A/N: I know it's been a while, but here is anothwe snippet from yours truly. In this case, it's another Buffy Halloween X-over idea. With this one, I had to take a bit of creative licensing, switching out Dungeons and Dragons with Dragon Age. Still, I liked the idea and hope you guys will too. I may consider coming back to this idea in the future, but I am undecided. I suppose it will largely depend on reader reaction. So do let me know whether or not you guys like this idea or not.
YAHF: The Calling (BtVS/DA)
Xander could only look in awe at the costume. He could scarcely believe it, quite honestly. One of his favorite pastimes, pre-Buffy, had been playing the Dragon Age table top game with Jessie and a few other geeks and nerds and now he was standing in front of a costume of one of his favorite character types- a Grey Warden, those whose calling was to stem the tide of evil and fight the Darkspawn Horde and, ultimately, ending The Blights.
Thinking of how similar the Grey Wardens' calling was to that of The Slayer made Xander wonder how Slayer came about and whether or not the process could be duplicated... Or even if it should.
Still, philosophical debates aside, it was still one of the greatest, most awe inspiring costumes he'd ever seen. Thoughts of going as a soldier for Halloween fled his mind even as he simultaneously cringed at how much he was possibly going to have to dip into his road trip fund. This was an opportunity he couldn't pass up- especially since this wasn't a run of the mill Grey Warden's armor, but that of a Warden-Commander. He recalled his own adventures in the mock-up world of Thedas, how he'd been a character who had gone from spoiled nobleman to tainted outlaw to becoming the Commander of the Grey.
Needless to say, the sheer amount of lore Dragon Age possessed was simply staggering.
Xander grinned as he went to purchase his new costume. Buffy was right about one thing, Halloween was come as you aren't night and for a single night, he wouldn't be Xander Harris, normal high school teen who fought vampires, but Alexander, Commander of the Grey and Hero of Fereldan.
It was at the scheduled time when Xander, clad in his "silverite" armor, knocked on the Summer's residence door.
"Xander!?" greeted Joyce Summers in astonishment. She had to admit that he made a really good knight in his gleaming silver plate armor with blue and silver embellishments.
"Milady, I am here to escort your daughter on this fine eve," Xander replied.
Joyce smile at him. "Come right on in, Sir Knight."
She then also took note of the elaborate silver helmet tucked underneath his arm with what seemed to be wings on either side of it and the fact that the sword strapped to his hip and shield on his back didn't seem to quite match the armor. The sword had an elaborate golden hilt that seemed to resemble a dragon rather than the griffon motif of the armor. The shield too was odd, appearing to be made of wood rather than metal. The heraldry on the shield was also different from his armor. Whereas the armor breastplate had a double-headed griffon embossed onto it, the shield heraldry was a set of laurels.
"Girls, Xander's here!" Joyce shouted up the stairs.
"We'll be right down!" Buffy called down from her room.
"So, Xander tell me about your costume," Joyce said.
"Well... It's the armor of a special type of warrior called a Grey Warden, whose job it is to fight a special type of monsters," Xander explained. "Specifically, my armor is that of the Commander of the Grey, or Warden-Commander, the leader of the Grey Wardens in a particular country."
"A regular hero," Joyce replied.
"Usually, but not always," Xander said. "Sometimes good people have to do bad things to fight evil."
"Not something I'd expect to hear from you. You always seemed like the White Knight type," Joyce commented.
"Maybe," Xander acknowledged. "But the first Black Knight was a hero too. One who did what needed to be done so that White Knight could remain pure. The White Knight was the hero people wanted. The Black Knight was one people needed."
"Hey Xander. Willow should be down in a minute." Buffy said as she came down the stairs taking in the sight of her male best friend. "Wow, you look great!"
"Always with the surprise," Xander commented, then he smiled widely at Buffy. "Lady Buffy, Duchess of Buffonia, I am left in awe and completely renounce spandex."
Buffy blushed slightly and curtseyed. "Thank you, Sir Knight. But if you think this looks good, you should see..."
"That's a nice 'Boo' you got there, Willow." Xander interrupted.
"Casper..." Xander could hear the dismay in Buffy's voice.
The three had arrived at the school shortly thereafter before going their separate ways leading groups of children for a night of Trick or Treating when a pulse of magic enveloped all of Sunnydale.
Alexander Cousland had just said goodbye to Morrigan as she stepped into the eluvian as Arianne and Finn looked on when he suddenly found himself beyond the Bonewastes where he and the others had defeated The Mother. That was the first of many shocks, as the second one was swiftly approaching.
