aveline rushed the last of shades and bashed the demon with her shield, stunning it while Ericks slid behind and stabbed the shade. The guard captain and the rogue dropped to the floor on their knees as a glyph appeared on the floor, the desire demon was draining their strength from afar. Sebastian fired arrows at the demon but the desire demon dodged while taunting the prince…the demon didn't notice Fenris coming from the side and impaling it with his hand killing the demon. Ericks and Aveline was released from the spell.

"Demons. Temptresses" Sebastian said shaking his head. "We must see what greater evil they were protecting" The gang went forward deeper into the cellar, as they walked they found the cellar started to change into ruins…very ancient ruins. "Maker…a ruin? So close to Hightown? I remember no such thing"

"A leftover from ancient Tevinter, no?" Aveline asked.

Fenris shook his head. "No, older…this ruin comes from Arlathan" he said. "Such ruins are all over Tevinter"

"I'm starting to see what has happened here…" Ericks said. These ruins were a breeding ground for demons and the undead; the more the gang took them down the more their numbers replenished themselves. Also when they weren't worried about the demons, the gang also had to watch their step from all the old traps that littered these ruins. Soon after fighting their fifth or so wave of demons, the gang made it to the end of the ruins. There they spotted an older woman in fine clothes holding a staff speaking to desire demon. Of all the threats from beyond the Veil, few are more insidious and deceptively deadly than the desire demon. In folklore, such demons are characterized as peddlers of lust, luring their prey into a sexual encounter only to be slain at the culmination. While a desire demon can indeed deal in pleasure, in truth they deal with any manner of desire that humans can possess: wealth, power, and beauty, to name a few.

Far more intelligent than the bestial hunger and rage demons, and more ambitious than the demons of sloth, these dark spirits are among the most skilled at tempting mages into possession. Many who serve the whims of a desire demon never realize it. They are manipulated by illusions and deceit if not outright mind control, although these demons are reluctant to resort to such crude measures. Instead, they seem to take great pleasure in corruption. The greater the deceit, the greater their victory.

Only demons of pride prove more fearsome opponents when roused. Their abilities to affect the mind allow them to assume disguises and even alter the environment to their purposes, not to mention the great strength and speed they possess if they should have to resort to more physical means. Most often a desire demon will attempt to bargain its way to freedom if overpowered—many stories exist that depict mages defeating desire demons to the point where a wish can be wrested from them. It should be noted that in such stories the demon almost always gets the upper hand even when the mage thinks his wish has been granted.

"Huh, well I'll be damned….you were right Fenris" Ericks said.

"The stench of demons is never too far away from weak mages" the elf said.

"Starkhaven will not submit. I put that idiot Goran Vael into the prince's seat, but the other families won't heed him" Lady Harriman said. "I must marry him to Flora and solidify our hold…but I need more power"

"I've given you much, your desires run deep" the demon said. "You've already traded your husband and children…what more can you offer?"

Ericks crossed his arms. "At the Blooming Rose, fifty silver's standard for a whore"

The desire demon scoffed, it almost looked insulted. "You'll hardly find my services 'standard'" Lady Harriman stood up and frowned.

"Who is this?" she asked. "Who are you? How did you get here? Sebastian…?"

Sebastian frowned. "You were my mother's friend! How could you murder her?"

"Such an ugly word. I prefer "removed the only obstacle between her and her dreams"

"Yeah…that doesn't make it any better…" Erick said dryly.

"This was your idea!"

"I could create such desires if I wished, but it's far easier to nurture those that already exist" the demon said. "The desire for power is easy to find. You and your friend both possess it, do you not? You both wish to rise"

"Nice try, but Da warned me about your kind" Ericks said. "You'll offer to give us everything under the sun, but in the end you're the one that comes up on top"

"Humph, how loyal are your friends to you? Everyone has a price, everyone wants something"

"Do not listen to her!"

The demon looked at Sebastian and gave a knowing smirk. "Oh, such a pious soul, masking so much ambition. Are you so different from my lady? You yearn for the same lands, the same power…"

Sebastian frowned. "How dare you compare me to her?!" he asked angrily. "I am the rightful heir! She is a usurper and murderer!" Ericks looked at the prince worriedly; Sebastian was starting to fall into the demon's bait.

"Shiny…"

"You swore to put aside worldly goods and ambitions. But they couldn't stop you from wanting them" With the flick of his wrist, Erick threw a throwing knife at the demon's head.

"Conversation's over…time to die!" The battle started, the desire demon summoned shades to surround the gang. Ericks took out a fire bomb to blow away the demons while Sebastian and Aveline attacked the desire demon. Lady Harimann attacked Fenris with magic but found to her shock that magic did not harm the elf. The desire demon shot fireballs at Sebastian but Aveline rushed in front of the prince and blocked the spell with her shield. Sebastian circled the demon and pelted her with a dozen arrows. Ericks danced around the shades' blows and cut down the demons quickly. Despite her claim to power, the Lady and her demons didn't stand a chance against the gang. When Lady Harimann fell Sebastian bent a knee and prayed for the fallen Lady's soul. Once that was finished the gang got out of the ruins. Once they were back in the cellar, the gang saw Flora and her brother and father up and about. They were back to their senses.

