Dragon Age Origins: A Grey Wardens Tale.
Chapter 6: Neria Surana Part 2.
The Undercroft was known to be a complex network of corridors and hidden rooms full of forbidden magical artefacts, tomes, Staffs and statues, but every door was locked either by key or Magic but even Neria had no idea as to what secrets lay in shadows just waiting to be unlocked but never will as long as The Templars ruled over the Tower's Rules with their iron-clad fists.
"Lily do you even have the slightest idea of where we are going? All I see are corridors that go on forever" Jowen spoke in a complaining tone of voice; the trio walking along the hallway for what felt like an hour but had truly been ten minutes.
"Really? Its clear as day to me… what about you Jowen?" Neria spoke up; having been walking down the same long boring torch-lit corridor for the same ten minutes as Jowen and Lily and all they'd passed were the locked doors that had been unlocked by Gregor previous to their own entry.
"I see long winding hallways too… but its these high dark roofs and the red eyes of these bats that bother me" Jowen spoke with hushed breath; recalling a nightmare he had had once not long after meeting Neria where he had been chased by Bats until they'd caught him and drained his very life essence from him leaving him as a lifeless husk, Neria knew of this dream and had comforted him in his moment of fear.
"What in Andraste's name are you… its Illusion Magic!" Neria spoke up in confusion of why Lily and Jowen were speaking of two drastically distinct experiences while all she saw was a corridor before the truth dawning on her like a coin hitting the cold hard floor.
"What's that?" Lily asked; making no attempt to feign her ignorance to the higher classes of Magic much less those that took an exceptionally long time to cast even for somebody as powerful as First Enchanter Irving.
"You two aren't full-fledged Mages so you cannot see The Undercroft's true layout like I can… you see illusions while I see the truth" Neria explained though she wished she didn't have to as the very concept of Illusion Magic was self-explanatory.
"It's a good thing you're here otherwise we'd have failed from the first step" Lily spoke with her kind smile; her eyes beaming with admiration and thanks of having a Mage of Neria's level and class even though she;d only just passed her Harrowing: she was still able to see through Illusions.
"Just follow me" Neria commented as she dismissed Lily's words; she was only present as per Irving's instructions but she still felt guilty for betraying their trust in her but the time for regrets was long past.
"I think we're here" Neria pointed out the sign hung next to a large locked door; the signing reading as: The Vault, over the years she'd overheard Templars speak on The Phylacteries of Apprentices who'd either failed their Harrowing's or broken Circle rules and had their Phylacteries used to force them into submission and that the objects were kept within a vault.
"I'm going to have to take your word for it Neria; all I see is a suit of armour" Jowen spoke dismissively; her voice giving away a hint of envy towards Neria's ability to see through Illusion Magic.
"I'll try it… darn; its locked" Neria muttered to herself; she'd made sure Irving and Gregor would have had enough time to unlock all the doors but this particular door would have been difficult to unlock and still remained undetected to Jowen or Lily.
"The door won't work; it has to be unlocked by Magic and Key held only by The First Enchanter and The Knight-Commander" Neria spoke; she knew about this particular lock as the two most highly ranked men in The Circle Tower wouldn't allow them to just stroll into the single most important room in The Undercroft but might have left a way around.
"Then we cannot get in this way" Lily spoke while clearly disheartened; their escape plan faltering by a mere locked door.
"We'll find a way in through The Relic Chamber" Neria spoke; reading off a directional sign that seemed to have hastily set up to direct them to the aforementioned chamber, Neria smiling as Irving had set up a route for them to use; heading down the path to the next door that Jowen and Lily saw a solid wall until Neria stepped through revealing the doorway to their eyes.
The Relic Chamber was surprisingly large and home to an alarming number of artefacts; ranging from Statues of Demons, Mages and even one of a Mabari facing a rickety bookcase, Paintings that appeared to move when stared at for any length of time, Suits of Armour and flowing Robes that tempted Neria to wear due to their sheer appearance, but what stood out to Neria was a long Blackwood Staff within a sealed glass stand, The Staff seemingly calling to her like the Staff itself desired to be wielded by a Mage like Neria.