Having suddenly appeared in a strange and foreign land, Alexander was about to defend himself from the strange diminutive creatures that looked every bit as disoriented as he did. It was only his experiences at Kinloch Hold, and later in the Blackmarsh, that allowed him to get to his feet and ready to fight before the others. However, before he could preemptively defend himself he heard a voice he hadn't heard in over a year.
"Xander!" shouted Willow as she ran to him.
"Willow!" Alexander shouted with glee. However, his glee was short lived when he turned to face her. He then lifted his blade between them.
Taking note of his confusion, Willow looked at him questioningly with a hurt expression on his face. "Xander?"
"Is... Is it truly you, sister," Alexander replied.
"Oh no... It's affecting you too!" Willow exclaimed.
"What is going on here, Spirit?" Alexander asked with a slight edge to his voice.
"Listen, you are not who you think you are, you are Xander..." Willow tried to say before she was interrupted.
"I know who I am, Spirit," Alexander replied angrily. "I am Alexander Cousland, brother to the Teyrn of Highever and Commander of the Grey in Fereldan. You, on the other hand, are a spirit who wears the face of my dead sister and even speaks to me as if you were her."
"I... What?" Willow sputtered in astonishment.
"Now, tell me what is happening, Spirit," Alexander ordered firmly. "And you might not be exorcised this evening."
"Magic," Willow answered. "But I don't know how. All I know is that I dressed as a ghost, and became a ghost. You dressed as a knight and become you."
"What do you mean-" However, before Alexander could finish his sentence there was a scream from not too far away.
"That's Buffy, we have to help her!" Willow exclaimed frantically as she ran to the source of the scream.
"Maker's breath, this is going to be one of those days..." The Warden-Commander said under his breath as he moved to follow the spirit who looked like his sister.
The scene they came upon was that of a noblewoman screeching at strange machines while calling them demons.
Warden Cousland sighed. "Definitely going to be one of those days."
"Buffy!" shouted Willow.
The noblewoman, 'Buffy', looked at the spirit who wore his sister's face in disgust. "How dare you address me in such a manner, knave! What do you want, harlot?"
"Hold your tongue," Alexander ordered her, startling her with his presence. "Spirit, what has befallen us. It's obvious that myself and..." He gestured to the noblewoman, who then supplied her name.
"Lady Elizabeth Buffy." the noblewoman replied with a sniff of disdain.
"Lady Elizabeth are a long way from home." he finished. "We need to know what has transpired so that we can get back."
"I- I'm not sure," Willow admitted before she started to explain to Xander, who at least seemed to want to try to do something about their current predicament. At the very least, he'd be more help than Buffy currently was. "We were escorting kids for a holiday celebration dressed in costumes. Buffy dressed as a noblewoman, you as a knight and I dressed as a ghost."
Alexander couldn't contain the question that came to mind immediately. "A ghost of what?"
"I'd've thought it obvious," Lady Elizabeth said in a superior tone. Alexander rolled his eyes and even the Spirit looked to be more than a little aggravated.
"It's not important," Willow stated. "What is important, is figuring out what is going on here."
"Agreed," Alexander replied. "Alexander Cousland, Commander of the Grey of Ferelden, at your service, Lady Spirit." As he said this, he brought his right hand across his chest and tapped his chest plate with his fist and bowed his head.
"Willow," the Spirit corrected. "My name is Willow."
"Lady Willow, then," Alexander replied with a pained, sad, smile. Both Lady Elizabeth and Willow were struck by the aura of sadness her name seemed to generate in the knight. It seemed to permeate his very being. A smattering of small demon-like creatures dared to approach the group. Instinctively, Alexander stepped in front of the women and drew his sword as he let out a mighty roar that sent the creatures flying back. Sensing the warrior's greater superiority, the creatures flee from them. "We need to get to a more defensible position."
"Buffy's house is the closest," Willow offered. "We should be safer there for a while, while we figure out what to do."
"Lead the way," the Warden replied.
As they made their way to Buffy's house, Lady Elizabeth began inquiring about her current protector. "Sir Knight, I don't recognize the heraldry on your shield."
"You wouldn't," Alexander replied. "If what the Spirit says is true, we were pulled into this world from other, separate, worlds. While no doubt our worlds are more similar to each other than they are to this one, there would be noticeable differences."
"How can you be so sure?" Lady Elizabeth asked.
"Your lack of recognition of my family name and heraldry," Alexander told her. "I too was born of nobility, the second son of the Teyrn of Highever."
"That's a title I am unfamiliar with," Lady Elizabeth reluctantly admitted.
