Here we are with another Chapter. Please enjoy.
Chapter 19
"There it is! Soldier's Peak." Levi Dryden said. "Told you I would lead you to it, didn't I?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, after getting us lost twice in the process." he commented dryly.
"Hey! It's not my fault that the map was so old that it's nearly impossible to read." Levi said, defending himself.
"It's all right Levi. We can always draw up a new one later." Aedan cut in.
Levi sighed as he looked to Aedan. "You're right Warden. Let's get this over with." he said.
Soldier's Peak was built in the middle of the Glory Age, several decades after the Second Blight was ended. With the death of the Archdemon Zazikel at the hands of the Grey Warden Corin at the battle of Starkhaven in 1:95 Divine, Warden Commander Gaspar Asturian wished for a fortress to be built where he can have the Wardens of Fereldan live and train. With the Second Blight still fresh in the minds of many in Fereldan, The people gladly donated the gold necessary to build the fortress. Due to this the fortress was completed within 10 years and was later dedicated to the Maker in 9:34 Glory.
However, during the Storm Age, under the tyrannical rule of King Arland Theirin, he along with his army had besieged the fortress when he learned that his cousin, Sophia Dryden, who was a Grey Warden, had been using the Grey Wardens of Fereldan to stage a rebellion against the King. After a long and bloody battle, in which most of the Wardens were killed, Soldier's Peak was abandoned and later forgotten.
Walking up the snow, the group of Aedan, Harry, Levi, Leliana, Sten and Shale stared at the imposing fortress. The snow covering most of the crumbling walls. While there some gaps in its defenses, none could deny that it was built to last. The large opening at the front was where a large iron gate lay smashed on the ground with some skeletons peeking out of the snow. As the group stepped up to the entrance, they were assaulted by a vision of the events that took place within.
They saw soldiers running around as they dragged fellow wounded soldiers out of the fire range of the archers that were firing from within the fortress. They saw a commander commanding the soldiers to fall back while another stood next to him.
"Fall back! Fall back I said! Damn those Wardens." The man said. "I gave them one chance to surrender peacefully but instead they attack. We'll follow the king's advice then, starve them out." he finished.
The other man spoke up. "But Commander! The fortress has months of supplies. Our men don't have enough rations to wait that long, and the terrain is not easy for us to create camp."
"Then we wait them out sergeant. When they're to weak to even lift their weapon do we strike." The Commander answered.
With that the vision ended and the group was back where they were with no ghostly commander's commanding his soldiers and flying arrows. Harry was the first one to recover as he was used to visions of the past coming up suddenly. It took a few more moments for the others to recover themselves, however Levi was clearly shaken by the experience. Levi turned towards Aeden and began to stammer out.
"What...W..What was that? I'm not going mad am I? You saw it too."
"That was a memory of this place of great significance. When events of importance happen, they leave imprints in the area, and when the Veil is thin, then it bleeds out into the real world, letting people see these events but never interact with them." Harry explained.
"Doesn't a thin Veil mean demons and the Fade?" Aedan asked for clarification.
Harry nodded in confirmation. "Yes, although the Veil must be extremely thin if a vision like the one we saw was that vivid. Normally visions such as these are normally just wisps of imprints interacting with the real world and not the one we saw" he stated.
"There is no point in standing around. Let us be off and rid this place of the demons." Sten said.
Aedan nodded and began to walk forward, towards the front doors. However just as he was about to, a dark presence seem to permeate around them. The group got into a defensive circle with Levi in the middle as they all drew their weapons, or in the case for Shale, simply smashed her hands together.
The area grew even more cold as green mist seemed to appear out of nowhere and the sounds of evil cackling was heard. The green mist grew darker as the bones of long dead soldiers began to rise, their armour and weapons still in somewhat fighting condition despite the centuries. As the large group of undead skeletons grew even larger, Levi let out a small whimper as he tried to lower himself to the ground in fear.
"Oh good, something for me to smash." Shale said.
"Protect Levi!" Aedan commanded as the group of skeletons came at them slowly. "Harry! Anything you can do to get rid of this?"
