Act 1: Alliance of the Grey

Chapter 15: Revelations

AN: As I've stated before, this takes place in an Alternate Universe. I'm putting this here because, well, you will see things that don't actually happen in the Dragon Age lore occur here. Let's just say that the suggestive themes and the Alternate Universe of this story all play into each other. Oh yeah. And you won't know what I mean right now, but you will later, so... I'm sorry for putting the image in your brains. Kind of. Enjoy. ;)

Another thing I have to ask of you is your forgiveness. Due to what's been going on in the last year, the reworking of the whole story and such, some things may be a bit... shakey? Just be alert that some things may not match up to what was previously stated and such. Just a head's up. :) Enjoy!

It was a battle fueled by nothing more than rage. For the Logosha, they were tearing apart their cousins limb from limb because it was the demand of their Dark Mother, and because Shadow compelled them to follow his will. For the Warden, it was for the preservation of all Thedas. For the Darkspawn... It was because their Archdemon's desire to conquer all of the world. The battlefield was occurring over farmland on the Imperial Highway. Or rather, what little remained of farmland. Shadow led the Logosha into battle to hold back the Blight's advance, knowing that it was a mission doomed to fail, as the horde would just keep on marching forth until their temporary obstacle fell. Then they'd march onto whatever goal was set before them again by their master. But his own victory was not in the Warden's interests. No, the only victory this battle would accomplish was the temporary delay of the advancing Blight, so that victory may later be achieved.

Their battlefield was chosen on grounds that didn't pose any real strategical value for any side. If anything, the Darkspawn had it better than Shadow and his 'men.' In a retreat, they would have fire raining down upon them from the Genlock and Hurlock archers, whilst being chased by the Shrieks and other mindless creatures. Shadow had no intent on running. The Blight advanced slowly. What they were facing now was close to a thousand Darkspawn, the first of many waves to come. These Darkspawn were more than likely those that had raided Lothering, the remnants of whatever wave of Darkspawn had seized Ostagar. They were all battle hardened. That was a fact Shadow and the Logosha could tell by the markings on their armor. They hadn't stopped their charge Northward on the highway.

A thousand Darkspawn. A staggering number that would have easily crushed any Human, Dwarf, or Elvish army of the same size of Shadow's warband. But the Warden's warband comprised of him; a seasoned veteran who could call upon not only blade but magic to serve his will, and the Logosha; Darkspawn who were brought up much differently than their cousins. Influenced by demonic power, and made stronger and smarter through such rituals. They thought for themselves. Acted for themselves... but they followed their Dark Mother and any who possessed the original powers that created them. Of course, those that had stronger command in such powers than the Dark Mother would be able to outrank her easily.

Already the battleground was covered in black blood and corpses. Body parts and guts strewn across the place much like a mad artist's depiction of slaughter. The land underneath them on which they fought: dead. The very air they breathed colder than that of most winters, and filled with the scent of rot and foul. There was no stopping for either of the sides, not yet at least. The vanguard of the Blight would be demolished, and then Shadow would order the retreat. It was either the destruction of the thousand Darkspawn, or the death of Shadow and his Logosha. Either way, it would be a delay long enough to allow the other Wardens to get further in their progressions. He just hoped it would be long enough for it to make any true difference.

The fighting droned on and on for what felt like a lifetime, but in reality was only two and a half hours of intense labor. There was no rest when going up against a force nearly thrice the size of your own. Shadow's forces had taken a beating within those short two and a half hours. What had once been a barracks-full of Logosha was now a mere fifteen. The first attack, the first thousand of the Darkspawn were dispatched with haste, but at the time Shadow had the element of surprise. The Darkspawn weren't expecting an attack from the West upon their march North. Such a thing was a boon for Shadow, but it was highly situational. That much was known now as the remaining one hundred were now placed up against the remaining sixteen.

Bodies had been scorched. Countless litres of blood had been spilled. It was the thing of legends. Only much more horrid in comparison to the often romanticized depictions of battles. Everything was foul about this. The smell, the feelings, the sounds, the taste... and yes, Shadow had his fair share of his own blood dropping onto his tongue. His helmet had been all but saved from the skirmish. Grabbed off of him after getting grappled by one of the Ogres, it had been crushed and sent flying at him like some sort of projectile hunk of scrap. That Ogre was now perhaps the largest of the fires burning on the fields that had once been farmland.