"It's a noble title from my homeland of Ferelden, second only to the crown," Alexander explained. "Not only was my father a well-loved and well-connected man who had friends and allies all across the whole of Southern Thedas, but my exploits in Ferelden as a Grey Warden are also known to most in Thedas as a whole."
"I see. If it isn't too bold of me to ask... Why do you look upon the Spirit with such great sadness?" Lady Elizabeth inquired.
"It reminds me of someone once very dear to me," Alexander admitted.
"A lover?" Elizabeth asked.
Alexander shook his head. "Sister."
Lady Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, knowing that she had to be delicate if she wished to broach the topic that pained her shining knight. "What happened...? If you don't mind me asking."
"It's fine... I just... I've never really talked about what happened that night," Alexander told her. "Not with anyone- not even my brother Fergus."
Lady Elizabeth didn't know what to say, opting instead to grip his wrist in comfort.
"She died... Killed when our castle was taken, the same night I became a Grey Warden," Alexander explained. "I... I was one of the only survivors."
"Could it be possible that she too survived?" Elizabeth asked.
"No," The Grey Warden replied. "When Mother and I fought our way through the Castle in search of her and my father, we came upon her body in the library. Far as I can guess, she was doing a bit of late night reading, as she did often, when Howe's men attacked. She and our old tutor had been slain there."
"Your mother helped fight offinvaders?" Lady Elizabeth asked as if the idea was completely foreign to her. He wasn't too surprised as Habren, Arl Bryland's daughter, had been much the same way- caring more for trinkets, silks and marriage prospects more than matters of state and war. He doubted she even knew that a Civil War had been waging within their homeland when he saw her in Denerim.
Even his brother's wife had been like that, to an extent, though she was Antivan and not Fereldan. Orianna was not one for war, though she'd have made an excellent peacetime Teyrna. She was fiercely protective of Oren, possibly overly so, but that was simply because she cared. Still, she knew duty and responsibility and was not oblivious to the matters of the world.
He missed her. He missed them both and only could imagine how Fergus felt about it, they were his wife and child after all.
Alexander smiled genuinely. "Mother was no wallflower. She was a shield-maiden before she married my father. In fact, she still was for a while after until my elder brother Fergus was born. Even still, she would practice with the guard now and again to keep her skills sharp."
"You admire that in her," Elizabeth pointed out in astonishment.
"What wasn't there to love," Alexander replied with a shrug. "She was a strong woman who succeeded in everything she did, whether it was being a warrior, a mother or even a ruler." Alexander's countenance turned sad once more. "She died next to my father covering my escape from Highever. After everything I accomplished over the last year... I united a country in the midst of civil war, crowned two kings, broke a nearly millennia old curse, avenged the murder of my family, killed two high dragons and defeated an entire Blight with the army of only a single nation at my back in less than a year and I still couldn't save them... I... I couldn't save any of them."
They'd stopped walking as Alexander began to release the burden of his guilt at not being able to save his family.
Lady Elizabeth took his armored hands into her own. Steeling herself for the worst, showing an inner-strength even she didn't think she possessed, she spoke up. "Why couldn't you save them? How did you survive the tragedy that befell your family?"
"It started with the rumors of a darkspawn uprising in the Korcari Wilds to the far south. The Grey Wardens said it was the beginning of a Blight. Many were skeptical, but the King believed them and that was all that mattered. King Cailan called for the nobles to start gathering their men so that he and the Grey Wardens could end the darkspawn threat before the Blight could become an issue." Alexander told her. Elizabeth had no idea what a 'blight' or 'darkspawn' were, and she was certain she didn't want to know, but she remained silent, encouraging the Warden-Commander to tell his tale. "I wanted more than anything to join the fighting in the south, but mother would hear nothing of it, especially since father and Fergus were both going. Father held back deploying the troops until Rendon Howe, the Arl of Amaranthine and an old family friend arrived. He came ahead of his army, saying that there had been some delays in deploying his troops. I don't even remember the reason given, only that my father accepted his excuse without a second thought. And why wouldn't he, they fought in the Rebellion together. They were two of the very few who survived the disastrous Battle of White River."
He shook his head. "I remember coming into the Great Hall, fresh from practice with the men. Father was meeting with Arl Howe and Warden-Commander Duncan. Duncan had arrived looking for recruits into the Grey Wardens- particularly Ser Gilmore, the son of a local bann, who squired under my father. My father and brother were supposed to leave with the Arl that afternoon and my mother was to leave with Lady Landra the following morning, leaving me in charge of the castle, with my sister Willow, my brother's wife Orianna and my nephew Oren staying behind. Orianna was supposed to help me get settled in and aid with the administrative duties."
