I'm not going to go into detail about some of the parts of the game. If you haven't played, you'll probably get a bit confused.

Daylen

Daylen is so, so tired, low on mana and energy when the sun finally rises. And when he looks around, they all remain standing.

Avina is battered and bruised, exhausted from healing and fighting, but Daylen knows she'll be fine after some lyrium and a rest. Griffon was limping before the sun came up, but now he jumps about excitedly, completely fine. He supposes Avina is to blame for his quick recovery. Sten seems to be completely unscathed, not a scratch on him. Morrigan received a tear in her skirt, but that's the extent of damage done to her. Leliana and Alistair both have dents in their armor, shallow cuts on their arms and faces.

Daylen himself received no injury. As a battlemage, he's accustomed to running about while fighting, avoiding hits, and fighting at close range.

The militia got the worst of it, but it seems they arrived just in time. Avina's healing has proven invaluable; he knows that without her they would not have been nearly as fortunate.

Teagan greets them at the Chantry, amazed at the entire village's survival. One by one, the women and children inside step out into the sunshine, embracing their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons.

He notices little Bevin in the crowd just as the boy notices him, and he waves excitedly at the mage with a wide smile. Daylen half smiles back, raising his hand in greeting.

Teagan quiets them. "Dawn arrives, my friends," he calls, "and all of us remain! We are victorious!"

The crowd cheers.

After they are done being congratulated, Daylen lays a hand on Avina's shoulder. "Impressive work," he compliments, "we couldn't have done it without you."

She looks up at him in surprise. "Oh... thank you, Daylen. I'm... glad you're with us."

It is the first friendly conversation they have ever had.

Jowan

How long has it been since Jowan has slept? How long has it been since he's eaten? How long has it been since he saw another living person?

He can't remember anymore.

His time is measured in breaths, in water drops from the ceiling, in memories.

Sometimes he forgets he's in a dungeon in Redcliffe, and he thinks that he's still an apprentice waiting to take his harrowing, that he can't wait to ask Avina about her classes, that he can't wait to see Lily again.

But then he opens his eyes, and he's slowly starving, bleeding and alone is this cold dungeon and he doesn't know if anyone is still alive.

Sometimes, he prays.

But today is not one of those days. Today, the monsters have reached the basement.

Today, his luck has run out.

He tries to stay out of sight, barely breathing as he hopes they won't notice him, but when they pass his cell they snarl and reach as far as they can through the bars. Jowan screams as they claw at him. "Get away from me! Get away!"

As if they understand him, as if they care, they turn their heads and run towards the dead end of the dungeon.

And then he hears it.

The crunch of stone, the rush of ice, the clang of steel. Someone, a woman, laughs.

Oh, Maker. He hopes the arlessa hasn't sent back her guards to finish him off. But Lady Isolde doesn't have mages; what's going on out there?

Then all goes quiet. Jowan gulps, and calls out to whoever might be there, "Hello? Is there anyone alive out there? Who is it?"

Footsteps approach his cell. Then, "Jowan?"

He'd recognize that voice anywhere. "Avina?"

Her robes are torn and her braids are messy, but she's the same girl he left behind at the tower not so long ago.

"Jowan," she cries, and reaches through the bars to pull him into a hug. He doesn't hesitate to hug her back, squeezing her as tightly as the metal cage will allow. Others appear behind her, but he pays them little mind.

"Maker's breath," he gasps into her hair, pulling back to look at her. "How did you get here? I thought I'd never see you again."

"Are you the mage the arlessa mentioned?" she asks, looking him over. Only then does she seem to notice the blood splatters on his robes, the paleness of his skin, the dark circles under his eyes. "Jowan, what have they done to you?"

"What they do to all traitors and would-be assassins." He runs a hand through his messy hair. "I poisoned Arl Eamon. For all I know, he's already dead."

She looks surprised, and slightly hurt. "He's not dead, at least not yet."

"He's not?" Jowan sighs in relief. "That's... it's good to know. I know how it seems. Poisoning the arl was... a terrible thing. But I'm not behind everything else happening here, I swear!"

Avina bites her lip, and the tall blonde man in the armor behind her crosses his arms, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Before I say anything else, I need to ask you a question," Jowan admits. "You can do whatever you feel you need to afterward, but I need to know... What became of Lily? They didn't hurt her, did they? The thought that she might have paid for my crimes..."

Avina shakes her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Jowan. They sent her away, I don't know where."

Jowan's face falls. "Oh, my poor Lily. She must hate me now, if she even lives. What have I done?"

Avina squeezes his shoulder. "You couldn't have known the templars would be waiting for us."

"But it was my fault they were even after us in the first place. She could be dead, you could have been killed," Jowan argues. Then he sighs. "So, here we are again, the two of us. What happens now?"

