Recap: "Give them a proper burial and transport him to the Circle Tower. I'll send reports of the maleficar to every Chantry. in Ferelden. Someone as dangerous as that, to brazenly walk into the city and murder in broad daylight in front of everyone must be brought to justice." Tavish ordered. His knights nodded as one of them carried Aedan to the Chantry. On the way over, they could hear him mumbling.

"Mamae, dad... Reaper."

Now

Aedan was experiencing horrific nightmares as he slept. The nightmares were of Reaper but they weren't of when he killed his parents. It was darker. It was in a forest and there were elves in animal skins running away while some fought humans. Then it switched over to Reaper and an elderly elf fighting with magic. The elf looked as if he was winning especially when he knocked Reaper to the ground, but then Reaper used blood magic on the elf before taking the staff and using another spell. As Reaper walked away the elf began twitching and suddenly imploded. All the gory bits just flying everywhere. Then everything flashed into pure white. Aedan found himself in a strange world. The area was just abnormal. The sky was dark and green. There were strange things like tables standing up on the side of the wall instead of falling down. Then there was ground itself. Rocky, with water around in some places but also green pools of boiling liquid. Not only that, but there was also big boulders simply floating in the sky. Aedan looked around before his eyes gazed at something on the horizon.

There was a type of island and on it was a city, completely blackened.

"A wondrous sight is it not?" Someone asked him. With a shock he looked around to see... Reaper himself! Aedan snarled and immediately lunged at him.

"YOU!" Aedan roared as tried to tackle him. Reaper merely dodged. Aedan landed on his feet before turning to strike at Reaper again. The maleficar merely dodged over and over with each strike Aedan tried to land on him. Aedan, for all his heart kept trying until Reaper grabbed his palms.

"LET ME GO YOU MONSTER! HELP!" Aedan yelled out as he struggled to get out of his grasp. Reaper merely held on.

"Calm yourself, seth'lin. I can't hurt you no more than you can hurt me here." Reaper said before letting go. Aedan tumbled to the ground since he had been pulling away. He quickly got up and created some distance between him and Reaper. Reaper merely paid no heed to the boy as he turned back to the city.

"Where are we?" Aedan demanded. Reaper looked at him for a minute before losing back and answering.

"We're in the Fade. Where all people go when they either die or dream but only mages like you and I remember being here." Reaper answered.

"Why are we here?" Aedan asked still tensed up. Reaper rolled his eyes at the question.

"Isn't it obvious? We're both asleep. You're here because you finally unlocked your magic abilities while I'm here because I'm recovering from your little fire attack. As to why we are in the same area of the Fade, I can only guess." Reaper said which made Aedan see a huge burn mark covering his left eye.

"I only wish it killed you." Aedan said. Reaper just grunted.

"It doesn't matter now. I'm alive and you won't ever find me." Reaper said.

"What do you mean?" Aedan demanded. Reaper smirked.

"The templars saw you use magic on me. They've probably sent you to Ferelden's Circle of Magi, Kinloch Hold. Right beside Lake Calenhad. And there is no getting out of that place unless you destroy your phylactery and break out using magic. Even then you are nowhere near strong enough to take on templar hunters." Reaper said as he stared at the Black City.

"Why did you kill my parents?" Aedan asked in a low voice. Reaper glanced at him before looking back to the Black City.

"Because they got in my way. You would be wise to stay in your tower, where you can be protected. If you don't, we will meet, and when that happens, ar tu na'din." Reaper said before everything faded away.

Aedan opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar bed, looking at an unfamiliar ceiling. Was he in this Circle place Reaper mentioned? He got up to see that he was still in his old clothes. Getting out of bed, he found himself in a huge room with many other beds. All of them were bunk beds too. He quietly snuck around to see if anyone was around. The walls were made of stone and were nearly as tall as the walls were in the alienage. He walked out of the room and traveled down the hall until he came to a large area. He came to a stop when he heard a woman's voice.

"So you're finally awake?" The voice asked. Aedan turned around in a flash to see a somewhat elderly woman looking down at him. She had greying hair and wore red mage robes along with a kind smile.

"Uhhh, yes?" Aedan answered not really knowing what else to say before coming out of his confusion.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Aedan asked rapidly. The lady kept smiling at him.

"You know it's rude to ask someone's name before introducing yourself." She chastised gently. Aedan nearly rolled his eyes at her.

"My name is Aedan. What's yours?" He asked. The lady chuckled at his introduction of himself. What was funny about it?

"Well met young man. My name is Wynne and as for where you are, you are in Kinloch Hold, or more commonly known as the Circle Tower. Welcome to your new home." Wynne spoke. Aedan only frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked already having an inkling on what was wrong. It was usually the same: I can never go back home.

"I don't have a home. Not anymore." Aedan said depressed. Wynne's eyes softened. She kneeled down and gave him a hug. Aedan however didn't even feel lifted enough to hug back though. He couldn't, not as reality set in on him. His parents were dead, he wouldn't see the alienage or his friends again and there was little chance at seeing the outside again unless it was through a window.

