Recap: Because my blood flows through your veins.
"WHAT?!" Aedan yelled out in shock. His question bounced off the cave walls before being lost to snowstorm's howling winds. He was a descendant of Shartan?! What?!
'Calm yourself, Aedan!' Shartan commanded but it did little. Aedan was frantic for a few minutes before having to steady himself.
'I'm your descendant?'
'Yes. Possibly not the only one, but the only one I know of. Your mother was the first since the elves split into the clans.' Aedan remained silent, still coming to terms that he was an actual descendent from a figure out of history. He tried to distract himself from the sudden bombshell by changing the topic after a few silent moments.
'Back then at Vaughan's estate. I blocked a guard's sword with only your sheath. It wasn't even scratched when it should have broken. What's with that?'
'My sheath is actually made from Ancestral Heartwood. Very difficult to find. Even more difficult to craft. You won't find any better wood to make a shield, weapon or a sheath.'
'So it won't break easily?'
'No, in fact it's as strong as volcanic aurum if not better in some aspects.' Aedan raised an eyebrow at that before he remembered what Shartan had told him earlier.
'Are you alright?' Shartan asked with some concern. Aedan wasn't holding him, so he had no idea what the young man was thinking. Sure he could telepathically talk with him, but without any physical contact, that was it. After few silent seconds, Aedan sighed.
'I will be. Just... coming to terms with it.' Aedan replied as he pulled the pelt closer to himself.
'Take your time for the night. I understand that it is very shocking. Tomorrow, your training will begin.' With that, Shartan ceased speaking. Aedan's thoughts were filled with what would happen in the future as he laid down on the hard cave floor.
Two years later... (9:26 Dragon, it was the end of the year in the previous chapter so I rounded up one.)
Ferelden has gone two years without seeing either Aedan Hellathen or Reaper and his subordinates. That is not to say that it didn't have its share of trouble without the two. King Maric was lost at sea. With his son, Cailan Theirin, inheriting the throne of Ferelden and not a month later, he was wedded to Anora Mac Tir, daughter of Ferelden's greatest general, Loghain Mac Tir. The new king and queen had steered Ferelden well since their wedding. Well, it was more like Anora ruling the country while Cailan smiled and waved to the masses, daydreaming about legends. Or at least that's what the more political minded nobles would believe, including his father-in-law, Loghain. In truth, Cailan merely was satisfied with letting Anora rule. While he could, in his mind it was a king's duty to unite his people. Now though, there was trouble brewing in Ferelden.
Trouble that will make all of her people stand in pure shock, awe and terror.
We come to see the Grey Warden-Commander of Ferelden, Duncan in the Denerim compound. He was an older man clad in blue and steel armor with a dagger and a sword on his back. Both made of dragonbone. He was bearded, muscular, hair graying at the temples, and had a noble bearing. (I'm kinda going with the looks from Heroes of Dragon Age on some characters. So in the future if I describe someone that doesn't match, google them with what I just mentioned. They actually look more authentic. At least to me anyway.)
He was having a difficult time. Why? Because three of his own wardens are missing. That was why. One was an elven mage, Cecil, that had been recruited a decade ago while another was a human, Henrik. He was a warrior through and through unlike the mage. The final one was a dwarf by the name of Durn who was a former member of the carta. He had sent people out to find them but no such luck.
"Warden-Commander!" Duncan turned around to see one of his messengers running up to him.
"What is it?" He asked once the messenger made it to him.
"We've found our missing men." The messenger panted. Duncan's eyes widened.
"What's their condition?" The messenger shook his head regretfully. Duncan closed his eyes. He knew this was coming. Those three had been missing for a week. With a heavy sigh he continued on.
"What did you find out?" He asked.
"It's strange sir." Duncan rose an eyebrow at the man.
"Strange?" The messenger nodded.
"Yes, strange."
"How so?"
"They were found with their legs and arms bound and their throats slit. Warden Cecil's hands were bound with some type of anti-magic cuffs sir. The strangest part was their valuables weren't missing." Duncan stroke his beard thoughtfully. That was strange. What would be the point in killing three grey wardens and not stealing any of their belongings?