"No can do Aedan. Something is drawing power from the Fade, from the Veil itself! It's difficult for me to use my magic to do anything." Harry said.
Suddenly the wave of skeletons came crashing down upon the group, all of them trying to kill them. Using all of their skills, Aedan, Sten and Harry killed as many of the undead that tried to break the wall of steel. Leliana did not have her bow and arrows but rather a pair of steel short swords for close combat as she used her skills that were taught to here in deflecting the slashes and parrying where she could not. Shale simply used her massive build to smash the skeletons to smaller pieces with absolute ease.
Luckily Harry still had access to his spirit abilities and with that he sheathed his sword. Slamming his fist onto the ground, using Wraith Flash Harry forced the oncoming swarm back a few feet, while also stunning them. Quickly moving into his Shadowstrike, Harry flashed towards the skeletons and coalescing whatever magic he could into his hands, Harry punched the skeleton so hard that it broke the spell that brought them alive. Flashing to the next one, Harry also did the same and then so on and so on until there no more around them.
"That...That was impressive." Leliana breathed as Harry shook his hands to get some feeling them again.
The magic that he had coalesced in his hands had the unfortunate effect of numbing his senses around his hands making him not feel anything at all until he dispelled it. Even then he would not be able to do much of anything until he could get the blood flowing into them.
"Thanks." Harry said. "Can't do much until I can feel my hands again though."
"You alright there Levi?" Aedan asked the trembling man.
"Y...Yes. I'm alright Warden. A little shaken up, but nothing to worry about." he answered.
Aedan nodded his head in understanding. "Well then, lets keep moving. Leliana, Shale, you keep Levi safe from harm, understand?"
"Crystal." Shale spoke.
"Of course Aedan." Leliana chimed.
Aedan said nothing in return and simply lead the group forward into the fortress. As everyone entered the hall, they noticed that wisps of spirits took the shape of men and women around the hall, all of them doing their own thing. On the far end of the hall were two people, one of them, a woman wearing heavy armour while the other, a man who was apparently a mage by the robes he wore and the staff he was holding, seemed to be in conversation.
"The men and women's morals are low and my magic are of no use in this kind of situation Sophia." The man stated.
The woman, Sophia shook her head. "They are Wardens, Avernus. There is more to leading than a simple wave your fingers." she said.
Sophia walked into the middle of the hall and began speaking loudly, catching everyone's attention. "Men, I know that we are outnumbered, your stomachs aching and your hearts low. But WE are Wardens! We, the people who have saved this land from the Darkspawn and the Blight, the ones who keep the people safe from the nightmare that awaits them! While we barricade our fortressm this great nation that we stand upon is being ruled by a tyrant! Well I say NO MORE! I propose that we, here and now, within these sacred halls, send a message to that fat bastard sitting on the throne. We tell him that STRONG men, PROUD men stood defiant until the end and that we would rather die then serve under tyranny!" She finished her speech to thunderous applause and roars of approval.
As the semi vision ended, Levi walked walked to where Sophia stood during her speech, face in awe at the woman. "Even against all the odds, she held on." He said.
"I'm sure your great-great-great grandmother was a good woman." Aedan said as he placed a hand on Levi's shoulder.
"That King Arland must have been something truly nasty if even the Wardens would go against him." Levi commented.
"Not much is know about King Arlands reign, only the part about his part in banishing the Wardens. Anything beyond that is sketchy at best as the records were destroyed during the civil war that followed after his death." Aedan explained the history he had learned.
"Well, no sense in staying here, there has to be more." Levi said, shaking himself from his thoughts.
Making their way through the fortress, the group encountered a variety of demons as they fought their way through. During the fight, Leliana and Shale would make sure that any demon that tried to get too close would pay the price while Harry, Sten and Aedan cleared they room. However, as they went up the stairs and onto the second floor, the feeling in the room reminded everyone, sans Shale and Levi, of the Fade.
As they moved through the room, the group was assaulted by another vision, this one just as vivid as the one they experienced from earlier.
