Dragon Age:
Origins
(Book 1 of 7)
Chapter Three.
Neria came to when she heard someone creeping towards her, her eyes popped open and she shoot up when she saw the shadowy shape looming over her. "Get away from me Demon!" She cried out and held out her hand, ready to blast it away from her.
"Neria! It's just me!" The shrill voice cried and Neira lowered her arm, she peered at the shape in the darkness and she could just make out it's plain features.
Jowan.
"You scared the crap out of me! What in the Maker's name were you doing creeping around in the dark?" Neria said as she turned in the bed so her legs were dangling over the edge. "For that matter," She mused as she glanced around the dark apprentice quarters. "Why is it so dark in here?"
"The First Enchanter said you were to have total peace and quite while you rested, they asked me to look after you while you recovered from your Harrowing." Jowan said as he placed his finger on the wick of a candle which was resting on the small table next to Neria's bed and channelled a flame into, causing a small glow to light the area.
Now that there was light Neria could more easily make out Jowan's features and she noticed that he looked terrible, he clearly hadn't shaved in days and he was very pale which made the dark bags under his eyes all the more noticeable. She had noticed that he had also been jumpy for the last couple of days as well.
"Here." Jowan said as he picked up a glass vial that was on the table and handed it to her. "Wynne said you were supposed to drink this when you woke up, it'll help you get your energy back."
Neria gingerly took the vial and pulled out the cork stopper before pouring it into her mouth, it taste of ginger ale which was a pleasant surprise as most potions tasted like old socks and as soon as it went down her throat she suddenly felt a lot better, almost like she could run for miles.
"Not bad." Neria said with a hum as she placed the vial back on the table. "Remind to thank Wynne the next time I see her."
"You'll have to wait a bit then, Wynne's gone. She left about an hour after she gave me that potion." Jowan said with a shrug as he sat down in a chair that was placed next to Neria's bed.
Neria frowned. "Gone? Gone where? How long have I been out?"
"You've been sleeping about two days, I was getting worried but the First Enchanter told it was perfectly normal. Apparently one mage after their Harrowing was out for an entire week, and Wynne's gone to Ostagar." Jowan informed her.
"Ostagar?" Neria asked with a raised eyebrow, she had never heard of that before. "Where's that?"
"Didn't you pay any attention in History class?" Jowan asked with an annoyed sigh. "It's an old Tevinter fortress, Wynne and few other senior enchanters have been summoned their by the King and no before you ask, no, I don't know why.
"Now." Jowan began as he leaned forward, the light candle causing dark shadows to fly across his face. "It's my turn to ask you a question. Your Harrowing, what was it like?"
"It was...Harrowing, I'll tell you that much." Neria grinned as Jowan groaned and crossed his arms, tilting his head back to look at the roof of the dorm. "Seriously, Jowan we're friends but you know I can't tell you anything about it. You'll find out soon enough anyway."
"Maybe." Jowan muttered darkly as he looked at his friend. "I've been here longer than you have, and almost every apprentice has gone through their Harrowing. I'm starting to worry it'll never be my turn."
"Oh, that's crazy." Neria said as she stood up, stretching her arms and letting out a groan. "You'll be called any day now, I know it."
"Whatever." Jowan said with a shake of his head. "And now you get to move to the fancy mage quarters upstairs while I'm stuck here." He muttered before sighing. "The First Enchanter said he wanted to see you when you got up by the way."
"Well, I shouldn't keep him waiting." Neria said before she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Try not to worry about it." All she got was a grunt so she decided it was time to leave.
The trunk at the end of her bed which held all her belongs was gone so she assumed that someone had moved it to her new quarters, she noticed that most of the other apprentices were still in bed so given how dark it was it was probably early in the morning. Which meant any hope of getting breakfast was dashed.
She quietly left the room and shut the door behind her, the stone walls of the tower greeting her. The stairwell to the upper level was in the library.
As she walked through the corridors she couldn't help but laugh as the giddiness in her gut caught her off guard, she had done it! She was officially a mage of the circle!
She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the Templar she bumped into until it was too late and she was falling to the ground.
As she sat up and rubbed her head the Templar knelt in front of her. "I am so sorry! I didn't see you I didn't-" Neria looked up as the Templar's breath caught in his throat.
"It's alright Cullen, could you just help me up please?" Cullen quickly shot up and gently pulled her up, a deep blush covering his face.
"I am really sorry Neira, I didn't watch were I was going." Cullen said, his voice quiet as he played with his fingers. "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"
"I'm fine Cullen, really. I should've been watching were I was going as well." Neria soothed as she brushed her hair back. "How are you today? Oh, by the way did you hear that I finished my Harrowing?"
"I'm well and...yes I did know, I was there." Cullen said as he rubbed the back of his head, looking equal parts awkward and ashamed. "You did not see me because I was wearing my helm but I was there, I was the one who...was chosen to slay you should you fall to the demon's temptation."
Neria wasn't stupid, she was well aware of Cullen's infatuation with her and while it was not one she shared she could see that admitting such a thing had pained him as obviously had the thought of having to do his duty. She decided to be kind to him. "It's alright Cullen, I know you vows to the Maker come before all else and I came through my Harrowing just fine, nothing to worry about."