"What is all this stuff? Its so old and dusty" Jowen stated exactly what he was thinking; his senses feeling overwhelmed by the magical energies within this room, artefacts and weapons waiting for use, ancient tomes with secrets long buried and forgotten by generations of Mages, Jowen's eyes resting on a Sword with a scarlet jewel set into the hilt.
"I have no idea since The Sisters nor The Tranquil are allowed down here so nothing gets cleaned" Lily spoke up; wiping her fingers along a row of old and dusty books where the pages had long since turned yellow with age, the Sister flinching as the pages of one book sliced her finger inflicting a papercut.
"Neria?" Jowen spoke up; trying to get Neria's attention but she seemed transfixed on a sealed Blackwood Staff, walking over and placing his hand on her shoulder in order to snap her out of her fascination.
"Hmm? Sorry I was miles away" Neria apologised; as soon as she took her eyes off the Staff her thoughts were once her own again.
"Any ideas on how to get through to The Vault? I'm guessing the far wall will get us in if we can break through it though that will take tremendous force" Jowen spoke up; gazing at the wall with the rickety old Bookcase leaning against it, the odd crack in the wall showing signs of a blue light seeping through.
Neria eyed the far wall; a number of Statues and Paintings lined the walls except for one section that had an empty bookcase leaning against it with the Mabari Statue directly facing it, Neria noticed that The Mabari Statue had its maw open and a slot in the back of the head for something to be inserted.
"This hole in The Mabari Statue is just big enough to fit that Fire Rod into… we could use it blow up the wall and gain entry to The Vault!" Lily spoke up; having crouched down to examine The Mabari Statue, catching Jowen's eye and giving him a smile as they neared their goal even more.
"Either that or a Fireball Spell" Jowen chimed in; looking to Neria with expectation due to her skill at controlling Primal Spells.
"Irving… you clever old man" Neria thought to herself; figuring that this would be their only option to get inside their intended destination and the noise created by such an explosion would alert The Templars to their progress and give a sign as to the plan's own progress.
"We'll use that Fire Rod you stole from Owain… might as well make use of it" Neria spoke with a tone of distain in her voice as she watched Jowen lift a cloth-wrapped Fire Rod from the sleeve of his robes, observing as he unwrapped the object and slid it into the hole in the head of The Mabari Statue with surprising ease.
As soon as Jowen's Fire Rod had been inserted into the slot; The Mabari Statue's jaw flashed with a deep red as flames spilled out from its mouth accompanied by searing heat, Neria thrust up her Staff and casting her Arcane Shield: a glittering golden wall of Magic rose between the group and the flames as a rolling ball of fire burst out from The Statue's jaw before exploding into a cloud of dust, stone and splintered wood.
"It worked?!" Jowen and Lily spoke in unison; their hands held together as their fingers laced around each other's in anticipation of their actions impending results.
"Of course it did… everything in The Relic Chamber is dangerous in untrained hands" Neria spoke with a matter-of-fact tone of voice; waiting until the cloud of dust settled before trying to step through and for good reason as stone after stone tumbled down and would likely have struck their heads if they'd hurried.
The wall that had once been covered up with a rickety old and empty bookcase had been blown away and now shone with the blue light of the adjoining room: The Vault, Neria stared in awe of the room's beckoning light while Jowen and Lily rushed in past her only concerning themselves with their own objective in destroying Jowen's Phylactery.
The Vault felt larger than it actually was; a small blue-lit chamber where the walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of Phylacteries: small glass vials containing a sample of blood from every Apprentice Mage who lived within the walls of The Circle Tower, numbering of at least a hundred as Jowen stared at the rows upon rows.
"Where do you think it is?" Jowen asked; staring in wonder as he gazed upon the walls lined with various Phylacteries from other Apprentices all of whom avoided him like he was a walking plague.
"Spread out… try and find Jowen's Phylactery" Lily said as she dashed off to the closest wall of glass vials and began search each parchment tag one by one, eventually moving from one wall to another and searching the vials on that wall with surprising speed.
"How will we know which it is?" Jowen stuttered at the daunting task; staring at the sheer number as there had to be at least a hundred Phylacteries within The Vault.