Sophia and a group of other Wardens were holding back the oncoming horde of King Arlands forces as they tried to slaughter them. The Wardens were managing to hold their own, not surprising as they were chosen due to their capabilities or abilities in battle. Behind the group was a group of Mages led by the same man from before, Avernus. Harry immediately knew from the inscriptions that were carved upon the floor that they were going to summon a bunch of demons.
"Press them back Wardens!" Sophia ordered as she cut down a charging soldier. Turning her head swiftly she barked, "Avernus, we need you!"
"Nelatep Obresooth Sythan Net Bekon!" Avernus chanted.
Demons began rise from the summoning circle and began to attack the King's men. Pressing their advantage, the Wardens began to push back the enemy forces.
"More Avernus! Whatever it takes!" Sophia ordered as she pushed back even more.
"Kalee I Benfotus Victus!" Avernus chanted.
Harry frowned as he knew that last bit of chanting. It was the same one that Voldemort and his Death Eaters did on the day that his quest for vengeance was over. He had read the ritual up later after the battle and the ritual disgusted him as it asked to sacrifice someone to help open the gateway. Unfortunately, there was no way for someone to control a demon so most of the time the idiot trying to do so would just unleash an army that had nothing to stop them. He knew that the ritual would allow the person to summon a small group at first, however with enough power, they could rip the veil open and unleash everything from the Fade.
Sure enough they saw the Veil tear itself open and out came a large group of demons. The demons began to attack everyone that stood in front of them, Warden and the Kings men alike. One of the demons even hit a poor female mage so hard that she went soaring and hit her head on the stone wall so hard that there was blood on where head impacted, killing the poor girl.
"No! I command you to attack the King's men, not our own!" Avernus ordered desperately, fear clearly in his eyes.
One of the demons however towered over Avernus and spoke. "Fool! So much death. Suffering. And oh yes, pain. You are mine now Avernus! You're soul now belongs to me!"
Avernus, fear in his eyes, began to back away. With despair he called out for the other mages. "Acolytes. Retreat now. The battle is lost." he said as he and the other mages fled the room.
"Avernus!" Sophia called out.
With that the vision ended.
A piercing shriek sounded out throughout the room as a group of demons began to charge at them.
"Oh great, more fighting." Levi whined as he ran behind Shale.
Dealing with the demons was easy work. What concerned him however was the torn Veil and the fact that it seemed that someone was drawing power from it, though not in such large amounts. As he walked towards the torn Veil, blocking out the conversation that was happening between Levi and Aedan about what they just saw, he began to formulate ways on how to close the tear.
Using his Mage Sight, he saw a thin tendril of magic being pulled out of the room and into the next. While not much, after centuries of siphoning of the the magic from the Fade, it was bound to make anyone powerful enough to bring back such undead skeletons and whatever that person had waiting for them.
Cutting off the connection from the Fade would severely weaken the person from doing to much damage. The problem with that would be actually cutting the connection. For the connection to be cut, the tear would have to close, but seeing as the connection was keeping it open, that was not something that can be done so easily. For a normal Mage, perhaps, but not for him.
Using his ring to amplify his Templar abilities, he the drew his sword and held the blade parallel to his face. His ring and blade began to glow in a bright blue hue until it lit everything in the room. Reversing his grip on his sword so that the tip of the blade was facing the floor, he brought his arms up above his head before slamming his sword down into the floor, the tip stopping upon reaching it.
Immediately a massive pillar of light shot out from Harry's standing form before slowly expanding. The light continued to expand slowly until it covered him completely from sight. The pillar then suddenly reversed direction and shrunk down into a large ball of light before exploding outwards. The explosion sent out a massive dome of the supercharged Wrath of Heaven as the dome spread through the walls, into the other rooms of the fortress and finally the entire fortress and its surrounding area in a five mile radius.
The effect of the of the supercharged Wrath of Heaven killed any demons or abominations that roamed the area, or those effected by the power of the Fade. In the room where the tendril of magic was being absorbed lied the ashes of a woman that should have long since faded to dust, only to be kept alive by a demon. In a tower a ways off, an old man long past his life expectancy had to struggle to lift himself from the pure power that came from the room where he made the greatest mistake of his life.