Soon their numbers dwindled down. Fifteen Logosha turned to twelve. Twelve turned to ten. One hundred Darkspawn to fifty. Fifty to thirty. Thirty to ten. Ten to one.

The Logosha watched as their leader faced the final Darkspawn, a Hurlock Emissary that was much more than a magic wielder. Like Shadow, it seemed to take a fascination with blades and melee combat. Something that had the potential to catch the Warden off his guard, but with how slow the Emissary was to employ such tactics as well with how fast Shadow adapted to battlefield conditions it was a moot point. Their blades clashed, and the both of them dodged each other's spells. It was quite the show for the Logosha. The Emissary then got a lucky hit in, though a blade had a hard time cutting through reinforced metal plate. A mistake the Darkspawn would not be repeating in its lifetime, as it was now forfeit.

Shadow snarled before backhanding the creature and cutting its sword-hand off, then the other hand which held its wicked staff. The Warden then sent his blade into the ground beside him whilst he grabbed the Darkspawn and delivered a royal beating to it, smashing its face with his plated fists, and even kneeing its gut. As a final act of brutality, Shadow quickly headbutted the Hurlock, and with his magic he suspended the creature from falling forward whilst allowing the Hurlock to eye the scene up. Fresh blood had covered Shadow's hands and knee now, blood from the Hurlock who was bleeding rather severely from its nose, mouth, ears, and even its left eye.

What the creature saw would have frightened any other being out there, whether it be a Qunari or Elf. Shadow took his sword, and with the same magic suspended it upright. Then he backed off and with the flourish of his hands, the Darkspawn's life was cut short as the magic had released it to the mercy of the blade. And that very blade went straight through the cretin's skull. Like an arrow for the best archer, it lodged between the Emissary's eyes.

Shadow huffed before kicking it over onto its back and retrieved his sword from the skull before looking up at the Logosha who remained. Mostly all of them were wounded save for three. Shadow didn't like the thought of wounded Logosha. Especially not when they had to move. Without a care, his eyes started to glow red yet again, and the three Logosha turned to their allies, and before they could react they had cut their wounded companions down where they stood.

"Good." Shadow muttered before spitting on the ground, his eyes returning to normal. "Let's go before another thousand arrive."

"Yes, Lord." The Alpha of that specific group acknowledged proudly as he and the other two followed Shadow closely. "What are our orders now? Where are we going?"

"We're beginning our journey back to Castle Cousland where we can rest up. You no longer take orders from Ysil, you understand me? You obey me, and me alone. If I even hear you talk about her I will cut your heads off." Shadow snarled as he looked back at them, "I will not tolerate the possibility of either of you betraying me. I will not tolerate any of you disobeying my orders."

"Understood." The warrior said.

"You have our word, which is our lives." The final Logosha, an archer, reassured their master.

It had been quite some time since the battle. Hours, even, and they needed rest. The Logosha were much more resilient than any man, but they still required proper upkeep if they were to keep going at peak efficiency. So the Warden decided to have everyone set up a small disposable camp made of materials that could be dismantled in a moment's notice. They were more than likely being hunted by some of the Darkspawn's trackers. Shrieks and Hurlocks specifically meant for the art of tracking people down. The Archdemon wouldn't let such a blow get away without proper punishment first, after all. Shadow wasn't afraid, though, and neither were the three Logosha. There was nothing to fear. The Archdemon couldn't pursue them by itself yet. It hadn't even shown itself. And had it done so, the chances of it taking the time out of its day to hunt down Shadow was rather low for the moment. It truly confused Shadow how many were still questioning if this was even a Blight or not. Idiots.

Once the camp was created they started their meals and prepared some water from a local source for consumption. Even the Logosha had to eat and drink to stay alive. Many misconceptions arose about the Darkspawn. Their need to eat and drink could be quenched in a variety of different ways that a human's couldn't. At least, no one alive had tried to find other ways to quench their hunger and thirst. Cannibalism wasn't exactly the most smiled-upon thing one could do. Anyone would kill you if they found out. But for the Darkspawn? Often times cannibalism meant survival. The strongest ate the weakest, just like what was observed frequently in the animal kingdoms around Thedas.