"But that didn't happen," she stated. It was about then that Willow realized that the two weren't following her and she turned to address them, however seeing the intimacy between them froze whatever Willow had been about to say to them.
"No. With the Arl's men delayed, Father sent Fergus ahead with our troops south to Ostagar and I turned in early for a secret rendezvous with an elf girl named Iona, Lady Landra's Lady in Waiting," Alexander told her. "We awoke late in the evening, myself, Iona and Jesse, my mabari war hound." He didn't appear to notice the light gasp from Willow when he mentioned Jesse as he continued on with his tale. "I hurried to put on my armor before investigating, however, I hadn't quite armed myself when Iona opened the door to my chambers and she was cut down. Jesse attacked and killed the man who killed her while I finished arming myself. The two of us then proceeded to kill the men who attempted to murder us. That's when my mother emerged from her and father's chambers, also armed and armored. Seeing the Heraldry of Amaranthine on our attacker's shields, we hurried to Willow's and Fergus' chambers fearing the worst."
Elizabeth's eyes were wide in fear and sadness. "No..." she whispered.
Commander Cousland nodded. "We discovered Orianna and Oren's bodies then. Hurrying into the Castle proper, we passed by the guest chambers and discovered Lady Landra and her son Dairren had been slain as well. We managed to save a couple of servants, but most had already been killed before we even knew what was going on. We managed to rendezvous with a few guards and some servants willing to fight, but it was far too late to mount a true counteroffensive. We made our way to the Library where we found Willow and Aldous and then to the treasury where we retrieved the Cousland Family Sword and the Shield of Highever. The Chantry was our next stop, and like everywhere else it had been overrun, but, fortunately, there was no sign of Mother Mallol. Making our way to the Great Hall, we found Ser Gilmore engaged in battle and after helping him repel the intruders, he and the men with him set to barricading the Great Hall. He was to cover our escape while Mother and I found Father and we all escaped through a secret passage in the kitchens, only that didn't go according to plan either. We found Nan's body next. She was the castle cook and Fergus, mine and Willow's nanny when we were children. It was in the cellar where we found my father and Duncan. Father had been run through and Duncan had been defending him. They struck a deal right then- Duncan would help mother and I escape Highever and I would join the Grey Wardens. That's when the barricade in the Great Hall fell. Father was dying and mother refused to leave his side. I... I wanted to stay and fight... But someone had to get the word out about what happened and... I should have stayed..."
"You would have died," Elizabeth pointed out.
"Sometimes I wish I had..." Alexander told her honestly.
"And if you had, would anyone have stood in your place to accomplish what you did?" Elizabeth countered in a scolding tone. "And what of tonight? Who would be here to protect me? I am not like your mother, I can't fight like she could... I... I wouldn't have listened to the Spirit and I'd likely be dead by now, or worse."
Alexander met her steady and determined gaze. "Somehow, I think you're stronger than you know."
"Uh... Guys..." Willow said awkwardly. "We need to get to Buffy's house."
"Of course," Alexander acknowledged, Willow did her best not to wilt under the glare leveled at her by Lady Elizabeth. "Thank you for listening, milady."
"You're welcome, Sir Knight," Elizabeth answered with a smile.
"Xander," Alexander told her with a smile of his own. "Call me Xander."
"Sir Xander," Elizabeth corrected.
The newly dubbed ' Sir Xander' smirked. "Warden-Commander Xander, technically, milady."
"Elizabeth," Lady Elizabeth countered. "There's no need for formalities between us, milord."
"Lizzy-beth, then," Alexander declared with a light grin.
"My younger sister, Aurora, used to call me that," Elizabeth told him with a gentle smile.
"Same with my sister and, later, my nephew," Alexander replied, his smile shrinking a bit. "No one else has called me 'Xander' since the night they died."
Willow could scarcely believe how quickly the knight and the noblewoman bonded, especially given how Xander had seemingly turned into the very personification of a noble and fair knight, whereas Buffy had become a haughty and stuck-up bitch noblewoman. Yet, Lady Elizabeth seemed to respond to that in a way she'd like not react to anything else. It was slightly puzzling, given the relationship dichotomy between the real Xander and Buffy. While Xander was very open about his affections towards Buffy, Buffy had not once shown any interest in Xander. But then that wasn't exactly true either. Buffy HAD shown a mild interest in Xander when she first moved to Sunnydale, but quickly moved on towards Scott Hope, Owen Thurman and Angel, while constantly encouraging Willow in her pursuit of Xander. Only, Xander never seemed to show any signs of romantic interest towards her and given the fact that his costume persona saw her as his sister, it was unlikely that he ever would.