"It'll have a parchment tag tied to it with Jowen's name written" Neria cut in; speaking for the first time since entering The Vault, her eyes merely watching as Jowen began searching another wall for several minutes while Lily moved from her wall and stepped up a few steps to a raised platform where a decorated alter stood.
"I found it!" Lily called out; lifting the glass vial from a pedestal decorated with a red velvet cloth and golden candlesticks lit with flickering blue flames; the vial casting a ghostly light when held in hand with the light of blue flames illuminating the chamber, Jowen dashing towards Lily with inhuman speed unlike anything Neria had ever seen from her friend as he snatched it from Lily's beckoning hand where she too was surprised by his speed.
"Jowen please… give it to me for safe keeping until we escape" Neria spoke calmly in hopes of getting the plan back on track; her resolve to claim the Phylactery shaken as soon as she saw the haunting expression on Jowen's face.
"Such a fragile little thing… to think that this glass vial is what The Templars use to hold the power of life and death over us Mages" Jowen spoke with a wistful voice; holding the glass vial with only his fingers while giving it a turn and watching the sample of his own blood that flowed within the glass, his eyes turning from their normal broken to blood red again as he blinked only for that colour-change to vanish.
"Jowen… I beg you to give that to me! We'll destroy it in front of Gregor! Imagine the look on his face when their only means of tracking us is gone" Neria repeated; holding out her left hand in beckoning gesture for Jowen to give the fragile object to her.
"No I think not Neria; though I thinks it's a good idea to destroy it in front of Gregor's eyes but I'd rather be rid of it now" Jowen spoke with a haunting smile; tipping his hand as he dropped the glass vial to the floor before raising his left foot and smashing the Phylactery under his foot leaving only shards of glass and a small puddle of the blood contained within spreading from under his shoe.
Neria and Lily stood in shock as Jowen seemingly shimmer with Mana; the bright red flash in his eyes as the blood from his own Phylactery stained the stone tiled floors under his shoe appeared and vanished within a single second.
"We're only one step away from freedom my love…" Jowen spoke; his voice alarmingly calm after such a display of his seemingly darker Magical Aura, Lily moving towards him and taking his hands in her own while Neria stared silently at Jowen; the image of Jowen's red eyes seared into her mind.
"The quickest way is back through the main chamber and out the front door; the noise we created in The Relic Chamber should give us a clear route" Neria answered the rest of Jowen's sentence for him; her voice flat and no-nonsense while her expression was stern as she wanted to get out of The Undercroft as quickly as possible as she didn't like the cold feel down in its corridors.
"Wait… don't you want to destroy your own while we're here?" Jowen spoke up; his gleeful expression not faded at all as the chains that bound him to The Circle were now broken and so The Templars had almost no power to control him anymore.
"My Phylactery won't be here anymore Jowen… it'll have been transported to Denerim once my Harrowing was announced to be kept safe in another Vault; most likely Fort Drakon" Neria spoke flatly; her eyes gazing at Jowen with suspicion as her mind danced with the rumours that Jowen might truly be a Blood Mage though she still denied the thoughts.
"I agree; Fort Drakon makes the most sense as its not only a powerful fortress but also a fearsome prison" Lily said as a chill ran down her spine at the mere mention of Fort Drakon as nearly everybody in Ferelden feared being locked up in that place for its supposedly gruesome torture chambers and cruel treatment of prisoners.
"Let's just get out of here" Neria stated as she turned to the main door that led into The Vault; turning the handle and opening door as if it had never been locked, Jowen and Lily both struggling to hold in their joy as a seemingly never-ending stroke of good luck was running in their favour.
Jowen and Lily followed Neria as she opened the main door from the inside of The Vault finding the door unlocked, eyeing the pair behind her as they both smiled widely in excitement of their new life rather than being concerned with the locked door having been unlocked during their time in The Relic Chamber; following the path down the illusion riddled corridors until reaching the stairway back up into the Main Hall.
"Ready Jowen? We're almost free" Lily spoke as she paused before taking the first step on the last stairway; offering her left hand to Jowen's right.
