Chapter 104: A Single Life
Lightning split the sky, and thunder shook the heavens while the roars of one of the monsters of myth shook the very ground beneath the wardens and their allies feet.
The high dragon that the cultists referred to the as the Holy Andraste leapt into the air, the wind caused by her powerful wings pushing back the warriors in Alim's party. Th4e dragon was large, maybe even larger than Flemeth in her dragon form, and unlike the witch of the wilds this dragon was pure brute force, muscle, and flame.
Perhaps they had bitten off more than they could chew this time? The group was still tired from fighting their way through the mountain; the beast was strong, and enraged. Perhaps Kolgrim had been right, perhaps it did smell the blood of its young and its slaves on their little party…
Perhaps the beast wanted more than substance? Perhaps it was trying to kill for revenge?
The warden mage tried not to think about that right now.
Leliana, Zevran, Theron, Morrigan, and Wynne struck from a distance, sending mystic bolts and arrows flying at the great beast's eyes and mouth. Alistair led the warriors as the moved around the dragon's powerful legs. Swords, axes, and stone fists with sharp crystal knuckles bit into the glassy dragon scale hide. Small blows perhaps, but even small blows could kill if too much damage was taken. A nest of wasps could overwhelm a much larger animal if it stumbled into their nest.
Despite his concentration, the elf smiled.
If it was just the mortal weapons of his allies, they would eventually wear the beast down, but he did not want to wait that long…
He had stronger weapons to use.
He stood still, alone, his eyes closed with concentration, directing the storm as a conductor might lead a symphony.
It was he who had rung the gong summoning the beast down upon them, the cultists likely used it to inform the dragon that they had sacrifices for it; they had seen various cattle bones scattered around the summit, left overs of the dragon's past meals.
The elf's brow furrowed as sweat ran down his forehead, getting the storm started had not been difficult, fire did not need much incentive to spread to dry tinder. The cloudy peak had plenty of fuel for him to start his inferno. The winds rose to his challenge, he asked them to blow, to show this large creature that made winds of its own with its wings that they alone mastered the air.
Lightning continued to flash, it struck at the beast but its hard scales resisted, it did not melt, nor did it break. The beast roared with further frustration, bedeviled by both the elements and the fighters spreading out around it.
The wind blasted the dragon, trying to force it back out of the sky, when it tried to leap too far, lightning stung its flank. It was hard work controlling such primal forces, keeping it solely focused on the monster and not bedeviling his allies.
Hard work yes, but if he could hold on just a bit longer…it would all pay off.
In his mind's eye, Alim could see everything; he had never attempted such control of the elements before. The wind whispered in his ear telling him where his fellows were, the lightning flashed only when it would not blind those aiding his cause.
Still he worried about losing control, one misstep and he might cause a mistake the might injure or slay one of his companions. Such fears kept him grounded, kept him from getting lost in his own creation.
It was a useful tool.
He tried to clamp down on that fear, to master it; he would not harm his friends…
He would not risk harming Leliana…she… she was…
Leliana.
Thinking of his love distracted him, fear for her safety, for losing her like he had lost Belle…
The warden mage almost faltered, his hands shook as he fought to regain control, this spell was beyond anything he had ever attempted before, and it was draining him physically with each passing moment. He knew that he could not hold onto this storm forever, but hopefully it would be long enough.
In the long lost days of the elvhen, with stormbreakers working together, this might have been a common thing, but he was just one, the last one…when he was gone…the stormbreakers would pass out of memory and return to legend from whence they came…
It was a sad thought, so much of what his people had been had been forgotten or plundered now it was…
You cannot allow that.
The thought struck him like a fist. Part of it was the memories he had taken back in the werewolves ruin, the spirit of that arcane warrior, that Stormbreaker of old.
The warrior had called out to him then, had given Alim back a part of his elvhen heritage, something that would have been lost had he been killed or made Tranquil. Those spells, those experiences…they were something vastly precious…
They are not just for you.
Alim's ears twitched. He struggled for control.
There would be time after the Blight.
Not if you are slain.
My people have waited hundreds of years; they can wait a few more months.
He sensed a surge of frustration, memories and thoughts not his own surged forward. The old Stormbreaker was gone, but the impressions he had left on Alim's mind remained, and those impressions were angered.
You're people have waited too long da'len; you cannot let the secrets you have gained die with you.
Alim winced trying to maintain control.
You are not the last of the old Stormbreakers; you are the first of the new. You may be a warden, but you are a part of our legacy as well…
Alim gasped.
Pass one what you learned…
The spell fell apart.
…While there is still time.