Willow knew that after everything was over, she was going to have to think long and hard about what she was going to do about her romantic situation. Her musings were cut short when she realized they had arrived at Buffy's house. "We're here."
"Something troubling, Spirit," Alexander asked as they went inside.
"I'm just wondering how we're going to stop whatever is going on," Willow told him not bothering to correct him for not calling her by her name as she didn't want to cause him any undue pain. In his mind, though she had died at least a year prior, her death was still fresh in his mind. His inability to save her and the rest of their family weighed heavily on him. "And what the fallout is gonna be. It was supposed to be quiet tonight."
"What do you mean?" Alexander asked as he took off his silverite, griffin-winged helmet.
"The three of us, well me and the two friends of mine you two are possessing, fight against the strange and the weird and the things that go bump in the night," Willow explained. "Most people don't even realize that there's this secret supernatural war going on right under their noses, thinking it all to be just made up stories and superstitions and one night a year, on Halloween, we celebrate it all- everything that we fear and love, things we hope never exist and things we wish that did and we dress up in costumes, pretending, for one night, to be something we're not. Buffy called it 'come as you aren't night'."
"You and your countrymen actually celebrate a day of darkness like All Hallow's Eve?" Elizabeth asked with no small amount incredulity.
"Whatever that day represented in the past, it's different now," Willow explained.
"How so?" Alexander inquired having never heard of either Halloween or All Hallow's Eve. 'Perhaps Spirit Willow's and Lady Elizabeth's worlds have more in common than I realized...'
"The things we fight, a lot of them get off on fear," Willow further explained. "Probably adds spice or something."
"Focus," Alexander told her not letting her run off on an unrelated tangent.
"Sorry," Willow replied sheepishly before continuing. "People, humans, expect to be scared on Halloween. It's a night that even people who don't really believe in the supernatural expect ghosts, goblins and ghouls. They want ghosts, goblins and ghouls. That sours things for the supernatural community. Halloween is the safest night in the year because it's the one night they all stay in."
"Only this year someone or thing has broken this unspoken covenant," Alexander stated. Willow nodded. "So the creatures that attacked us earlier..."
Willow looked at him sadly. "Children. They were all children in costumes that we were escorting earlier. Thank you for not killing them."
Alexander's facial expression turned glacial. His mind's eye flashed to the night Highever had fallen to Howe's men. Seeing his father run through had been bad enough. The servants in the hallways, both human and elven were horrific in their own right. But it was the ravaged bodies of Willow, Orianna and Oren- particularly Oren, who was just a young boy not even close to his teen years yet, that haunted him the most. That something, or one, would set out to deliberately harm innocent children made Warden-Commander Cousland's blood boil.
"We'll help them," Lady Elizabeth said to him gripping his gauntleted forearm.
Alexander smiled at her, glad to know his instincts about her were correct. At first glance she was a spoiled, haughty brat who felt the world entitled her because of her noble father, which she was, but that was simply because that was all she knew. She'd likely been trained from a young age that her place was to further her families' legacy and holdings by marrying well and bearing children. She'd run the household by ordering servants about while her husband and sons fought for honor and glory. In the here and now, however, she was willing to help in whatever capacity she could, showing a depth of compassion not suited to many of those of her station. Despite a very poor first impression, he had little doubt his mother would have loved her. She had a fire within her that her family didn't fully suppress and hopefully, through his influence, they never truly would.
"What's our next move?" Alexander asked the ghost who looked like his sister.
"I-I don't know," Willow said. "I'm just the sidekick. I research, I don't make plans or physically fight things if I can help it. That's more Buffy and Xander's thing."
"They aren't here right now. We are," Alexander told her. "And we don't know this place like you do."
"No pressure, right," Willow replied with an uneasy laugh.
"Look, I know it isn't easy or fair, but it's what we have to work with," Alexander said to her, placing his gauntleted hand on her shoulder in comfort only for it to pass through her body. He smiled comfortingly at her. "Sorry."
"It's all right," Willow assured him, despite his complete lack of romantic feelings towards her, she couldn't help but feel comforted by his efforts.
Lady Elizabeth, meanwhile, was looking at the photos on display. "They could be us."
Alexander walked over to where she was and looked upon the photo she was perusing. "In another life, they are us." He then turned to Willow. "Spirit, Willow, do we any other allies we can call on?"
"Giles, Buffy's Watcher, and Angel, her... Suitor," Willow replied, her hesitance due to having to find a word that both Alexander and Elizabeth would understand that would convey Buffy's relationship with Angel. Hopefully, it would also prevent them from doing anything that would make things awkward between her two best friends- things were already going to be awkward enough as it was.
"Watcher?" Elizabeth asked.