"Indeed I am My Love… one last step to take" Jowen answered; his hand taking Lily's as they took the first step up the stairway out from The Undercroft and towards what they believed to be their freedom.
Neria said nothing as she knew that Irving and Gregor would be waiting at the top of these stairs; forcing herself to smile as she puling the door open only for Jowen and Lily to both push past her in their bid for freedom only for the sounds of their gasps of shock when they ascended the stairs.
"What is the meaning on this?" Jowen muttered; shocked as Gregor and Irving stood with their Sword and Staff held at the ready, the elderly Revered Mother standing in stunned shock as one of her own Sisters had indeed been romancing a Mage and was not under any magical influence, two Templar Knights stood with their swords drawn and barricading their path to the Main Doors alongside The Grey Warden: Ser Dalila who stood with her own Staff in-hand.
"Jowen… I'm sorry but your plan was foolish; no matter what you did you still would have been caught" Neria spoke from behind Jowen and Lily; both individuals turning and staring at her in shock a she stood in the way of them running back down into The Undercroft as the doors swung shut and locked themselves by Magic.
"Neria… how could you do this… you sold me out?!" Jowen stuttered his words in the face of Neria's true allegiances; his brow furrowing in his rising anger towards Neria and her turncoat actions.
"Apprentice Jowen, you are accused of studying and performing the forbidden art of Blood Magic, do you have anything to confess?" The Revered Mother spoke; her voice croaky with her great age as she stood with a slight hunch in her posture.
"No! you are lying! Jowen would never dive into the darkness like that" Sister Lily shouted; sidestepping in-between Jowen and the two advancing Templar Knights both of whom hesitated in raising their blades in shock of witnessing Lily's loyalty to Jowen.
"Sister Lily! Stand aside or you will share in his fate! The Rite of Tranquillity can be performed on Non-Mages too" Gregor barked; pausing to let his threat sink int the shocked minds of Lily and Jowen, the silence broken by Jowen's sudden outburst.
"No! you will not arrest me or tear away my humanity! I won't be a soulless shell of a man!" Jowen suddenly screamed and breaking the silence; extracting a small Knife from the folds of his Apprentice Robes and slashed at his left hand, his eyes flashing red again as his own blood gushed from his hand with unnatural speed before forming into a large clawed hand composed entirely of blood; Jowen's face curling into a wicked smile as the brown of his eyes as he turned his attack first to The Templars as well as The Revered Mother of The Circle, the rivers of blood striking the two Knights in the gaps of their Armour and The Mother in the chest; grinning widely as his Blood Claw extracted the very blood from their bodies allowing him to grow stronger before leaving all three victims to burn into nothing more than blackened piles of ashes in an instant.
"Dear Maker…" Gregor spoke as he watched in horror as Jowen extracted the very blood and life essence from his own Knights as well as The Revered Mother of The Circle; his gloved hands drawing the straight-laced blade of his Broadsword but the sound of the metal blade being drawn drew Jowen's attention.
"You pathetic excuse for a Templar… you've looked down on me for the last time!" Jowen grinned from ear-to-ear as his voice sounded like two beings speaking in unison: Jowen and something otherworldly, the rivers of Blood drawn from his victims warping into a series of tentacle-like tendrils that formed into an enormous clawed hand aimed at Gregor.
"Get down Gregor!" shouted two voices; a pair of Staffs jutting out from behind Gregor's armoured body as a golden shield erected itself between The Knight-Commander and Jowen's Blood Claw, Irving and Dalila both casting their Arcane Shield's in defence of The Knight-Commander, the rivers of blood clashing against the shields with a resonating boom that sent Irving crashing to the ground due to his old age and Gregor down to his knees as the Blood Claw slashed through the Arcane Shield's and stabbing him through his armour.
"Jowen… stop this right now! or you'll face me next!" Neria shouted; her Staff held at the ready as Jowen turned to meet her eyes and halting his attack on Gregor before his Blood Claws could pierce any of Gregor's vitals but left him bleeding on the ground alongside a knocked down Irving.