Fish, bread, cheese, and jerky was what was on the menu for all of them. Such things were the only rations left to them. Due to their relative proximity to Castle Cousland, however, Shadow didn't see any reason to ration out those food items strictly. Why would there be a reason for such a thing? They would reach the Castle before noon of the next day.

Whilst they prepared their food, Shadow sat down and looked their leader in the eyes, huffing as he did so. The Warden's face had a new scar on it, he had found, one jutting straight down his cheek. It was painful... but he had worse. As a man who could wield magic, his own spells when he had learned them to the extent he had, sometimes backfired on him. His arms were scorched pretty decently, though not to the extent they could have been.

The Logosha Alpha huffed before taking a drink from his water, his helmet removed and placed down by his feet. "My Lord... I sense you have a question for me. What is it?"

"What has Ysil ordered you to do?" Shadow asked, "She wouldn't risk coming up to the surface if it wasn't worth it, meaning she has a plan for something. And since her mother raised her, I could only assume that thing she's intending to do is to take the throne at Denerim."

"You would be correct." The Alpha stated with a twisted smile, "But it doesn't stop there. Her will is to acquire the throne with the Cousland boy, and then take over the rest of Thedas. Kingdom-by-kingdom. But who knows? Her ideas may change with time."

Shadow then retorted, "Doubtful. Her mother engraved this into her mind. There is no way she is backing down for no reason."

"And you don't intend to give her a reason, Lord? I would have thought that someone like you would have a plan for everything." The Alpha stated with a chuckle, taking a bite from it's bread before speaking again with a mouthful. "If you seek her to stop her current course, might I recommend confronting her and demonstrating your power in front of her?"

"Hah! You make it sound like I'm going to challenge her to a fight!" The man laughed, taking a bite of jerky before nodding and speaking whilst chewing. "You are right though. I should demonstrate my power to her. Show her that I am the one in charge, and that she can't do anything to stop me. Maybe sever her link with her mother? Make her-"

"I would not go that far." The Alpha cautioned, "Just turn her from her current path. Make her serve you and not herself or the Creator."

Shadow then chuckled again, "I'm not going to lie. I wouldn't have expected such words of wisdom coming from something that is unnatural to this world."

"We merely live to serve..." The Alpha stated proudly, "But we are not without a conscience. That is what separates us from our cousins serving the Archdemon. We should lead them, as you lead us. The Archdemons are relics from the past that have no place in the world any longer. Something we all know since our births."

The Warden then nodded before gazing into the fire, breathing in the scent of the burning wood. He knew so much about Ysil. About her mother. About her father. But he would never be able to enlighten her on such topics. At least, not completely. He could definitely inform her about how her mother was only out for herself, and was planning on using her as nothing more than a vessel for her return to the mortal world. How Ysizx planned on coming back once her daughter took the throne of Denerim. Something that had been more or less prophesied by the Logosha's upper council. A council that Shadow knew he'd have to dismantle if he wanted Ysil to change her way of thinking. The eldest of the Logosha wouldn't be willing to allow Ysil to fall from Ysizx's wishes, and that posed a threat to all of Thedas. The life of every Dwarf, Elf, and Human relied on what Shadow chose to do with the Logosha. It depended on what Shadow chose to do with Ysil.

Then he snapped his eyes away from the fire, looking the Alpha in the eyes again. "What do you think of the Council of Elders?"

"Weak. Arrogant. They think that because they are still alive after so many years without a Blight, that they are somehow stronger than us. That they command us. It is time for new leadership amongst the Logosha, but until those old relics crumble... there is no room. And we cannot do it ourselves, as it would spark unrest amongst our brothers. The bleeding would be internal." The Alpha stated with a bitter tone, "They ritualistically slaughter our Broodmothers due to some made up incentive that they produce weaker offspring after the twentieth brood..."

Shadow nodded slowly, "So they have stopped giving the breeding rights to the members of the Council?" He inquired.

The Alpha nodded, "There were increasing complications with the children the Elders were giving out. As a result they blamed the Broodmothers and started the ritualistic murders, and stated that only the bravest and strongest of our warriors could mate with them in their place." He informed the man with a guttural snarl, "It was all a ploy. The warriors they select often times aren't even selected because they have survived countless battles. They are often selected because they have different opinions than the rest of us; they conform to the ideals of the Elders, and thus they are rewarded for their 'accomplishments.' Their seed isn't worth the dung of the Nugs... They violate the Broodmothers who should have worthy mates giving off worthy offspring full of strong seed to impregnate them later should they survive battle and earn such an honor!"