"Buffy's 'The Slayer'," Willow told her. "One girl in all the world with the power to fight demons and vampires."
Alexander looked startled. "Just the one? What about Templars? Mages? Or perhaps warrior orders like the Grey Wardens or the Legion of the Dead?"
Willow shrugged. "Giles would know more about that sort of thing. Xander and I have only known about this stuff since last year and Buffy maybe a year or two before that. I doubt we're the only ones who fight vampires and stuff, but we're the only group with The Slayer, a mystically empowered girl whose purpose in life is specifically to fight vampires and demons."
"And I thought being a Grey Warden was bad," Alexander commented.
"How you mean?" Elizabeth inquired. "From your description, it sounded like a Grey Warden was a holy warrior who served a higher calling."
"A Grey Warden... Grey Wardens are warriors and mages, barbarians and kings who fight to stem the tide of evil, by any means necessary," Alexander explained. "Our sole purpose is to fight darkspawn and the Blights. Sometimes we'll kill bandits, stop invasions or slay demons, but that isn't really our purview. In fact, many of our order are former thieves, cutthroats, murderers and maleficarum."
The last term went unrecognized by the two women who were already looking fairly horrified, but Willow, despite the fact she wasn't sure she wanted to know, asked the question that was on the tip of hers and Elizabeth's tongues. "What's a maleficarum?"
"A maleficar is a mage who uses forbidden magic- usually blood magic, but not always," Alexander explained. "These mages often dabble in magics that control others, summon demons and even unnaturally extend their life, amongst other things."
Elizabeth and Willow both looked horrified. "Why would you let such people into your order?" Elizabeth asked.
"Because it is necessary," Alexander said firmly. "Being a Grey Warden is as much a death sentence as a hanging or being burned at the stake." He hesitated a moment. "All Grey Wardens undergo a ritual- I'll not bore you with the details, but it basically raises our constitution to allow us to better fight in battle. It also allows us to sense darkspawn wherever they are to be found. Of course, it also allows them to find us in turn. Lastly, the ritual grants us, and us alone, the ability to kill an Archdemon."
"Archdemon!?" Willow exclaimed.
"They start out as the Old Gods of the nation of Tevinter," Alexander further explained. "Darkspawn are somewhat mindless between Blights, driven by a singular purpose to seek out the Old Gods, who were buried underground centuries ago. Once the darkspawn do find one, they corrupt it with their taint. The tainted Old God then becomes an Archdemon and is capable of controlling Darkspawn- guiding them to the surface, starting what we call a Blight. The First Blight lasted nearly 200 years before the Grey Wardens formed up and then slew the beast. All nations of Thedas, including the elven and dwarven peoples, signed treaties with the Grey Wardens granting them The Rite of Conscription. If a Warden sees someone that they think will be a worthy recruit and either they do not wish to join or they are in trouble with the law, the warden can invoke the Rite of Conscription, forcing the prospective recruit into the Order. However, that is usually only done in extreme circumstances- especially if we're between times of Blight. The ritual all wardens go through, the Joining, is not to be taken lightly, as it has a somewhat high fatality rate. Between the fatality rate of the Joining, and its' side effects, we generally do not turn away volunteers who wish to join the Wardens of their own free will."
"Generally?" Willow asked.
"I wanted to be a Warden before Highever was attacked," Alexander told her, "However, because of my families' status, Duncan would never have accepted me into their ranks without my parents' explicit permission."
Willow looked surprised. "Why not?"
"Politics," Alexander answered simply. "The situation between Ferelden and the Wardens was… Complicated. But even without a political relationship as tumultuous as that, the Wardens are, unfairly, called a haven for murderers and maleficar by regular people all throughout Thedas. All they see when a Warden-Commander invokes the Rite of Conscription is him saving a man who likely deserves to be hanged from the gallows. What they don't see or realize is just how terrible and devastating the Blight and darkspawn can be."
"Is it truly so horrible?" Lady Elizabeth asked.
Alexander nodded. "Most of Fereldan's major cities went widely untouched by the Blight- even Redcliff, Denerim and Amaranthine, each of which had hordes of Darkspawn attack them. However, smaller towns like Lothering and West Hills were not so fortunate. I'd never visited West Hills either before or after the Blight, but if it was anything like Lothering… And then there's Blight sickness, when ordinary people are afflicted with the taint of the darkspawn, of which there is only one cure, becoming a Grey Warden, and even that is merely a delaying tactic."
"How did such creatures come to be?" the noblewoman inquired.
Alexander shrugged. "No one really knows, though there are theories. The most popular one, put forth by the Chantry, is that some mages started messing about with things better left alone."