Alim gasped and staggered back, the last lightning bolt he had managed to direct against the dragon burned into its flank. The beast whirled its head around, its body smoking from the lightning strikes and bleeding from many other various wounds.
Flesh smoldered where the scales had been burned away, but that only seemed to enrage the beast even more.
The dragon's eyes settled on the tiny elven mage, the one who had hurt it so badly, no longer shielded by the wind and rain, no longer was the beast's anger blocked by the forces of nature.
It glared with pure hate at the tiny creature.
IOI
The dragon leapt over the fighters, it glided on its wings just a short distance to come within range of the one who had harmed it so grievously.
The dragon thirsted for revenge!
IOI
Leliana realized what was happening even before the rest of the group did; the dragon had lost interest in the warriors and the rogues that peppered it with blades and arrows. Even Morrigan and Wynne had become a minor irritant in that moment.
The dragon knew who the greatest threat was, and now…it was moving to deal with it.
Leliana leapt atop a ruined pillar outside the temple, she sent arrow after arrow flying as she fired rapidly at the beast's head.
"FACE ME CREATURE!" she challenged.
The dragon flicked its tail dismissively, severing the pillar at its base. The bard back flipped off of it. She landed rolling and brought her bow back up to continue firing.
The dragon towered over her love, its purple-black scales shining in the dim light as the storm above them diminished.
Alistair rallied the warriors to come to Alim's rescue, it would take them only a few moments to reach the beast and continue the fight.
Those were a few moments that Alim did not have.
The elf barely had a second to prepare.
The dragon inhaled mightily as a shimmering golden shield appeared before the warden mage, he also began to flicker in and out, a spell she remembered from soldier's peak.
The dragon wasted no time, not a flap of a wing or even another booming roar.
The creature breathed out…
…And an inferno engulfed the mage.
Leliana heard screaming, for a moment she feared that it was her love, burning despite the great power that he wielded…
Then she realized the scream was not of pain, but of fear and grief…
It was her scream, and it shattered her entire world.
IOI
"Aw shit!"
As last words went, they were probably not the most original, but they certainly were appropriate.
Alim's world became nothing but heat and flame, even with the trick he had learned from the arcane warrior back in the temple, it still felt like he was being cooked alive.
He managed to shift most of the fire into the fade, but that did not mean that he did not feel it, the burning seared his skin and turned parts of his armor to ash.
And still the beast did not let up, still the bombardment continued.
He felt his magic slipping, perhaps it would be better to let go, to escape the heat and be nothing.
Perhaps it would be…
NO!
Alim poured his will into his staff, magic coursed through him, thicker than blood!
I will not die here, the elf thought with a pained grimace, even as his dark hair began to smoke.
I WILL NOT DIE HERE!
This is not about me.
This is about Leli.
This is about my friends.
This is about Thedas.
The blight is not over!
I WILL NOT DIE HERE!
IOI
Morrigan held back as the group engaged the dragon. The witch was gathering her strength when Alim was consumed by the flames.
She watched the warriors closely, looking for the perfect opening; she just needed one shot, just one tiny moment of weakness.
Oghren brought his ax up hard on the dragon's flank, it kicked him away sending him rolling back, but the damage had been done.
Several melted scales had fallen away, breached by the dwarf's powerful, strike, the flesh beneath was laid bare.
Sten rushed in to take advantage.
She watched as the Qunari plunged his war sword deep into the dragon's belly, the blade sinking deep, up to the hilt.
The fire bombarding the elf ceased as the massive dragon flapped its wings and rose into the air, the gale made by the beast flattened the warriors and rogues to the last…
All except for Morrigan, lightning danced in the palms of her hands, flickering off her pale skin. It was not as strong or grand as what Alim could conjure, but it was not nothing either.
The witch's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Let us end this," she hissed.
She whirled, not even bothering to use her staff. The lightning blasted from her fingertips, the current not striking harmlessly on dragon scale this time.
This time, she focused the full might of it, behind her will, a will that directed the bolt into the hilt of Sten's Qunari war sword, and from their…into the dragon herself.
The effect was as brutal as it was immediate.
The dragon roared to the heavens.
Lightning exploded from beneath damaged scales, electricity lit up the monster's teeth. Its baleful eyes glowed brighter than the morning sun, as they cooked and burst beneath the onslaught.
One final pained roar shook the mountain peaks, blood and flame flew together from the dragon's maw. Blood quickly turned to dry mist by the lightning that exploded up from the monster's gullet.
The dragon rose into the air one last time, before its wings failed and it cartwheeled into a broken section of the temple ruins. Heavy stone collapsed on top of the beast, partially burying it.