"I'm sorry, child. But I think you will learn to love it here. Now come, we have to meet the First Enchanter." Wynne said as she let go and led him through the library. He looked around and was in awe at how many books there were in one place. He also noticed at how many kids were here. Some human, some elven. The room was big too. It had rugs and tables and these tall statues that he would only see outside. The children were being taught by another mage as she seemed to be going over history or something. He passed a few older mages who were using magic.

Some were practicing with shields and fire.

Others were practicing with summoning and glyphs or something that appeared on the ground. He also noticed that some who seemed to have been hurt were being healed with magic. That was when Wynne placed a hand on his shoulder and nudged him toward the stairs. They walked up, passing what looked to be a study area. They traveled on until they came to another level. Aedan didn't bother to look around this time since Wynne nudged him toward a door on his left and led him down a circular hallway until they came to the end that led to another door going up. Wynne however turned him to the room next to it. Inside, he heard two men talking. One's voice sounded stern like a guardsmen while the other was relatively calm and just sounded wise.

"Irving, if he is back we must stop him at all costs!" The stern voice stated. Who were they talking about?

"I know Greagoir, but we should not be so hasty. You remember what happened last time, do you not? Several apprentices and knights were killed when he escaped the Circle and many more templars were killed trying to hunt him down. We need to approach this carefully." The wise voice, Irving, stated. Greagoir let out a grunt.

"Why has he resurfaced now? A decade of silence, and suddenly he returns in Denerim of all places!" Greagoir said in a strained voice.

"Quite, but for now I feel we should welcome our newest addition properly. If you're done eavesdropping, of course." Irving said before Wynne nudged him in. How did Irving know they were there? Aedan looked to where they had been as he kept moving forward.

'Shadows, of course.' He thought. Aedan's eyes wandered around the room as they gazed over many books. Some were on bookshelves while others were stacked on tables. Then he saw the 2 men. Both were middle-aged with greying hair. The man with an impassive stare and dressed in templar armor had to be Greagoir. The other man who was sitting behind the desk in the ornate chair was Irving. Irving had a long beard that went down to his neck and was dressed in finer robes than Wynne was. Greagoir had a beard as well but it was much shorter in comparison to Irving's.

Irving noticed the way the boy looked behind him when they walked in as he looked over the room.

'Hmmm, he's very observant and inquisitive.' Irving that as he studied the boy for a few more seconds. So this was the child who managed to wound Reaper? Reaper had to have underestimated the boy for such a small child to harm. That was when Irving sensed the boy's mana. Irving was surprised by what he sensed from the boy. He had a much more powerful aura than Irving had felt from anyone his age. If Irving didn't know any better, he'd say it was on par with an experienced apprentice. A cough got his attention and realized that he had been staring at the boy longer than he should have. Schooling his features, he spoke.

"Welcome young one. It is a pleasure to finally meet you properly. You were unconscious when you arrived. How are you feeling?" Irving asked. The boy looked at him directly as if sizing him up.

"Okay, I guess." The boy said. Irving nearly frowned at the response. It was too even, too neutral, for any child's voice to be. He noticed even Greagoir fidget ever so slightly at the boys tone. He knew underneath all those stoney layers of a stern knight-commander, Greagoir did have a soft spot for the mage children that arrived at the tower. Irving always noticed that Greagoir would be a little less rough around the children in the tower. He understood that while they were mages, they were still also children. A trait which Irving was secretly grateful for in seeing in the Knight-Commander.

"I am First Enchanter Irving. This is Knight-Commander Greagoir. The one who walked you up here is Senior Enchanter Wynne, if you hadn't already been introduced. And your name lad?" Irving asked as each person he called out nodded at the mention of their name.

"My name is Aedan." Irving furrowed his eyebrows. No last name?

"Don't you have a last name?" Greagoir asked having noticed as well. Aedan raised an eyebrow at the question in confusion before looking down thinking. He never needed a last name before. His father never had one. His mother didn't really have a last name either, but she did say she was of a clan... Clan Hellathen. That will work. Her blood flows in his veins as much as his father's

"Hellathen. My name is Aedan Hellathen." Aedan said looking Irving in the eye. Irving smiled at him.

"Welcome to the Circle. You will begin your lessons tomorrow. Today you will take a tour of the tower, get your robes and shoes. Here you will learn how to properly use your Maker given powers and how to protect yourself from spirits and demons." Irving said. Aedan nodded. Secretly he was planning on getting out but he knew it was going to be a few years before he could make it happen. Even then, if he when he hunted Reaper down, what would happen when he had found him? Shoot an arrow that would likely miss or be blocked? Sneak up on him and stab him with a set of daggers or charge with a sword when all Reaper would need to do was use that field of his to push him back?

No. He would need to take a few years before he could even think about escaping. He would need a few years to learn some new tricks and figure out how to combat Reaper's magic. For now though, he was going to need to get used to this place and that meant templars who will be looking for any excuse to be mean.

So what do you think of the story so far?

Good?

Bad?

In the middle?

Hope you enjoyed it.

Sorry it's short!