Lady Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "Magic is evil."
Alexander disagreed with a scowl on his face. "Magic is a tool, perhaps more dangerous than most, but still a tool, used by elves and men. It is through their actions that it becomes a vile talisman of evil."
Another scream was heard.
"It seems my work is never done," Alexander stated as he steeled himself, charging outside to save a young woman who looked to be dress as some form of feline creature. It was a shock to him to see yet another familiar face, this time it was 'Delia Howe who was being chased by some sort of large, hairy beast. Mindful that the beast might just be another helpless victim, he charged it, not bothering to draw his sword unless necessary. Running past Cordelia, he slammed full force into the creature, pushing it back with his shield.
The creature was dazed for a moment. Alexander looked it straight in the eye. "If you can understand me, beast. Begone, or I shall be forced to end you." The creature, sensing the tainted darkness from his attacker on a primal level knew it was outclassed and outmatched and backed down from the Warden-Commander.
"Are you all right, Cordelia?" Alexander inquired.
"As if you care, dweeb-boy," Cordelia snapped at him. "Just look at my costume! I'm so not getting my deposit back from Party Town!"
"Good to know some things never change," Alexander said under his breath.
"What did you say?" Cordelia asked none too politely. Alexander ignored her and walked back towards the Summers' house. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"Didn't catch that, I was too busy ignoring you after saving your life," Alexander said pointedly before moving on.
Cordelia huffed in derision. "You or one of your friends probably caused this anyway! Stuff like this never happened until Buffy moved here."
"Given how self-centered you are, you probably just didn't notice," Alexander rebutted.
"On no you didn't…" Cordelia began only to be cut off by the Warden.
"Yes, I did, now be silent whilst confer with the spirit about our next move," the Warden-Commander ordered.
However, before he could, Lady Elizabeth had set upon him. "That was amazing, Sir Knight!" she praised while sporting a light blush.
Alexander smiled in return. "Thank you, milady."
Cordelia didn't know what to think for a moment and was gob smacked into silence until she was approached by Willow.
"Listen, you are not a cat, your name is Cordelia Chase and you are our friend… Err… Sort of…" Willow told her.
"Duh! What the hell is going on?" Cordelia demanded. "Since when is the Dweeb all heroic and has Buffy fawning all over him?"
"We've all turned into our costumes," Willow explained. "Xander became a sort of knight/monster hunter, Buffy a regular noblewoman and I became a ghost."
Cordelia goggled at Willow for a moment. "A ghost of what?"
Lady Elizabeth snorted undignifiedly and Warden-Commander Cousland covered his mouth with his gauntleted hand to smother his grin. Willow glared at the both of them to little effect.
"It's not important," Willow snapped.
The Warden-Commander then frowned at Cordelia, who snapped at him. "What?!"
"Why weren't you affected like we were?" he asked her.
"How should I know?" Cordelia replied.
"Because there is something about you that is different from the rest of us," Alexander stated.
"You mean like the fact that I'm not a loser," Cordelia shot back. The spirit and the Warden-Commander shared a brief look before rolling their eyes, opting not to respond to her jibe.
Lady Elizabeth, however, was not so restrained. "And what would a woman of such obviously loose morals such as yourself know of fine breeding, harlot."
"I-" was as far as Cordelia got before the Warden interrupted her.
"Whatever the source of the strange magic, it's affecting the whole town," the Hero of Fereldan jumped in. "And if 'Delia here is unaffected by it, others likely are too. They are the ones in the most danger." The Warden then looked sharply in the direction of the kitchen. Before anyone else could comment, he walked towards the door, simultaneously drawing his sword. "What is your business here!" he said coldly to the figure walking in, the point of Vigilance digging lightly into the interloper's throat, singing his would be target.
"That's Angel, Buffy's suitor," Willow explained quickly.
The mention that the man in front of him being involved with Lady Elizabeth's other made him frown and almost slit the creature's throat on principle. For some reason, the creature was setting off his instincts like no other and despite not knowing why, he instantly disliked it.
"What are you?" Alexander asked him, not bothering to remove his blade from Angel's throat.
"He's a vampire with a soul," Cordelia answered.
"That truly makes all the difference," The Warden-Commander replied sarcastically.
"It does!" Willow insisted. "It makes him one of the good guys."
Alexander snorted in disbelief. "Are you truly so naïve? I have witnessed many an atrocity committed by those in possession of a soul. Some even had more than one. What makes him so special?"
"He helps us out a lot," Willow insisted. "We can trust him."
Alexander eased up with his sword, but kept it drawn on Angel in warning. "Willow vouches for you, Creature, but know that I'm watching you."