"Why hasn't this created a war amongst you all?" The man inquired.

"The Dark Mother, and Gruk." The Alpha stated, "They bind us together. Without them, there would be a war. The Dark Mother makes sure that the Elders don't completely overstep their boundaries, whilst Gruk reminds us that not even we are eternal. The Elders grow weaker by the day. Soon... Soon, within the next sixty years we will get a new Council. But sixty years is too much!"

"Mhm. Mhm." Shadow stated as he took a drink of water to wash the final piece of jerky down, "I concur with you. That's why I'm thinking we make a return journey to your home. Kill the Council, replace it with people we can trust. Then Ysil will have no other option than to bow before me, and her new Council of Elders."

The warrior then huffed, amused, "The Elders are guarded by the elite of the elite. The same Logosha who guard Ysil. There's no way we're going to be able to pull that off without losing our heads."

"I can dominate all Logosha minds. They will have no option than to surrender, or perish...and as you all love to state; you have intelligence." Shadow replied with a smile, "Trust me. I can get us what we need. I just need the help of you three to do it. We can change our course, cover our tracks, and then head to your home if you'd like. Dealing with the Dark Mother, as you call her, comes later..."

The Alpha thought about this for a moment before nodding, "Let's do it. We stand beside you."

Shadow grinned, rather pleased with himself. "Good." Was all he muttered before going back to eating and staring into the fire silently.

"Why are our Logosha missing, Ysil?" Aedan asked as he looked the woman dead in the eyes, "One hundred-fifty humanoids do not go missing in an instant!"

Ysil shook her head, biting her lip as she honestly looked confused, "I cannot say, Lord Cousland... I cannot detect them anywhere. It's like they were severed from me completely. If I could find them, I would honestly tell you! I have no reason to hide the location of those who serve us both!"

Aedan sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, shifting in the throne that had once been sat upon by his father. "Well, we need to locate them. I will not have a rogue group of one hundred-fifty Logosha roaming my lands. We will find them, and we will put them out of our misery. There is no tolerance for those who will not obey commands. They are not like my men. They are not Humans. They're barely better than the trash we're facing coming from the South."

Gruk then snarled, unable to hold back as he took a step towards Aedan. "You take that back, Human piece of hyszna!"

"Gruk..." Ysil said gently, "Relax. Although blunt, he has a point. You know for a fact that Logosha are not known to follow punishments. That is why those who break minors rules are placed on the front lines, and those who break major rules are executed. They just deserted. They've broken one of the biggest laws we have in place. Thus, the only punishment they shall get is the cold sting of a sword cutting through their flesh."

Gruk huffed as he eyed Ysil, but backed down as she had requested. "Just make sure this whelp knows that we bleed and die for him. We demand respect because of that."

Aedan was rather amused by the creature's outburst. It seemed that they did have autonomy. That was something he had underestimated in them. He assumed them all to be pathetic creatures that could only follow orders a bit more intelligently than their Darkspawn cousins. It would seem that they could follow orders as well as feel. Interesting indeed.

"I apologize for my unintentional insult, Gruk, it's just that I have seen nothing more than the rabble of your lot. I trust not all Logosha are like this. I trust that the majority of you are the exact opposites of what I had unintentionally labeled you all as prior." Aedan stated as he looked at his hand as it rest on the arm of the throne, then placing his eyes on Ysil. "You don't think the Warden has anything to do with their disappearance, do you? He seems to be absent as well. His dog is here. That's about it."

"I don't see how a Warden would have anything close to the power that is required to command the Logosha." Ysil replied honestly, "He isn't exactly the most spectacular man. Mainly because he plays himself to be bigger than he actually is. It's quite cute, honestly."

Aedan nodded, "A simple no would have sufficed. Personally, I think he has something to do with the disappearance. Whether he orchestrated it or is simply a part of it. He hasn't been seen since the Logosha went missing."

"Then we prevent his return unless other evidence is there to tell us that he hasn't done anything against us, Lord Cousland." The woman huffed, "Politics bore me at the moment. Isn't there something better we can be doing right now?"