"Sir?" Duncan realized he hadn't said anything yet.
"Recall our men. If someone is hunting grey wardens, we need to stop them before they take more lives." He ordered. The messenger nodded and left quickly. Duncan tried to think things over, but he had a very bad feeling going up his spine.
A day earlier...
A dwarven caravan made its way through the forest till they came to an old ruin. The sun was out and shining but its light couldn't shine past the entrance, giving it a look of infinite darkness inside. A lone dwarf walked to the ruin's entrance with a metal box. He had been waiting to get this for a month now and it was only attained with the help of some upstart casteless dwarf. What was his name? Borsch? Broscan? Brosca! That was it! Though once he got the box he was afraid considering he nearly ran into the King's middle child, Prince Duran Aeducan. But luckily nothing happened and he was able to leave safely. He noticed how he got to the entrance and stood there waiting for his buyer to appear for a few minutes before becoming irritated.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" He called out. There was silence at first, but then the sound of footsteps echoed out of the darkness. Slowly, a cloaked figure came out of the darkness. The figure was hooded and the only things that the dwarf could see were burning yellow eyes.
"Do you have what was ordered?" The figure asked in a masculine voice. The dwarf nodded and held the box out to the man. The man grabbed the box, his fingers grazed the dwarf's own for a split second and the dwarf nearly dropped the box. The man seemed to not pay any heed as he opened the box to check its contents.
'Sodding ancestors! His fingers are as cold as ice!' The dwarf thought as he looked at the hooded man. The moment the box opened, light poured out and showed the man's face. The dwarf looked away not being able to look at the big scar on the man's face. It was as if someone threw acid on his face. The man closed the lid before digging into his robes. He pulled out a bag and tossed it to the dwarf.
"There's your pay. There is a little extra incentive inside to forget about this place." The cloaked man said as he took the box and turned away.
"Don't have to tell me twice." The dwarf muttered looking into the bag to see multiple flawless gems, most of them rubies. He quickly closed it and got his caravan the hell out of the area.
The cloaked man descended down the steps until he came to a chamber illuminated by veil fire torches. The man lowered his hood and showed his face. While he had regained his eyesight in his right eye, he was unable to heal the rest of his face. Yes, the wounds that Aedan Hellathen left on him that day would forever remind him of what happens when he allowed his pride to get the better of him.
"Pride do you have it?" A woman asked as sauntered over. The woman was fair-haired with purple eyes. Her body was one that made most men, and even women, burn with lust. Her very presence oozed seductive. Her voice was soft and soothing, heavenly and sultry. Even her state of dress was made to emphasize her curves and assets. It revealed her creamy, supple thighs, long legs and showed just enough skin around her large breasts to leave almost nothing to the imagination.
"Yes, Desire. See for yourself." Pride held the box out to her. She opened it up and couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of what was inside. The lid suddenly closed on her causing her to look the offender only to look down in submission.
"Master." Both said with their heads bowed. Reaper had gained a little more grey in his hair, but nothing else had changed about his appearance.
"Children, it is best not stare at these things for too long, otherwise you may very well be killed by it." Reaper spoke as he took the box from Pride. His two most powerful followers walked after him before stopping at the center of the chamber. Down in the very center of the chamber were three grey wardens. All three were bound and gagged and held in a circle.
Rage held the human warden, Henrik, tightly with blood magic as he struggled to break free. Rage was a tall, muscular man with black hair and brown eyes. He kept his facial expression stoic, but one could see the anger in his eyes.
Hunger held the dwarf warden, Durn, down with a heavy foot on his back. Hunger was a somewhat portly young man with brown hair and blue eyes.
Envy held the elven warden, Cecil, down with blood magic. Envy was a young woman with black hair and yellow eyes. She was fair skinned and had a slim figure in contrast to Desire's own buxom figure. By all accounts, she was a beauty but that never stopped her from looking at Desire with jealous eyes.
Reaper came towards them and his followers straightened in his presence. Reaper placed the box on an altar just in front of the captured wardens.