"Noted," Angel replied curtly. "It's total chaos out there."
"We noticed," Alexander replied shortly, keeping himself between the vampire and the girls, but lowering his guard, though not re-sheathing his sword. "Are you also completely unaffected by the night's magic?"
Angel nodded. "I am."
Alexander frowned. "Then it was something the three of us and others came into contact with that these two didn't. Possibly more than one magic must be affecting us."
"What do you mean?" Willow inquired.
Alexander looked at her. "We likely came into contact with a couple of cursed items which were then activated through the use of another spell. Which means we are unlikely dealing with an amateur hedge mage, but a seasoned practitioner- possibly a maleficar as it would take a great deal of magical power to accomplish this."
Angel, though unfamiliar with the term maleficar, got the gist of Alexander's meaning and nodded in agreement.
Alexander stood there thinking for a moment. "The others affected, they were all costumed as well?"
"Everyone I saw," Angel replied.
"So that's something we all have in common," The Warden-Commander stated. "Everyone affected was wearing a costume of some sort. But what about those unaffected? You're not wearing a costume, but what about 'Delia? What sets you apart from everyone else?" As Cordelia went to open her mouth, Alexander interrupted her with a stern warning. "And be serious."
"I don't know," Cordelia said helplessly.
"Sister, where did we acquire out costumes?" Alexander asked after a moment of thought.
"Ethan's, why?" Willow answered and inquired.
"'Delia?" The Warden-Commander asked as he turned to the high school socialite.
"Of course not! I got mine at Party Town, where else?" Cordelia replied somewhat indignantly.
"Then we have our lead," Alexander announced before turning to Cordelia. "Can you fight?" The look on her face said it all. "Didn't think so... Cr-Angel?"
"I can fight," Angel replied.
The Grey Warden thought for a moment. "Guard the women, while Willow and I go to this Ethan's."
"You?" Angel asked the knight incredulously.
Alexander nodded. "My training as a Templar affords me with the ability and knowledge to deal with magi and dispel magic."
"Then why haven't you dispelled the magic on us?" Willow asked.
"We're still within the magic's area of effect. I can not be sure how the magic would react to being dispelled without knowing how it has been activated," Alexander explained.
"Oh. What about Giles?" Willow inquired.
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
Angel explained. "He's a member of the Watcher's Council whose duty is to watch over and train the Slayer. Buffy is his Slayer and he might have insight into dispelling the magic."
"Then take Lady Elizabeth and Lady Cordelia to him," Alexander replied. "Inform him of what's happening, provided he remains unaffected. Meanwhile, Willow and I shall head to this Ethan's. I am armed, armored and fully trained in combat against mages and she is a spirit. Should I fall or fail, she can inform you of what has transpired."
It was obvious Angel didn't like it, nor did Willow, but neither had a better plan. "Fine."
"I'm trusting you with their lives against my better judgment," Alexander told him sternly.
"Sir Xander..." It had been sometime since Lady Elizabeth had spoken.
"Lizzy-beth?" Alexander replied. He was surprised when she tied a piece of cloth from her dress around his wrist. "Milady?"
"My favor, for luck," she replied. The Warden noticed she'd cut a portion of her dress. He'd also noticed the small flash of jealousy that crossed Angel's face and was inordinately pleased by it.
"Lady Elizabeth... It is unlikely, whether I succeed or fail, that we shall ever meet again," Alexander told her. "So I will have to bid thee farewell."
"I Just... I wish..." Elizabeth stammered. "Despite our brief time together, I've come to care for you greatly. I've never met another knight such as you."
"I feel the same, but we don't belong here," Alexander told her. "We have duties and responsibilities to our own worlds, just as the owners of the bodies we inhabit have obligations to this one. For the time being, however, we have this moment."
He caressed her face as he moved in for a short, loving, yet chaste kiss.
"I shall never forget you, brave knight," Lady Elizabeth told him as tears welled in her eyes.
"Nor I, you, Milady," Alexander replied as he retrieved a sheathed dagger from his belt and pressed it into her hands. "For luck, though I pray to the maker you won't have to use it."
Watching the tender moment between Lady Elizabeth and Commander Alexander made Willow's heartbreak just a little more, enough that even Cordelia uncharacteristically commented on it. "Are you going to be all right?"
Willow gave Cordelia a startled look. "Yeah..."
"Shall we head out, Spirit?" The Warden asked.
Willow nodded. "The sooner we get everything back to normal, the better."
"Agreed." Alexander said with a nod of his own before turning towards Angel, "Good luck."
"You too," Angel replied.
Both groups then went their separate ways.