Morrigan her strength drained from the display sank to her knees in the cold snow; sweat drenched the witch's pale body.
Yet she found that she cared nothing for the pain, or how tired she was.
Her eyes, like all the other's fell on the spot where the dragon had breathed.
A glowing white figure staggered out of the flames, the magic flicked and dissipated revealing a badly wounded elf. Alim's face was covered with red burn's his hair was spiky and burned, his cloak fell away turned to ash by the heat. Tiny fires still burned his skin and robes like tiny embers.
Alistair was the first to reach him.
"Lim?" the former Templar's voice was thick with concern.
Alim staggered.
"It…it doesn't…hurt," he murmured.
The elf keeled over in the snow.
IOI
"NOOOOOOO!"
Leliana's wail split the silence of the mountain, she tried to run to her lover, but found herself restrained by powerful arms.
Fergus kept her pinned.
"STOP!" he shouted.
NO!
"Leliana!"
NO!
"You will be burned!"
NOOOO!
She fought against his grip, part of her even struggled at her belt, for a dagger, a throwing blade…something.
Alim…no…her…her Alim!
No…he…he could not be…
The Maker was not that cruel!
Not after everything they had faced!
Not her Alim!
She fell to her knees sobbing!
ALIM!
NO!
IOI
Alim felt the world starting to slide away, the burning sensation in his lungs started to slip away, the exhaustion of fighting for his life faded into the background.
He…he was not afraid, he felt…content.
The others were all right; he had seen them all approaching.
She was all right.
He let out one final sigh.
One elf dies, all his friends get to live.
It was not just a fair trade, it was a bargain.
One he would gladly make again, he…
He stopped.
The warden mage hiccupped.
What…what was going on?
He felt the pain coming back, the world rushing back towards him, or perhaps…perhaps it was he being pulled back.
The burning in his lungs ceased, the smell of burnt flesh went away. He was bathed in cool blue-white light, and in that light, he heard a voice.
Your time is not yet done, young man. Come back to us, come back to her.
Alim's ears twitched.
The voice was Wynne's but it was not Wynne's. It…it was something else…something more.
You are not done yet warden…
Alim shivered, the voice did not just heal his body, and it touched his soul.
Have faith.
IOI
Alim's eyes snapped open; he sat up quickly, gasping for breath.
He looked down at his hands, his armor was still charred, but the skin beneath it was pale and whole.
He was surrounded by the others, some were happier to see him than others but…
The elf chuckled.
"What the fuck," he murmured.
Leliana tackled him to the ground; tears filled the bard's eyes. She was kissing him and berating him at the same time.
You fool!
You stupid wonderful fool!
Do something like that again and I'll kill you!
I…Oh Maker, thank you!
Alim, I love you.
He did not fight against her, he held her, and felt her tears hot on his shoulder.
In that moment he was crying to.
He searched the eyes of his allies, finally finding the gaze of the old circle mage. Wynne looked haggard, but was still standing. The blue white glow that had surrounded her when she came to him was already fading.
No not fading, but retreating back inside her.
He shook his head.
Tough old bitch wasn't she?
She had saved his life, but more than that, she had saved what was inside of him.
She had given him another chance, a chance to pass on what he knew…
He could not waste that.
It was far too precious for that.
He gave the old mage a grateful smile.
"Wynne?" he murmured.
Leliana blinked she looked at the old woman. Tears stung the bard's eyes.
"Thank you," she murmured, "Maker bless, you!"
The old woman coughed.
"Well…hm," she said leaning hard against her staff, "That was…interesting…and draining."
Alim's ears twitched.
"You called on it, didn't you, that…thing inside you?"
She gave him a tired shrug.
"I asked that it would give us aid, that it would aid you. It seemed necessary, if not a little rash. I…I think it may have weakened the spirit some…"
Alistair gave her a worried look.
"So…you could kill yourself doing stuff like that?"
Wynne looked chagrinned.
"I…well…I suppose that it is a possibility," she shrugged, "I…I guess I won't be doing that trick to entertain people at parties will I?"
Alim struggled to his feet. His armor was nothing but burned rags now. Fergus offered the elf his cloak, he accepted it gratefully.
The warden mage smiled at Wynne.
"You should not push yourself like that, we still need you."
She gave him a wan smile.
"Your concern is touching, my dear, thank you, but…"
"Wynne," he said stopping her.
"Yes?"
He leaned hard against Leliana but he still offered her his hand.
He did not know what to say, she…what she had done for him…it went beyond simple words.
In the end, he had only one, as small as it was…
He hoped that it would be enough.
"Thank you, Wynne," he said.
The old woman took his hand.
"Thanks."