Jowan's eyes fluttered open, uncomfortably close sounds pulling him from a restless sleep.

"STOP APOSTATE!"

"I've nothing to do with you human," the second voice sounded far away.

Jowan rubbed his eyes, was he still dreaming? He heaved himself up, careful to keep to the shadows. It was a full moon, brighter than it had been in a long time and just outside the cave entrance he could see the familiar glint of a Templar's armor. His heart leapt into his throat, and he instinctively lurched back against the cave wall.

"I'll only warn you once more," the Templar growled, his voice familiar to Jowan, "lay down your staff and submit peacefully!" he was talking to someone Jowan couldn't see, the Templar's massive back blocking most of his view. He had no clue, Jowan thought, no clue that he was behind him.

Bran…

Jowan recognized the voice. The bastard Templar who had made a sport of mocking him at every turn. Templar Bran had a taste for violence, Jowan had seen him knock an apprentice over the head so hard he'd been unconscious for two days, all because he came too close to the front doors.

"I've nothing to do with your laws or your chantry!" the distant voice retorted, "Leave me be, shem."

The second voice sounded strange, an odd cadence that Jowan couldn't place.

Jowan nearly gasped as Bran lunged forward, there was a yelp and the sound of a small scuffle when Jowan suddenly noticed a glint in the dark, the unmistakable silhouette of Bran raising his sword over his head to strike. Jowan wasn't sure who it was, but he knew he had to help. Leaping out of the safety of his cave, he thrust his staff forward, casting a sleeping spell on the Templar from behind.

Caught off guard, Bran had no chance of dispelling the effect and so collapsed to the ground in a clumsy heap, his breast plate half propping him up at an odd angle that made it look like as if he were attempting to sniff his own smallclothes.

Jowan let out a loud breath, he hadn't realized he was holding it the entire time and he felt dizzy, "Maker's breath what just happened?!" he blurted out, mostly to himself.

"Who are you?" the strange voice croaked through the darkness, and Jowan spun in its direction. There was a man hunched over on the ground, clutching his midsection, and it wasn't until he stepped closer that he noticed the pointed ears and strange clothing in the moonlight.

Dalish.

Jowan quickly offered a hand, "I'm Jo-Levyn," Jowan cursed himself, being so close to Bran had reverted him to old thinking, old fears, and he had just nearly revealed his true name.

The elf looked at Jowan's hand for a moment, as if unsure he should trust him, "Jo-Levyn, thank you," he took Jowan's hand. "You're a mage as well?"

Jowan nodded, pulling the elf to his feet, he was bigger than most elves, though Jowan had to admit he only ever met a few other elves in the Circle so perhaps he didn't really know what size elves usually were at all, nevertheless, the man was still unmistakably Dalish, the facial tattoos told him that much at least.

And suddenly, as if a glamour charm had worn off, Jowan began to notice the ground was covered in shiny pools of red blood, looking at where the Dalish man was clutching himself, Jowan saw that his tunic was nearly soaked through with red.

"You need healing… I can find some herbs."

The elf shook his head, "No I'll be fine, I just need some rest…" he looked at the templar who was snoring quite loudly, "that spell won't last very long."

Jowan nodded as he approached Bran, kicking him in the side to make sure.

The templar let out a half snore and his head lolled to the side. Satisfied, Jowan began removing the sword, shield and small bottles of lyrium attached to Bran's supply belt.

Jowan turned to the elf, "Here."

The elf gladly accepted the small vial of lyrium and popped the cork off with his thumb, downing the blue potion in one gulp. Tossing the vial to the ground, the Dalish elf closed his eyes and began muttering words in a language Jowan could not understand.

A soft green light emanated from his hands and engulfed his entire body.

Jowan watched in awe, never had he seen or even heard of such magic before. The green light slowly dissipated into a thin mist, and the elf raised his hands above his head, stretching from side to side.

"That's better," he muttered.

Jowan watched as the elf approached Bran, removing a belt of rope from his waist, "Help me with this."

Jowan nodded, throwing the sword and shield over the hill into the ravine below before taking the rope and helping the strange elf tie up the Templar.

"What should we do with him?" the elf asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Jowan blurted out, his voice shakier than he realized.

"He's yours, you were the one who bested him."

Jowan looked at Bran, he wanted nothing more than to throw the templar into the ravine with the rest of his gear, but he shook his head, he wasn't going to hurt anyone, not anymore.

It's not what a good person would do, not what the man Lily loved would do.

Lily.

Jowan cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier, "I need to ask him some questions."

"You know him?"

The memories of that yellow, smug grin, the clank of his armor and that feeling of Bran's eyes always, always, watching. Always looking for any excuse to punish the mages under his charge.

Jowan had enjoyed watching Bran hit the ground when he escaped the circle, pity he hadn't died.

No, don't think that way.

Jowan shook his head, "He might know how to... help me find my someone."

The elf wrinkled his brow, but did not inquire further, "As you wish," the elf grasped the Templar's face, "I'll wake him."

Jowan nodded, "Ok."

A jolt of electricity shot out of the elf's fingertips, straight into Bran's temples, his eyes shot open and looked from the elf to Jowan, the stupid look of shock quickly replaced with anger.

"Jowan," Bran spat out his name like an insult, drooling bloody phlegm at his feet, the Templar attempted to lunge forward, but the ropes held firm.

Jowan quite enjoyed seeing Bran squirm, the Templar was even more helpless then he ever was as an apprentice.

"What happened to Lily?" Jowan blurted out, "And Kena, the mage who helped me escape?"

Bran snorted, "Why would I ever tell you?"

The elf punched Bran across the face, shocking Jowan, "You'll answer the man's questions... if you want to see morning."