The man looked into her eyes as he sat upon the throne. For someone who was always business, or at least always trying to get him to do something, she sure had no regard to the important issues at hand. Didn't they have something 'better' they could be doing right now? No. This was an important matter that had to be dealt with. One hundred and fifty Logosha were on the run somewhere, and there were no reports of where that somewhere might have been. It frustrated the young lord.

"Lord Cousland!" A human soldier said as he burst into the main hall. "We've got reports from some farmers fleeing... The Warden was spotted with the absent forces... He as fighting Darkspawn! They said that they have a camp not far from here! Only a small group made it out of the battle alive!"

Aedan slowly clapped his hands before laughing, "Oh, this is too good. Your timing is amazingly coincidental, my good man! But I thank you. Take the rest of the day off. Relax, you've earned it. Gruk, I'd suggest you send a group to encounter the remnants. They need to come here immediately if they have any hope of surviving my anger. The Warden included."

Gruk nodded very slowly, "They will ride faster than the wind, Lord Cousland."

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ferelden, the small group consisting of two mages and one Darrian wandered the upper halls of the Tower rather aimlessly. Of course, their goal was to get to the top where they could help save the remaining mages from their untimely demises, but the manner of which they were doing so was rather aimless. It wasn't like they knew where they were going. Well, the two mages did, but there was a lot different since the last time they had been to the Tower. Like a demon infestation, for instance. They had just defeated a Sloth demon. A demon that had gotten the drop on the three of them and tried to get them to remain content in their dreams. Such a thing just wasn't for the three. Darrian sensed the trap immediately, whilst the mages were worryingly weak-minded about it. The amount of convincing he had to do was ridiculous.

Now, as they neared their target, they saw corpses of both demonic entities, mages, and Templars alike. A battle had been fought on this level. Perhaps a last stand against the demons and the traitors behind their release. One thing was for certain, and that's that anyone in their way that was not quite clearly a friend would be murdered on sight by the elf. He wasn't going to chance anything. Especially with two mages accompanying him. Or rather, he was accompanying the mages and more or less was acting as their guard through the dangerous halls.

"I can't believe we actually fell for that thing's trap, master." Neria said softly as she looked over at Daylen.

The old man chuckled lightly before shrugging, "A demon of sloth isn't the most publicized demon out there. It shifts its domain to portray something that is impossible in the most realistic setting it possibly can. In my case, my old home and cat were around. Oh, how I miss Fireball, but alas, I should have known better. It's hard to not believe something that is so real."

Darrian huffed lightly, "Believing something that seems real is no damned excuse. You are mages. You should always be prepared for a demon's trick. What happens if one gets you in your sleep and pulls a similar stunt. Maybe one pretends to be your cat, and you unwittingly let it into the world. This is why I firmly believe most mages should be wiped off the face of Thedas. They're a blight, just like the damned Darkspawn. In fact, if you heard the stories the Darkspawn are a direct result of mages!"

"Nonsense." Daylen stated, "The origin of the Darkspawn is left open for interpretation. There is no way to be certain that they came from some Tevinter mages who defiled a mythical holy city located in the Fade. For all we know, they could have always existed, just hidden away, and one day the Dwarves dug too deep and look! Darkspawn everywhere. Stop being so narrow minded, young Darrian. It is very unbecoming, I must say."

"Narrow minded." Darrian chuckled before sighing, "Yeah, whatever you say, old man. Totally didn't just save you wide-minded folk from a demon that would have used you until your entire resources ran dry. Whatever that even means, I don't want to know."

Then they fell silent. They had work to get done, and honestly, none of them wanted to get into a further debate. Yes, Darrian had saved them, and yes, they had grown a bit too complacent in their dream-states. But they didn't even know they were dreaming. One moment they were storming a room, and the next it was like their memories were temporarily wiped. A product of the demon. Unfortunately, Darrian had quite the open mind towards things and knew that he hadn't been in the alienage with his wife. Yeah. He recalled the events that transpired there during his wedding quite well.

Soon enough they entered the final staircase, which would lead up into the Harrowing Chamber. The topmost part of the Mage Tower. Where their query was at. But before they could progress, they ran into a strange sight. A blonde Templar was sitting behind an energy wall of some kind. He was trapped there, locked in by the magic holding him there.