"I need to know why you poisoned the arl, Jowan."

"I was instructed to by Teyrn Loghain," he explains. "I was told that Arl Eamon was a threat to Ferelden, that if I dealt with him Loghain would settle matters with the Circle. All I wanted was to be able to return. But he abandoned me here, didn't he? Everything's fallen apart. I never thought it would end like this!" He covers his face with his hands. "Maker, I've made so many mistakes! I've disappointed so many people... I wish I could go back and fix it. I just want to make everything right again."

Avina smiles warmly at him. "That's good to hear you say."

"Well... it's a start, maybe. I don't know if anything I do could ever make it right."

Why is it that whenever he does anything wrong, she will forgive him? He will never be worthy of her friendship.

"But why would the arl allow an apostate into the castle?" Avina asks.

"It wasn't the arl who invited me into the castle, it was the arlessa. Their son, Connor, had started to show... signs. Lady Isolde was terrified the Circle of Magi would take him away for training."

The blonde man behind Avina gapes. "Connor? A mage? I can't believe it!"

"She sought an apostate," Jowan continues. "A mage outside the Circle, to teach her son in secret so he could learn to hide his talent. Her husband had no idea."

Avina considers this. "Could Connor be responsible for what has happened?"

Jowan nods. "It's a possibility. Connor has little knowledge of magic, but he may have done something to tear open the Veil. With the Veil to the Fade torn, spirits and demons could infiltrate the castle. Powerful ones could kill and create those walking corpses."

"But why would Isolde be frightened of her son being a mage?"

"He'd be taken away. Forever. A mage cannot inherit a title, even the son of a powerful arl." He pauses. "She's also... a pious woman. Her son having magic was... humiliating."

Avina nods. "I see. I think I understand."

"The arl's a decent man," Jowan says sadly. "I wondered how he could possibly be the threat Loghain said he was, but I did it anyway. I'm such a fool."

"Everyone makes mistakes," Avina tries to soothe.

Jowan shakes his head. "Mistakes like mine? I've just messed everything up. My entire life. I've made such bad decisions. I'm sick of running away and hiding from what I've done. I'm going to try to fix it, any way I can."

A woman he can't see speaks up. "I say this boy could still be of use to us. But if not, then let him go. Why keep him prisoner here?"

"Hey, hey!" the blonde man interjects. "Let's not forget he's a blood mage! You can't just... set a blood mage free!"

"Better to slay him?" the woman replies. "Better to punish him for his choices? Is this Alistair who speaks or the templar?"

Jowan's brow furrows. The man named Alistair is a templar? Why is he traveling with Avina, he wonders.

"I'd say it's common sense," Alistair snaps back. "We don't even know the whole story yet."

Another woman standing beside the blonde man with short red hair turns to the templar. "He wishes to redeem himself," she says with an Orlesian accent. "Doesn't everyone deserve that chance?"

"Like yourself, you mean?" the other woman snarks.

The Orlesian lifts her chin. "Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves in the Maker's eyes; this man no less than any."

Alistair sighs. "He's your friend," he tells Avina. "you know him best."

Avina bites her lips, her silvery blue eyes fill with indecision.

Avina

Jowan was always her best friend, from the time she arrived at the Circle. She was a young girl then, only four or five while Jowan was seven or eight. She always thought of him like an older brother, someone she could tell any of her secrets to and not be judged because he loved her as much as she loved him.

They did everything together. They ate together, played together, went to classes together, and sometimes when Avina was scared, she would crawl into Jowan's bed and sleep there until dawn. He was the only family she had left. He was her only friend.

But as they grew older, and Avina's skills began to surpass Jowan's, he grew afraid. He thought if a girl who arrived after him was better at magic than him, then he must be doing something wrong.

Avina knew about the blood magic. Of course she did; she caught him practicing it late one night in the library, reading from the books that the templars told them not to touch. Was she angry? No, she knew he meant no harm. Was she scared? Oh yes. Very much so. The consequences for using blood magic were more severe than almost any other crime in the Circle.

He begged her not to tell anyone, and she promised she wouldn't breath a word. She meant it.

And yet...

Avina was always such a curious girl. She wanted to know who was gossiping about what, how to cast the most difficult spells, any secrets she could get her hands on. And now Jowan had a secret, a secret not even she knew.

Was it really as bad as they say, she wondered. Jowan wasn't immediately possessed by a demon that destroyed the whole tower, so obviously some of the things they said about blood magic were exaggerated.

She always knew there was a possibility that they were lying, only trying to keep the mages from becoming too powerful for the templars to control.

Jowan only made her more certain.

And because Avina was so insatiably curious, she asked Jowan to do something for her, starting that very night.

She asked him to teach her.

Tel'abelas.

Next chapter: The Demon of Desire