Harry let his sword slip from his grip as he struggled to stay conscious. Falling onto his hands and knees, he tried to take huge lungfuls of air to regain his breathing. His entire face and body was drenched in sweat and his vision had small black spots dancing around. He felt a hand hold him steady. Turning his head slowly, Harry saw that it was Aedan who had looked at him worriedly. Turning his body slowly, he sat down on the ground. Turning to his ring, Harry could still feel the effects of the Templars magic as it clashed severely with his own magic, something that he has not felt in a very long time.
Grabbing a pair of flasks filled with Lyrium with his severely shaking hands, he struggled to uncork the bottle, only for them to be taken from his grasp by Sten. The Qunari uncorked both flasks and helped Harry drink the liquid. As the cool fluid traveled down his throat, he could feel some warmth return to him and his head did not feel as if Shale stepped on it.
"Are you ok Harry? What happened?" he asked gently.
Closing his eyes to clear his head. "What you just saw was a Templar ability called the Wrath of Heaven, it is an ability that creates a massive pillar of holy light that can help to close tears like this, albeit weaker and shorter lasting ones. Due to the fact that this tear lasted for centuries, I decided to supercharge the ability with my ring and cast the ability." he explained
"Is that why you look as if you just vomited three barrels worth of alcohol? Aedan asked.
Harry snorted at the description, something he was not going to argue with as he indeed feel that way somewhat. "No, that was the other effect of the ability. Every time I use a Templar ability, it drains me slightly, due to the fact that I know how to use both magic and Templar abilities. With the supercharge Templar ability and the my lack of magic with me, it has drained me of nearly everything I have. Some rest will help, as well as a few more Lyrium flasks." Harry answered.
"Once this mess is sorted, we'll get you to Wynne, she will be in charge of your health." Aedan said.
Harry groaned in protest but said nothing. Unfortunately for him, Leliana had decided to speak up.
"You know that Luna is going to be pissed when she finds out that you hurt yourself." Leleiana stated, to which made harry groaned again as Aedan and Leliana laughed.
Something that Harry was truly afraid of was Luna finding out that he had hurt himself in any way. In a fight, there was always that risk but anytime out of battle, she would scream and shout at him for his recklessness. He remembered this one time, before they were married where he had been injured after a chase through the woods with a group of bandits that tried to rob them. One of the bandits managed to shoot an arrow towards his shoulder that allowed the bandits to make their escape.
When he had returned to camp, Luna helped to patch him up before hitting him over the head and berate him for his recklessness. It was so bad a scolding it felt as if he was being scolded by his own mother after he created problems.
"Come on. We're done here." Aedan said.
"Not quite Warden." A voice said. The group turned and saw an extremely old man standing at the entrance of the next room. The man wore a dark blue robe with a worn out staff in his hand.
"Your the mage that released the demons here, Avernus." Harry stated.
"That is correct young man. I guess I can thank you for closing the tear in the Fade and clearing this old fortress of the demons here." Avernus said.
"I want answers." Aedan demanded as he and Sten helped Harry to his feet, with Sten helping to keep Harry on his feet.
"To what questions? Ask." Avernus said.
"Are you really Avernus, and if you are, how are you still alive after all this time." Aedan asked as that was the first thing on his mind.
"I am Avernus. As to how I have lived for so long...The Chantry foolishly condemns Blood Magic! They just don't realize the potential it has." Avernus said with passion.
"Until the mage loses sight of his original goal and sees everything as a justifiable means to an end." Harry said.
"That is a sin against the Maker! To extend ones own life through such dark rituals." Leliana spat in disgust.
"Short sighted men and fools were the ones who are against it. Not some absentee god." Avernus spat back.
"So what exactly have you been up to for the past few centuries?" Aedan asked hoping to stop a fight before it broke.