"That is very generous of you to say, thank you Neria." Cullen said with a blush. "If you will excuse me, I must continue with my duties or the Knight-Commander will have my head." With a quick nod the young Templar practically sprinted down the corridor.
Neria chuckled and shook her before she continued to make her way to the library. It didn't take her long and she quickly made her way through, she saw that enchanters were teaching the young children and apprentices and older apprentices were studying and she didn't want to disturb any of them.
The stairway to the second level of the tower was in a back room off of the main library, it was a long climb and again she hated whoever decided that this Circle should be held in a tower.
It took her about ten minutes and while Neria thought of herself as being in relatively good shape the climb had still robbed her of her breath, before opening the door at the top of the stairs Neria took a moment to catch her breath and compose herself. After all she was going to be living with the mages and enchanters now, she didn't want their first impression of her to be a sweaty pig.
Once she felt comfortable enough she pushed the door open and walked in the large chamber beyond, this was the Circle's stockroom where full mages could requstion magical items to help them in there studies. Neria may not have been a full mage before but apprentices had come up to help move things and she had often had to carry items that the enchanters had requisitioned as they were apparently too good to carry them themselves.
"Welcome to the circle stockroom. Can I help you?" While the voice that had said it had been in a dull monotone it still made Neria jump, she spun on her feet and let out a breath of relief.
"Owain! You scared me!" She shouted, the Tranquil showed no reaction. She imagined that someone with no emotions couldn't really react anyway.
"My apologises. Can I help you?" Owain asked again.
"No thank you Owain, I need to go and see the First Enchanter." The Tranquil nodded and when he realised that he was not required for anything went back to tending to the stock rooms like Neria had never even been there to start with.
The Tranquils before made Neria sad and scared her more than she would ever like to admit, to be cut off completely from the fade, to lose all their magic which even the Chantry, however grudgingly, admitted was a gift, was bad enough but to lose all emotion? To lose all joy and sadness and pain and anger?
Neria couldn't bare the thought of it. She had meant what she had told the Knight-Commander in the Harrowing chamber.
She would rather die than be like that.
She quickly left the stockroom, she really didn't want to think about it anymore.
The room beyond the stockroom was another library and while this one was much smaller than the library below, this one only spanned a single room while the one below took up an entire hall worth of space, she felt far more excited to be in this one than she would ever the one below her feet.
This library held all the most interesting and advanced texts, here was where she could learn to crush a man in an invisible cage, here she could learn to heal someone of even the most fatal of injuries, here was the knowledge of how to summon storms and gales and how to make fire rain from the sky.
She knew that she should keep the First Enchanter waiting but surely he would mind if she just had a quick flip through one of the old, heavy tomes? He probably still though that she was asleep, a quick look wouldn't hurt.
She walked to one of the shelves, ignoring two enchanters arguing about something that she didn't really care about, and picked up a heavy tome entitled "The school of Sprit, how to hold back death." As began to flip through the book she noticed something odd out of the corner of her eye and looked up to see if she was seeing what she though that she was seeing.
One of the bookshelves was stripped completely bare, she could tell by the imprints in the thick dust that there had been book being held in it and they hadn't been moved that long ago. Perhaps it was simply because not long ago she had been in realm of demons but the sight of the empty bookshelf unnerved her.
She shut the book she was reading and placed it back on the shelf, she suddenly wanted to go to the First Enchanter.
As Neria hurried through the halls she tried not to pay attention to the sound of singing, she groaned in annoyance as it got louder and louder. She had forgotten that the chapel was on this floor.
She didn't necessarily not believe in the Maker, all this had to come from somewhere after all and she knew more about the Maker than any other god. No, her problem wasn't the Maker it was the Chantry it's self.
To say that they often abused their power was an understatement, there were plenty of good sisters and priests she was aware of that but the bad ones were the ones who more often than not got the power. They held the mage's leash, they were the ones who controlled the Templars, they were the ones who condemned her to be locked up in this tower for the rest of her life.
It wasn't hard to feel a tiny bit bitter.
Thankfully the singing had faded away the closer she reached the First Enchanter's office, as she approached however that now instead of singing she could hear something else.
Voices.
Two she recognised, the Knight-Commander and the First Enchanter, but the other was new to her and she knew almost all the people in the Tower. There was only one way to find how who it was so she stepped closer to the door and rapped her fist against it quickly.
"Come in child." Irving's wise voice said on the other side of the door and Neria wondered how he knew that it was her, she didn't worry about it and opened the door.
The Knight-Commander looked annoyed and the source of his annoyance was a dark-skinned man with a goatee and dressed in armour, the strange man smiled welcomingly at her. "Ah, so this is the latest to pass her Harrowing."
"Yes, this is she. And if you think your taking her then you can put that idea out of your mind right now. Too many of our own have already gone to Ostagar-" Gregior was interrupted by Irving, who chuckled softly.
"Our own? Why Gregior, I didn't realise that you felt such kinship with us mages. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that I am deeply touched." Irving said with a grin that looked quite strange for a man of his age.