"Stay back! I won't fall for any more of you illusions!" The man stated aloud. "I won't listen to a single word you say!"

"Man's lost his marbles." Daylen stated softly, "It appears to me that he is being held by a powerful magic. No doubt Uldred's doing. We will have to eliminate him before we can release this poor bloke."

Darrian slowly inspected the barrier between them and the Templar, reaching forward before Neria stopped him. "Don't even try that. It might react negatively towards touch. You should never mess with magic you didn't conjure yourself, or you know nothing about." She warned him softly.

"So we get him out by continuing our mission?" Darrian inquired.

Daylen nodded slowly as he idly started to stroke his beard. "Indeed. That is my hypothesis. It should prove to be true. I truly wish we could do more to help him. He's babbling like a madman."

And it was true. Whilst they were talking, Cullen was trying his damnedest to convince them that he wasn't going to fall for their tricks. Of course, there weren't any tricks and he was really trying to fight off what he perceived as more demon spawned illusions.

Without another moment wasted, Darrian resumed his course up the final flight of stairs. The stairs leading to the Harrowing Chamber. His goal was clear, and in order to get the poor Templar out, he'd have to kill this Uldred fellow. That wouldn't be hard for him, or at least so he thought. He wasn't underestimating the Blood Mages. However, he wasn't afraid of them either. He had already fought quite a few of them during their time progressing throughout the many floors of the Tower. The worst they could do to him was kill him. Torture? Well, he was certain that the life of a Grey Warden would be torturous enough. He didn't worry about pain anymore ever since going through the Joining.

The Darkspawn weren't known too much about their capturing and torturing of people, but it surely had to happen. They no doubt tortured those that they deemed worthy food. If there even was a selection process for such a thing for them. There probably wasn't. Not for those mindless brutes.

He shook such thoughts from his mind, however, and continued walking up the stairs with Neria rushing to catch up with him. Daylen was a little bit slower than the two of them, but his apprentice was working on slowing Darrian down so they could enter the Harrowing Chamber together. It wasn't wise to get split up, or to have one person in the chamber with the enemies whilst one or two were trapped outside. That just spelled disaster. Especially since whatever was happening up there, it wasn't good for the good mages. After all, if Uldred's magic was still working, then it meant that he was still active. And that meant that they would have to be very careful with how they progressed in this place.

Eventually Darrian made it close to the entrance to the chamber. Everything was going good. Soon enough the Tower would be saved, and perhaps the mages would make it out okay. He had given it some thought during his trek up the stairs, and perhaps he was criticizing them just a little bit too much. That group they met in the lower levels were rather nice. Innocent. Truly loyal to their convictions and harboring no intent on betraying everyone by letting demons in.

That being said, as thoughtful as he was being, it came to a sudden halt when a bright blue and fiery portal opened up right in front of the door. "GET DOWN!" Daylen shouted as he saw this, but it was too late.

Before Darrian or Neria could jump, the portal sent a shockwave of energy and flame out. Darrian had the taken the brunt of it, whilst Neria narrowly escaped by jumping back towards Daylen. The elf was graceful, however, and she caught herself before she went stumbling down and crashing into the older man. That would have been disastrous.

Darrian wasn't so lucky, however, his face had been scorched, and his body wracked by the shockwave. When he turned around his eyes widened and he slowly took a few steps back down. A demon was coming through this portal of unnatural flame. A demon of lust, by the looks of it. Or at the very least, something similar. She couldn't help but laugh as she made her entrance either.

"I've been waiting for year for this to happen. I never anticipating it being some of my dearest... husband's friends, however." The demon stated with her sultry voice as she took a few steps closer to them.

When she reached Darrian, she had him practically paralyzed. He couldn't move, or function properly. It didn't feel good to be so easily dominated by a demon, but there wasn't a thing he could do, even with all of his willpower.

"Mmm... Stand down, young man. I'll spare you the pain if you do." She offered, and Darrian quickly struck with both of his blades.

Unfortunately, the weapons found themselves shattered as they met her skin, and she quickly reached forward and placed her palm on his chest. The young elf shouted and screamed in agony as his flesh was branded through his armor, which was practically useless in this situation. It was getting branded and burnt through too. The pain eventually got to be too much for him to take and he started to feel himself grow weak. The demon then leaned forward and kissed him before he fell backwards, tumbling down the stairs, making his comrades dodge him to try and fight the demon off themselves.