"Sloth." A man further from the rest was walking to them. He had silver hair and blue eyes and his actions tended to have a sort of slowness about them.
"Yes master?" Sloth answered as he placed to two engraved silver bowls in the circle.
"Do you have the dagger?" Reaper asked as he placed the box.
"Yes, master." Sloth said as he took out a silverite dagger and held it out. The blade was zig zag and jagged with the hilt pointed out and curved. The wardens froze at the sight of it recognizing it. Reaper noticed this and smiled as he took the dagger from Sloth.
"Yes, you all know about this dagger don't you? One of the three we could find. I thought it fitting that I would kill three grey wardens with this dagger. Like the wardens, a Thorn of the Dead Gods is tainted." The wardens looked at him in shock.
"What? You think that secret of your's is so secret? Please. It's the reason why you've been captured in the first place. Now, there's no reason to be scared. Your assistance will pave the way for my dream to become reality. After all, In Death, Sacrifice." Reaper said before slitting Cecil's throat. Sloth took one of the bowls and held at her open throat, the blood pooling in it. Envy let go of Cecil as the light left the elf's eyes. Her body hit the ground with a thud as the left over blood pooled onto the stone floor.
Reaper moved on to the human warrior who struggled even harder now. Reaper slit his throat and Sloth took the same bowl and took the blood that poured from the wound like a river. The bowl was filled to the brim now as Rage released the dead human. Sloth placed the bowl on the ground and grabbed the other one. Reaper approached Hunger and the dwarf. Hunger lifted the dwarf to his knees and pulled his head back.
"Atrast tunsha." Reaper spoke in dwarven tongue before slitting his throat. Sloth filled the bowl completely with the dwarf's blood until Hunger let him go. Reaper looked at the prone bodies for a few seconds before turning to his followers.
"Take them out of here and place them somewhere far away. We have what we need." His followers nodded and summoned their enthralled bandits to drag the bodies away. Sloth placed the bowls on either side of the box. Sloth moved aside as Reaper came up and placed the dagger beside one of the bowls. He opened the box and once more blue light shone out of it. Reaper flinched at the power that was exuded from the box's contents but held firm.
He began chanting in old elven language that none of his followers understood. He raised his hands above a bowl each. The blood in the bowl began to swirl and glow. He kept chanting as he raised his hands up with the blood following his fingers if it were pulled. His hands continued to rise until they were over the box. Reaper gripped his hands together and the blood did the same thing. Human, elven, and dwarven blood mixed above the box. Reaper began chanting faster until he shouted the last word and quickly separated his hands. The blood didn't fall into the box, but instead it burst into multiple droplets that swirled into the air before flying into the box. The blue light turned dark red before Reaper placed the lid back on to it. He slowly turned to his students who watched him. He grinned and raised his hands outwards before laughing.
"It is done!" He said still laughing. He quickly stopped himself before getting too loud.
"What is next master?" Pride asked.
"Now, we find a place where the Veil is thin."
Out by the Frostback Mountains around the same time.
A figure came out of a cave in the mountains. He was clothed in a set of drakeskin leather armor. He had patched it with a pelt he had skinned from a great bear. The damn thing had been stalking him one day until it got up close and tried to maul him to death. All it got for its trouble was a quick beheading from a two-handed critical strike.
The man looked to be 19 years old standing tall at 6'1. His black hair was long, coming to his shoulders and his full beard was now 3 going on 4 inches long. he was lean and muscular. His piercing green eyes scoured the forest he overlooked from his cave. On his back was a burgundy elven sword made out of dragonbone and a backpack. The sword was sheathed in a light blue sheath made out of ancestral heartwood. He suddenly felt a surge of magic come from the east.
'So you're finally making your move, Reaper.' The man thought as he began his trek towards the Frostback Mountain Pass.
'And so are we. Both of us, stronger now.' The sword spoke back as three runes glowed on it: One on each side of the blade and one on the pommel. Three other runes also glowed on the man's armor. One on each shoulder and one in the center of his chest. The man nodded and carried on through the forest.