"Sebastian! I am so, so…'sorry' is such an inadequate word" Flora said. "When I think what Mother made us do…what those creatures made us do…"

"We were friends, Flora!"

"It was like a cloud came down on me. All I could feel or think was what the demon allowed"

"Did you know Lady Harrimann was a mage?" Fenris asked.

Flora shook her head. "This was new to us…we've never had magic in our line" she said. "Perhaps that made Mother too confident. She thought she could deal with a demon and not fall prey to it"

"Humph, typical"

"Those ruins there were unearthed when we expanded the house" Flora said. "Mother found the demon inside. I think she had signed her bargain before we even knew"

"Did your mother order the attack on my family?" Sebastian asked.

Flora sighed. "She did" she said. "Mother was always jealous of your parents"

"The demon twisted that until it was all she could think of. She was determined to seize Starkhaven for herself"

Ericks crossed his arms. "So, you get all the debauchery and none of the blame?"

Flora frowned. "Do no suggest I did this by choice!"

"It's a demon of desire, Flora, not coercion. It can't tempt you with anything you truly don't want" Flora went silent…she didn't want to think that deep down she wanted to silence the Vael family so her family could rule Starkhaven. But she had to admit that the thought did cross her mind.

"If it takes every last coin, my family owns, I will make reparations to everyone we've wronged" she said. "Starting with you, Sebastian. We weren't the only ones vying for Starkhaven"

"If you face more opposition, you have my support"

"It will not make up for what happened"

Flora lowered her head; things would never be the same between her and Sebastian. "No, that's true"

"I'll tell you when I need you" The gang left the mansion, Sebastian went off on his own…he needed air to process what he experienced.


Hawke Estate

Ericks was at home reading a book by the fireplace, while Orana was cleaning the mansion. The rogue looked up, the elf was singing a song, Orana had a lovely singing voice. "Orana"

"Yes, master?" she asked walking towards him.

"That song…" The elf covered her mouth and looks nervous. "No, no I'm not upset…I was wondering what that song you were singing was. It's quite nice"

"Oh, it's just a song mama used to sing to me…its old Tevinter ballad" Orana said. "I sing it to clear my head, though I had to be careful when around the Mistress…she had a terrible temper"

"You like singing?" Ericks asked.

"Yes I do, I once had a dream to sing in the central square in Minrathous" the elf said. "But…such dreams are foolish for a slave"

"You've have good voice, a little rough around the edges but with practice…who knows" Ericks said. "If you want, I can pay for singing lessons"

"Oh master you don't have to…"

"You're right I don't but I want to do it" the rogue said. "The mansion could use a lovely voice like yours"

Orana smiled. "Thank you master, you are most kind" Bodahn then entered the room.

"Messere, Prince Sebastian is in the main hall" the dwarf said. "He wishes to see you" Ericks went downstairs and saw Sebastian in front of the fireplace with an intense look on his face.

"Shiny, this is unexpected…"

"Apologies Hawke" the prince said. "I had hoped prayer might cleanse me of the desire demon's touch"

"But I still hear her voice so clearly. I feel like I've bathed in filth that will never come off"

"Wash behind the ears. Evil usually gets stuck there"

"You jest but the demon didn't lie" Sebastian said. "I used to be bitterly jealous of my brother, I wanted to be prince" He then sighed. "Now, everything he had is mine and he lies in ashes" Sebastian was the youngest of three, the Vaels were traditional and had an heir and a spare. Sebastian was left in the cold, his parents sent him to the Chantry not only because his antics shamed the family but they wanted to prevent Sebastian from competing with his brothers

"I keep asking myself, 'Do I want this because it's right, or simply to have what I never thought I could?"

"Hard to believe you were put there against your will, Shiny" Ericks said.

"At first it was but then it became the best thing that could have happen to me" the prince said. "I was wild boy, a shame to my family. The Chantry made me a man"

"It's odd. When I wanted to rule, I would have been terrible at it. Now that I might be decent, I don't know if it's the right thing to do"

"At times of doubt, I would listen to my gut for the answers" Ericks said. "If you ask me, I think you're well on your way to being a good leader. It's those that don't want power that are usually the best at using it smartly"

Sebastian sighed. "You didn't feel what that demon stirred in me" he said. "I cannot be right to lead any army to Starkhaven with such doubt in my heart"

"I owe you more than I can say, Hawke. I will offer my service to you here before I move on"

"Ooh, a prince's service!" Ericks said rubbing his hand together with and evil grin. "This will be fun!"

"Err…now I'm starting to regret offering that…"

"Heh, I'm just fucking with ya…you don't owe me anything" Ericks said. "You're stiff as a board, Shiny but we're friends"

"You have a good soul, Hawke" the prince said with a smile. "It was truly the Maker who led you to me"

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