"Neria?! Are you standing between me and freedom?!" Jowen screeched; his voice wavering between his own and a ghastly voice of murderous intent as he turned his Blood Claw towards Neria, the blood flowing within the Claw rippled and coursed fiercely as if it reflected the burning hatred Jowen now felt towards her.
Neria bit her lip; her Staff held tightly as it was now more than apparent to Jowen where Neria stood, her actions finally making sense to him as the time she'd been gone after telling her of the plan to her agreeing, her insistence on not destroying the Phylactery until exiting The Tower's walls, he knew Neria had chosen The Circle over her friend.
"Betrayer!" Jowen screeched as he turned his Blood Claw Spell to Neria; the Claw splitting apart as torrents of blood arcing through the air just as Neria raised her Staff; the jewel set into the head gleaming with her Mana before exploding outward with a frigid white mist that instantaneously froze the rivers of blood in mid-air.
"Winter's Grasp!" Neria spoke with a simple exhale; her breath turning to steam in the cold environment she'd created with a single Spell, turning her stance from defensive to offensive as she struck the frozen river of Blood with the head of her own Staff and causing the frozen liquid to shatter into millions of tiny shards with a quick and simple Arcane Bolt Spell.
"Impressive…" Dalila spoke lowly; grinning to herself as she watched Neria take on a Blood Mage singlehandedly when combat with such a powerful Mage would typically ensure a quick death but she was handling herself well even though her opponent was also her friend.
"Bitch…" Jowen grimaced as he spotted that not only the blood drawn from his own body but that of the two Templar Knights and The Revered Mother had been rendered useless by Neria's masterful combination of Spells but his own feet had also been frozen to the floor thus immobilising him.
"It's over Jowen; turn yourself in now and maybe they'll let you live" Neria spoke; her voice hardened and resolved to stop her former friend now that he'd exposed his true nature, her inner most thoughts that of how betrayed she also felt after believing him over The First Enchanter.
"Never!" Jowen yelled; his bleeding hand clenching as flames burst into life around him, the ice holding his feet rapidly melting before spreading into a wall of fire that barred the path for all but Jowen himself and Sister Lily.
"Jowen… you…" Lily began to speak; her fear causing her to stutter her words as beads of a terrified cold sweat beaded on her brow having borne witness to Jowen's murder of two Knights and her Revered Mother.
"Lily please… come with me so we can be free of this Tower's restraints like we've always wished for and desired above all else! It'll be just like we dreamed!" Jowen spoke; his voice changing back to his normal tone but with a hopeful glimmer as he held out his hand to Lily to beckon her into their new life away from The Circle Tower.
"No… you swore to me that the rumours were false, that the whispers were groundless… you lied to me!" Lily swatted her hand at Jowen's own and batted him away; rejecting Jowen's plea and shattering his feelings for her.
Jowen didn't speak; glancing over as Gregor was rising to his feet and recovering from the magical attack he'd suffered, Irving remained flat on the floor while Ser Dalila had a shield raised between herself, Irving and Gregor protecting them from Jowen's Spells, cursing his predicament Jowen chose to run; slashing his hand with the knife once more before blasting the main door open and vanishing out into the darkness of night.
Neria stood watching in silence as Lily rejected Jowen and causing him to leave; it pained her to let him go but she felt it was better that he escaped than to be subjected to The Rite of Tranquillity or executed where he stood once Gregor was back on his feet.
"Gregor… are you alright?" Irving asked; rising shakily to his feet, it was rare that Irving showed his age but even rarer for him to show concern for Gregor.
"Knight-Commander allow me to heal you" Dalila dropped down to her knees once her own Arcane Shield dispelled; her hands hovering over the damaged armour as a pale green light radiated from her hands, the light seeping down through Gregor's Armour to heal his wounds.
"Let me help too!" Neria rushed over as once Jowen had left The Inlet causing his Wall Of Fire dissipated instantly leaving only the smell of burnt ozone and scorched stone floors; her hands glowing with the same pale green healing light as she too healed Gregor's wounds allowing The Knight-Commander to rise back to his feet.
"Blasted Andraste! That Blood Mage escaped! Why didn't you stop him?" Gregor cursed in frustration upon noticing that Jowen was not bound in chains of iron or those of Magic.