Yes, Aedan Hellathen was certainly stronger than he was two years ago. The last two years had been filled with intense training. Shartan had helped hone Aedan's strength and dexterity through use of the forest around them. His strength training came from fighting animals and bandits and lifting heavy objects: Rocks, logs, animal carcasses, etc. His dexterity was through the use of the land around him. Balancing acts on tree branches, honing reflexes against snakes, wolves and bears, and jumping from rock to rock near waterfalls. Not only that but he helped Aedan learn multiple new tricks.
He had fully finished his dual wielding training as well as his archery. He could become a whirlwind of slashes and could now hit a small bird from 50 yards away while the sun was setting with an arrow.
He honed his warrior capabilities in the striking department as well as the second wind. He could now fight longer and do more damage as a result. Not only that, but Shartan managed to teach him how to fight like a templar. Aedan could now harm demons and other mages, which was an obvious bonus for him. He also taught him how to be a champion in battle. Though he only learned how to do a war cry and rally people. He needed more experience before he could begin to be better at it.
Shartan didn't forget about Aedan's more roguish qualities either though Aedan had managed to have everything down already. However, Shartan did manage to teach him how to be a duelist which would help in any fight really. Over the course of the training in the wild, Aedan became a ranger, capable of learning about the animals themselves and learning how to befriend and utilize them. Later, Shartan decided to help Aedan figure out his shadow abilities. Combined with his magic, Aedan could essentially become a shadow for short periods time in a fight, confusing his enemies. With that he could also make a decoy shadow of himself to distract his enemies so he may strike from the shadows. Those tended to be fatal. Add in his poison making skills and he could create pure pandemonium on the battlefield if he wished.
Sadly, Shartan knew little of magic. At least any kind that would benefit Aedan. Aedan however wasn't deterred in the slightest. Since Aedan's mother had passed on most of her knowledge to Aedan before she died, Aedan had managed to recreate some spells that his mother described that specifically belonged to the Keepers. Aedan had managed to become one with nature but that sadly was all he was able to do. They both tried to see if Aedan could use his magic while fighting with a sword. He could and now he was able to cast moderate spells while in the heat of combat. The big spells still required him to stand in place though. They did however stumble on something interesting during that though.
During a particularly bad fight with some corrupt templars who had chanced upon him, Aedan had been nearly stripped of his magic and had to rely on his sword skills. The fight was actually going well considering it was a stalemate and it was five on one, but he was still pretty beat up. That was when Aedan noticed his mana felt stronger than before during the time he was in pain. The templars came in close and on instinct Aedan used a spell. This spell ended up bursting from him and froze the templars solid. He didn't even know he was capable of that. He began honing those abilities until his very magical aura allowed him to harm his opponents in a fight, though it was very costly on his mana.
Overall, Aedan had accomplished much in only two years of training. He was a mage, a rogue and a warrior now. He was probably one of the most deadliest people in the country at this time.
"Hello, Strider!" A voice called bringing Aedan back to the real world. He realized he was at the Frostback Mountain Pass. The gates of Orzammar were insight as well as the camp outside it. He noticed who called out to him was Ahren, a surface dwarf who comes to Orzammar twice a year to sell whatever goods are given to him. Aedan put a smile on his face as he approached the dwarf.
"Hello, Ahren." Aedan greeted.
"So Strider, what are you up to today?" Ahren asked. Aedan was called Strider because of the fact that he was always on the move whenever people saw him. He would be browsing, he'd never stop pacing. He'd be talking, he wouldn't stop walking.
"I'm hoping to find someone who can give me a haircut and a shave." Aedan gestured to all the hair on his face. His beard was getting pretty bushy.
"Hmmm. You sure you want to do that? I mean it's a pretty good beard you've got going there." Aedan just nodded.
"Well, I heard there is a barber in a village just next to the pass at the base of the mountain. Follow and I'm sure you'll find him." Ahren replied.
"Thanks." Aedan said before walking down the pass. A few hours later, Aedan was riding out of the village with his hair nice and trimmed. His hair was now shorter, coming to the top of his neck and his once thick beard was now thick stubble. He had a destination in mind, following the magical surge he felt.