"Neria, get behind me." Daylen ordered the girl before standing up and looking the demon directly in her eyes as his own started to glow with a bright white light. "You will not get passed me, demon. I will stop you, and send you back to the void from which you came."

The Demon tilted her head as she tried to comprehend the man's unwarranted bravery. He had no reason to stand up to her. Well, he had all the reason, but he had nary the evidence or truth to back up his claims. There was no way he was going to defeat her. Not with how old and frail he was. His time was wearing out, just as his skills and powers were. What was he going to do to her? Beat her with his staff? Perish the thought!

"I will enjoy rending your soul from your flesh." The entity said with a seducing smile, "Come on, old man. Let's teach your sexy apprentice what true power looks like."

She didn't give him any time to formulate an offense or defense before she attacked. She summoned forth a ball of purple fire, a minor attack that would still do quite the amount of damage and pain to anything it hit. Of course, with it flying towards him, Daylen knew to deflect it and case his own attack in return. Unfortunately for him, it was almost like the demon was prepared for him to do so, as she merely sidestepped it before sending sparks of purple lightning his way. That... wasn't easily dodged, and Daylen was stunned for a moment as he got shocked. He had had worse in his life than a simple shock, but it gave him a good taste of the demon's power. She was more powerful than the sloth demon who had once entrapped them.

Neria wasn't going to stand by and let her master fight the demon alone, however. She wasn't a coward, and she certainly wasn't going to let her best friend die! Without him, she wouldn't have made progression like she had in this short amount of time. And so she fought back with everything she had. Strength. Anger. Passion. Daylen obviously didn't want her to be a part of the fight at all. It was too dangerous. Especially with her unbridled emotions. That was how mistakes were made. She didn't know clarity yet.

As such, when Neria just started taking the lead and the demon's attacks were pointed towards, she began making major mistakes that she had narrowly escaped. All save for one. She sent a torrent of frost towards the demon, who blocked it with a shield of unholy energies before balling up the frost into one nicely sized shard of ice, and sending it back to its creator. Daylen pushed her out of the way and quickly took the impact in the chest.

He gasped loudly, and the demon of lust only giggled as she resumed her approach. She could sense Neria's exhaustion, Darrian's unconsciousness, and Daylen's life soon to be forfeit. When she reached the man, she slowly placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it with her thumb as she looked him in the eyes.

"Don't worry, old man. I'll make sure that the other demons and those Blood Mages don't escape this place. I have work that needs to be done, and I cannot allow those imbeciles to get in the way." She said softly, "Any last words...?"

Daylen's breathing was heavy and labored, and he slowly reached for the demon's neck, but failing and resting his hand on her shoulder. "W-Who... Are... You...?" He gasped out.

She smiled, "Ysizx. Demon Queen of Argoenar, a plane of our existence. Creator of the Logosha and... loving wife of Logan Tulysvenan." She informed him before slowly leaning forward, about to seize his lips.

Before she could capture him, though, he gave Neria one last command. "RUN! Get out of here! Find Shad-" He said before the demon's lips crashed with his own and he succumbed to death.

As Neria ran, she could almost hear Daylen's body fall backwards onto the stairs. Lifeless. Her running didn't stop her from tearing up, and those crystal balls of salty water crashed with the cement as she only stopped for Darrian, whom she knew was still unconscious. What about the Templar, though? He had to be left behind. There was no saving him, or anyone else in the Tower. She couldn't take on that demon alone, and she had just taken out one of the most powerful mages she knew! No. She had to get Darrian and get to Shadow before all was lost. Hopefully the mages would make it out of this predicament okay. She hoped. She prayed.

And so with the unconscious Darrian slung over her shoulders, she retraced their steps as she ran for dear life. She had to get out of here immediately. But how? The Templars made it clear that they weren't unlocking the doors without the First Enchanter present. That being said... well.

"Damn!" She cursed, huffing and puffing as she looked around the floor she was on. One of the housing floors. "Come on, Darrian... wake up. I could use some comforting company right about now..." She stated before deeming hiding away as her best option.

As she sat down in the dark corner of the room, sealed in by a tipped over wardrobe and tables and chairs, she huffed as she held Darrian close to her. He really was dead, wasn't he? Daylen... Her mentor... Gone.