"Researching ways to undo the mistake that I started all those years ago. The demons could counter anything I could come up with, even Blood Magic! But the Darkspawn taint, that is alien to them. I have concocted a potion that would push the boundaries of a Grey Warden's abilities to their peak. While sensing Darkspawn is all well and good, this potion would make the drinker the ultimate scourge against the Darkspawn." Avernus explained.
"This potion, where is it?" Aedan asked.
"In my lab, in my tower." Avernus answered.
"Levi Dryden has some questions about Sophia and the events that had happened here. Will you answer him?" Aedan asked, putting Levi in the forefront.
"Ah! The boy who braved the mists. And a Dryden too! The cosmos has a sense of humor. Ask your questions." Avernus encouraged.
"Uh, well, Mr Mage, thing is, my family's name has been worth nothing but dirt ever since and I was hoping that there was some evidence that would clear her and the Dryden name." Levi asked, nervous of being in front of this centuries old Grey Warden.
"Ah." Avernus said, his face crestfallen in sorrow and regret. "Sophia Dryden was a damn fine woman! Strong. Courageous and a damn fine Commander of the Grey! But evidence. I'm sorry but there is none to be had."
"I see. I had hoped." Levi stated as he looked to the ground in sadness.
"I'm sorry Levi." Aedan said softly as he placed a hand on Levi's shoulder.
"It's okay Warden. Thank you though. If you'll excuse me, I would like to be alone for the time being." Levi asked.
Aedan nodded and had Leliana and Shale stay with Levi for protection. Once they had left, Aedan had Avernus take himself, Harry and Sten to his tower to see about the potion. As they crossed the bridge that separated the tower from the rest of the fortress, Harry could feel the amount of rituals that had been conducted as the air was heavy with the scent of magic.
Walking through the entrance to the tower, Harry could see the amount of books that was displayed on the shelves and could see that many of these books was something that was lost to time. Extremely rare tomes that held long lost spells and magic. The student in him was salivating at the amount of magic that he could learn from them, however he held a tight rein on his thirst for knowledge and focused back on what Avernus was saying.
"- improves strength, duability and speed. It will also allow you to unlock abilities that will only be unique to Grey Wardens." Avernus finished explaining as he handed the vial of dark red substance to Aedan.
Taking the vial and staring at it, Aedan uncorked the vial and drank its entire content with a single swig. Nothing happened for the next few seconds and Harry was wondering if the potion was a failure, that thought however was thrown out when Aedan dropped the vial he was holding and began to clutch his abdomen, falling to his knees.
Not knowing what to do, Harry and Sten simply watched as Aedan grunted in pain, now on his hands and knees as he seemed to struggle to breath. Sweat was pouring down his face as his eyes were shut tightly.
"Do not be alarmed." Avernus said calmly. "The potion is simply forcing an evolution of the Darkspawn Blood to allow it to use the abilities."
"You could have mentioned hat part first!" Harry shouted as Aedan gave an ear piercing cry.
Harry watched as Aedan's breath slowed, his face red from the exertion. When he tried to stand, he stumbled back on to the ground and put a hand up to stop him from helping him up. Aedan tried once again, slowly at first, gaining his footing before slowly rising to stand up straight.
"Are you well Warden?" Sten asked.
"I am Sten. Better actually. I feel as if I grew twice as strong." Aedan said.
"What you have just gained is a great boon for you and will be a definite nightmare for the Darkspawn." Avernus said. "The matter of my fate however, is still up for debate, Warden. What will you do with my life?" He asked.
Aedan sighed as he leaned on the table, his thoughts away. Sten and Harry kept quiet as this was a decision that he was to make as the acting Warden Commander of Fereldan, despite being only a Warden for two months. Aedan sighed again before turning his head back towards the old Mage.
"I will allow you to stay in this tower to run your experiments. However, I must know everything you can tell me about the Darkspawn and the Blight, as well as how to end it." Aedan stated.
"I understand Warden Commander." Avernus said as he nodded his head.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually thought about doing this in 2 parts but decided to just do this in one massive chapter. Next part is meeting the Dalish. Leave a review and tell me your thoughts, if you have any questions, please PM me and remember to have an AWESOME DAY!