A week later.
Aedan found the ruins as well as others. The templars and a few circle mages had arrived as well. He quietly approached before drawing the attention of a few people. They were immediately suspicious of him considering his hood was up.
"Keep your distance, traveler. There is an investigation going on here." One templar said as he approached him.
"Really? What happened?" Aedan asked with fake concern. He subtly looked around the area and could actually make out a few familiar faces on some of the mages. One in particular caught his eye. An elderly mage woman with white hair.
'Wynne!' He thought and kept his eyes on the templar so she wouldn't notice him.
"We believe blood magic may have been used near here." The templar replied before it looked like he was scrutinizing Aedan.
"Say have we met before?" Aedan's eyes almost widened as he recognized the man.
'Shit, its Carroll!' "Honestly, I wouldn't know..." Aedan faked and ushered before subtly telling the man to give him his name.
"Oh, my name's Carroll."
"Carrol. I've been in several villages around Redcliffe and usually travel south. We might have seen one another in any one of those villages. But most templars I meet tend to have their helmets on." Aedan lied. Carrol shook his head.
"Afraid not. I'm stationed at the Circle Tower on Lake Calenhad. Perhaps you've been there?" Aedan shook his head.
"No, I tend to stay as far away from that place."
"Oh why?" Carroll asked with suspicion.
"I don't trust them mages, that's why." Aedan wanted to throw up after saying that, but he had to act the part. He nodded his head to behind Carrol.
"Is that what those people are? The ones in the robes?" He asked with fake disgust. The mages turned away from him thinking he was just some ignorant peasant. Carroll nodded but held his hands up.
"Yes sir, but they're not all that bad. At least these ones aren't." He said. Aedan snorted.
"Please, every mage is bad. Shouldn't they be locked up in their tower? Why are they helping with this... investigation?"
"Simply put, we need their expertise." That was when another templar came up to them.
"No need for it anymore, Carroll. We've investigated everything inside. Time to leave. The hunters will follow the trail." The templar captain said before ushering them away.
"If it's not too much trouble, may I look in these ruins?" Aedan asked causing them to look at him.
"Why?" The captain asked with suspicion.
"I prefer to explore old ruins such as these for possible treasure or something that scholars may take an interest in. It's a hobby I've taken up recently." The captain mulled it over before nodding. Aedan had gotten real good at persuasion over the years too.
"Very well. Nothing too dangerous in there anyway, though you may not find anything of value." Aedan nodded before walking towards the ruin.
"Knight-captain, may I also stay? I have permission from both First Enchanter Irving and Knight-Commander Greagoir." An elderly voice requested politely. Aedan immediately knew it was Wynne. So the old man was still First Enchanter eh? Good. Greagoir still being Knight-Commander? Ehhhh, it is fine. Could be worse, he supposed.
"Very well, Senior Enchanter, you may stay. We will however be expecting you back soon." The knight-captain replied after mulling it over. That was as far as Aedan heard the conversation go before he walked down into the ruins. He grabbed a lit torch before he began looking around the area. He could see a hallway that led to a chamber. Following it, he came upon the ritual sight.
The chamber itself was big and spacious. Statues were cracked or completely destroyed. That was when he noticed the altar. It was carved from pure silverite and was decorated with multiple runes carved in what must have been two different kinds of metals. He got closer and knelt down beside it. He placed his hand on the altar and felt his skin tingle with magic. The altar wasn't made from any kind of normal silverite. It was made of fade-touched silverite! This kind of material was strong for making a magical weapon. That was when he noticed something familiar about the runes inscribed on the altar. Upon closer inspection, it was in elven. He looked around the chamber walls and became confused.
The ruin was obviously Tevinter so why would an altar with elven runes be inside. He looked back at the altar and studied the runes. One set of runes was green while the other set of runes was violet or pink. He recognized the green as stormheart while the violet was dawnstone. He placed his fingers on them and noticed that they too were fade-touched. He began comparing the altar itself to the ruins.
'This doesn't have as much of an aged look unlike the ruins themselves though that may be because of the magic.' Aedan thought.