Bran spit blood at the elf, "Fuck you."

Jowan quickly regained his composure and grabbed Bran by the collar of his armor, lifting him into an awkward sitting position, "Where are they? What happened?"

Bran laughed, "Dead, they're both dead, I ran them through personally."

"No!" Jowan yelled, fighting back tears.

"That Lily girl squealed like a nug when she died, Bran laughed, "you were always such a little bitch, crying and whining." He turned his gaze toward the elf, "Go ahead, finish me off, I don't care. There are ten more Templars trailing me and they'll gut the both of you."

"He's lying," the elf said. Wiping the templars bloody spit from his shirt.

Jowan turned to him, his vision blurred with tears, "What?"

Bran laughed, "Oh really? And how would you know? Reading my mind?" he mocked, snorting.

The elf approached the Templar again, kneeling in front of him, "Not yet."

The elf shoved his thumb into the Templar's mouth so quickly, Jowan barely had time to register what was happening before the elf just as quickly pulled his fingers from the Templar's mouth and smeared Bran's own bloody spit across his forehead.

Bran was momentarily silenced, but he recovered quickly, "Blegh! The fuck are you doing?" Bran attempted to wipe his mouth on his shoulder, and pull away from the elf's hands.

The elf grabbed Bran's face, forcing him to make eye contact as he continued scrawling the strange symbols on his face.

An unnatural calm spread suddenly spread across Bran's face.

The Templar's face began to contort and Jowan watched in horror as the blood the elf had smeared across his forehead began to sizzle and steam, an animalistic groan rattling out of Bran's throat. He was terrified and helpless, his expression an unnatural twist of fear and confusion.

The Templar was stubborn though, gritting his teeth until he could no longer handle it.

"STOP! STOP IT!" Jowan exclaimed, taking a step away from the two men before him.

Blood magic.

The elf smirked, but kept eye contact, his sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. "Humans, always so jumpy."

The groan coming from Bran's throat was becoming weaker, it sounded like every last bit of air in his lungs was being drawn out.

"Aeonar… prison..." the elf said aloud, he seemed to be reading the Templar like a blurry note, "alone."

The elf let go of Bran's face, letting him fall to the ground in a heap of pain.

Wiping the blood from his hands on the Templar's skirt, the Dalish turned to Jowan, "He's alone, and your friends are in a place called Aeonar." The elf stood up, "Now what do you want to do with him?"

Jowan's mouth was hanging open. He had heard the Dalish used blood magic. 'Filthy dirty heathens' Master Jarvis had called them.

But his- it was both terrifying and amazing to witness.

"I… leave him here I suppose," Jowan didn't want any more blood on his hands, though he really was curious to learn how the elf had managed to read the Templar's mind.

No, don't even think it.

Jowan shoved the thought away, Templars were trained specifically to resist mind control, but he supposed Dalish magic was probably something they weren't very versed in. The world was a big place, with ancient magic the circle could only dream of, or so he'd lamented with Kena as they both fantasized about running away.

"Just… leave him."

The elf raised an eyebrow, "To be eaten by wolves? Devoured by darkspawn? Would it not be more merciful to give him a swift death?"

Jowan swallowed the lump in his throat, "I… I won't hurt anyone else."

Bran sputtered, attempting futilely to sit up, "Do it you coward, I go to the Maker with a clean conscience, you and your filthy ilk will rot in hell."

The elf laughed, "Clean conscience? I don't ever recall delving into such a filthy mind."

Bran glared at the elf, "Maleficar."

"Please, just stop," Jowan pled, "I'll let you go if you leave and never return here."

The templar stared ahead, "Coward."

Jowan clenched his jaw, pulling out his staff, he cast another sleeping spell on the Templar before quickly removing the Templar's bindings and handed the rope back to the elf.

"This is ill advised," the elf said, taking the rope and wrapping it around his waist again, "He'll bring more of his kind to find you."

"It doesn't matter," Jowan responded, "They have no way of tracking either of us, and I'll be long gone by then."

"Where to?" the elf asked, retrieving his staff from the ground.

"The Aeonar," Jowan responded, "I need to find the Aeonar."

The elf seemed deep in thought for a moment before facing Jowan, "You saved me."

Jowan looked up, "Oh… I-" he was caught off guard by the abrupt change of tone, "don't mention it, it was nothing."

"It was my life," the Dalish elf responded. He placed the staff on his back and bowed his head toward Jowan, "I can help you, if you wish."

"Help me find the Aeonar?"

The elf nodded, "There are some of my people who may know where this place is. The Templar certainly did not."

Jowan rubbed at his temple, he had no other ideas on how to locate the mage prison, and it couldn't hurt to get help, "Thank you, I would much appreciate it."

The elf placed his hand on his chest, "My name is Galel, a pleasure to meet you… Jowan?"

He nodded, "Yes, though I've been telling people my name is Leyvn."

Galel nodded, "So which is it?"

Jowan gave one last look at the Templar, Bran had once put fear into his heart, but now he looked so small and pathetic he wondered how he could've ever feared him at all.

He wanted to remember Bran this way, crumpled in a pile of his own filth, and despite everything, it put a smile on his face.

"Just Jowan, but only between us, I'm sort of on the run from the Circle."

The elf laughed, his smile wide, "I gathered that!"

Jowan nervously laughed with him, though there was something wolfish in the elf's smile that twisted his stomach into a knot.

Galel pointed his staff toward the edge of the wilds, "My people will help, it's a few days from here."

Jowan nodded, "Thank you."

I'm coming Lily.

Thanks for reading so far! I'm also posting this on AO3, just a heads up.