Gregior looked as if he was about to say something that he regretted but was stopped when the new man spoke. "Gentlemen, you needn't worry, I do not plan on taking anyone who does not wish to go with me. Now, perhaps we can get introductions out of the way? The young lady looks quite confused."
"You are quite right, Neria. This Duncan, he is a Grey Warden." Neria's eyes went wide as she stared at the man in armour in new light, a grey warden...
They were an ancient order sworn to protect Thedas from the Blights, an event that occurred when a large amount of Darkspawn came up from the Dwarven Deep Roads and swarmed in the land in great numbers.
The last such blight had been over four hundred years ago, why was the grey warden here?
"It seems that there is little need for explanation." Ducan said with a laugh which brought Neria out of her thoughts. "It is a pleasure to meet you my dear."
"And it is an honour to meet you Grey Warden, may I ask...what are you doing here?" She asked before turning her head towards Irving and Gregior. "And what is happening at Ostagar, Jowan told me that Wynne left."
"That boy is far too much trouble." Gregior mutter darkly before Duncan began to explain.
"I am here to see if any mages wish to be recruits into the grey wardens, our numbers our not quite what they used to be and, well there have been a significant amount of Darkspawn raids on the surface, rather large ones at that." Duncan said solemnly.
"Do-Do you mean it's another Blight?" Neria whispered as dread grabbed hold of her heart, it had taken almost all of Thedas working together to stop the last one.
"We are unsure as of yet, your Wynne and other mages have conscripted by the King to lend support to our forces. We be holding at Ostagar." Duncan informed her.
"That's enough Duncan there is no reason to scare the girl." Irving said with an annoyed glance to the warden, he turned his head to look at Neria. "Now child, I would like you to please see Duncan to his quarters. He will be using Wynne's the duration of his visit. Oh, before you go." The First Enchanter said as he turned and walked towards his desk where a large amount of books and papers were piled up.
"Ah! Here they are!" Irving walked back with a folded up robe and a wooden staff. "For passing your Harrowing, these are yours now."
"Thank you First Enchanter." Neria breathed as she took the robes and the staff, this was the proof that she had done it. That she was well on her way up the circle hierarchy.
"You can thank me by showing Duncan to his room."
"Of course, please follow me Grey Warden." Neria said as she turned on her feet and walked out of the room, Duncan following after her.
As soon as they left and they shut the door behind them Neria could here them starting to argue again or rather she could hear Gregior starting to shout at Irving again. "Your Knight-Commander does enjoy a good shout doesn't he?" Duncan said with a shake of his head.
"Tell me about it?" Neria muttered before she stuttered to try and change what she said. "I meant that, he can be quite loud Grey warden...No, I mean-"
"It's quite alright Neria, may I call you Neria?" He asked before counting after Neria nodded. "I imagine that it must be quite difficult to live with people watching you all the time."
"It can be quite difficult, sometimes I worry that they watch us bath." She said as they began to walk down the corridor. "I mean, they are basically Chantry boys. They have to be quite repressed."
Duncan chuckled. "Perhaps, though I do not believe that a vow of chastity is part of the Templar vows." As they continued to walk for a little while in silence Duncan spoke again. "I wonder if I may ask you something?"
"Of course." Neria answered.
"Would you be interested in being a Grey Warden recruit?" That question nearly caused Neria to trip over her own feet, she turned to look at Duncan with wide eyes.
"I...I am not certain. It is a large responsibility, even more so if this is truly a Blight."
"It is not an easy life, but if this a Blight then we need all the Grey Wardens we can get." Duncan explained. "Irving told me of your potential, it is truly Gregior who does not wish me to take anyone. He does not like the fact that his control of mages is not quite as absolute as he would like to believe."
"That sounds like Gregior." Neria thought. "May I think about it? It does not seem like a decision which I should take lightly or make quickly."
"Of course, but I must ask that you decided soon as I am leaving around noon tomorrow." Duncan said before they continued down the corridor.
They hadn't stopped far from Wynne's quarters and the two said goodbye with Duncan thanking her for the talk and reminding her to keep what he said in mind. As Neria turned to leave she jumped when she Jowan standing there, looking fidgety.
"Jowan! You're making scaring me a habit! What are you doing here? Apprentices shouldn't be up here without a mage chaperoning them." Neria said with a confused look on her face, she was worried. In the short time since she had left Jowan he suddenly looked an awful lot worse.
"We'll say your chaperoning me, look I need you to come with me right now." Jowan said as he looked over his shoulder. "Please, we need to go before any Templars see me!"
"Jowan, what's going on?" Neria said as a bad feeling settled heavily in her gut.
Jowan groaned loudly and rubbed his face. "Ne, please not know. Just come with me and I'll explain when we get there."
Neria sighed. "Fine! But we're stopping by my Quarters so I can change, these robes stink of sweat!"
"Yes, fine whatever you want just come on!" Jowan said as he grabbed Neria's wrist and began to pull her away.
As Neria let Jowan drag her she couldn't help but feel that she wasn't going to like she heard...
End of Chapter Three.
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