"I'm sorry… I just couldn't end the life of my friend" Neria confessed; turning her head down in shameful regret not noticing how Lily was staring at her with shock and appalment of her decision to not only fool Jowen and her into trusting her only to turn them in before escaping.
"As admirable as that may be… it was the wrong choice, But it is apparent that we were too late to stop Jowen but he cannot have gotten far" Irving spoke calmly; letting out a groan as his old bones clicked and ached, with his own Staff held as support he surprisingly agreed with Gregor.
"And his Phylactery has been destroyed so we have no means of tracking him down!" Gregor shouted in Irving's face; annoyed at Neria's failure to secure the very artefact necessary to capture a rogue Mage and force him into submission.
"I'm sorry; Jowen got to the vial before I could and crushed it underfoot" Neria confessed; her plans had been to claim the Phylactery for herself to use as collateral so Jowen would be arrested more peacefully but those plans had been dashed away as soon as Jowen exposed himself with Blood Magic.
"Worry not Neria; you did well enough though it is regrettable" Irving spoke calmly even though the vicious attack from Jowen had nearly cost him his life.
"I apologise for interrupting this situation but I still need a Recruit for The Grey Wardens; I'd be happy to take that disgraced Sister if no Mages have stepped forward" Dalila spoke as she stepped forward and stood beside Irving; her eyes laying on Neria initially but shifting towards Sister Lily as she sat crouched down with her back against the wall and her face in her hands awaiting her own fate.
"I'm afraid not Ser Dalila; one of our Mages has already volunteered themselves for the honour of leaving us for The Grey Wardens" Irving spoke drawing not only Dalila's attention but also Gregor's as he too was curious as to who would actually volunteer themselves to The Grey Wardens ranks.
"A volunteer?! That has never happened! So who is it?" Dalila felt taken aback that somebody within the walls of The Circle of Magi would choose the uncertain fate of a Grey Warden over a life of pseudo-imprisonment under the watchful eyes of Templar Knights.
"Me! I shall be going with you Ser Dalila" Nera stepped forward; tapping the butt of her Staff on the floor as Dalila gazed upon her with stunned surprise but smiled upon recognising that Neria was the same Mage that had eavesdropped on her earlier in the evening.
"You? I won't deny your skill as a Mage is very similar to that of Irving here and there is much untapped power left to uncover… are you sure you wish to be a Warden?" Dalila spoke carefully so not to scare a promising recruit away when there were risks to becomes a Grey Warden.
"I do; I betrayed the trust of my dearest friend for this opportunity and I won't back down from it now" Neria spoke strongly; her eye catching those of Sister Lily who looked to her with an expression of a broken heart from Jowen's true nature and disgust in Neria's course of action.
"It saddens me to watch such a promising Mage leave our Circle; but I wish you the best of luck for what is to come" Irving spoke carefully; holding Neria's left hand and pressing a Scroll he'd been holding with him since she'd emerged from The Undercroft.
"Neria; you fought well even though your enemy was your friend, be careful on your chosen road" Gregor spoke and surprising Neria greatly by not only using her name but also offering her a hand, her right hand taking his and shaking it in farewell.
"Come Neria; we are to meet with Duncan and Claude before riding due south to Ostagar along with their own recruits" Dalila spoke quickly like she didn't desire to waste any more time on goodbyes; beckoning Neria to step over the boundary of the main doors.
Neria gave a wordless no of her head; her Staff held tightly in-hand as she gave one last look around The Circle: the blackened marks of the floor where two Templar Knights and a Chantry Mother vanished under Jowen's Blood Claw Spell, Gregor and Irving retreating to likely discuss the matters of the evening and organise a search for Jowen's trail, snapping back to reality as she was finally not only leaving The Circle but the whole world was now calling to her and she gladly took the first step onwards.
Author's Note: And so ends the origins of our three stars! I wanted to use the three Origins Stories I enjoyed most in DA:O but they won't be the only ones appearing as one more will be making an originally unexplored appearance on the story much later but until then we have their first meeting coming up next.