'We both know that magic won't prevent dust from settling or prevent cracks appearing on it. This looks new, almost recently made.' Shartan spoke.
'You're right. Not only that but these metals each have a different affinity.'
'What do you mean?'
'It was something I studied back in the tower. All metals have a certain affinity towards an element. Particularly to the three main ones: fire, cold, and electricity.'
'Go on.'
'Silverite pertains to cold, while stormheart obviously pertains to electricity...'
'and dawnstone pertains to fire, I'm guessing.' Aedan nodded slightly.
'The fact that it's fade-touched makes it more susceptible to magic and capable of channeling it too. Not only that but this ruin is pretty far from any form of civilization.'
'So? That just means it is the best place to conduct a blood ritual.'
'No, not just that. In populated areas, magic tends to... thin. This place is in the middle of a forest which is teaming with nature energy. A form of magic which can be harnessed by mages to make the magical elements stronger. And I can't help but notice the spirit energy here as well. It is small, but still noticeable. Probably from the death that this place has had in the past not to mention the fade-touched altar.'
'Wait, spirit energy?'
'Yes, it is the purest form of magic drawing from energy directly from the Fade. If memory serves right, it actually is the root form which powers all other magic.'
'How?'
'Spirit is the first which is transformed into nature magic which is then transferred into the primal magic elements electricity, cold and fire.'
'So the spirit magic here empowers and controls the other magics around this area.' Aedan stood up.
'Yes. It is the very foundation for the magic here. The altar itself is nothing more than a conduit or a nexus for the magic.'
'So the only question remaining is what kind of magic went on down here?'
'Let's look around some more.' Aedan turned around only to come face to face with Wynne.
"ANDRASTE'S FLAMING ASS!" Aedan shouted as he jumped nearly three feet into the air. He leaned on the altar with his hand over his thumping heart. He calmed his breathing down form the sudden scare before he was suddenly hit on the head by a staff.
"OW! What th-?" He held his head and looked at the woman only to see her angered scowl with her hand on her hip and her staff lowered.
"I know leaving the Circle didn't take away your manners young man! My word, where did you learn such language?" She asked. Aedan gasped. Wynne nodded.
"You may have fooled all the rest, but not me." Aedan pulled his hood down.
"Wynne I-" was all he got to say before she slapped him.
"OWW! Dammit!" He placed his hand on his cheek on the cheek she slapped. Maker's breath! He could've sworn he felt her fingernails on that one.
"That's for leaving!" She said. Aedan waited for the stinging on his cheek to subside before looking at her again. Her glare was just as strong as ever. Maybe even stronger. Before he could say anything though...
"Do you have any idea how worried we were when you left? How hurt we were?!" She said causing Aedan to look down at the stone floor. He knew leaving would hurt them and he did it anyway.
"Do you know how worried Irving and I were when the templars were sent out? Have you any idea how furious Greagoir was when he found out you escaped? Did you even stop to consider how brokenhearted Neria was after you left?!" Aedan flinched at that one. After all this time, he still thought of her. Wondered what she was up to and hoping she was safe.
"How bad?" he whispered.
"How bad? I couldn't teach for a couple of days because I knew you were being hunted down. Irving wasn't as happy as he usually was nor has he been since. Greagoir is even harder on the mages now, but that still hasn't knocked away his sense of justice. The templars who stopped abusing the younger mages tried to do so again after you left but were caught before any real damage was done. Jowan was pretty shocked but he was fine in a week. Neria was a different story." She paused to take a breath before continuing.
"Neria cried for three days straight. Wouldn't get out of bed, wouldn't eat, barely slept! She was so depressed!" All throughout her rant Aedan hadn't said a word. Merely looked down at the ground, his eyes hidden by his black hair.
"Then there were the times when the templars would come back and she would ask for any news about you. They wouldn't tell her anything at all. Not even speak to her. So all she could do was think of the worst." Wynne noticed his silence and grew even angrier.
"Well! Don't you have anything to say?!" She demanded with her voice echoing off the walls. The silence that followed was almost unbearable. Until the sound of slow dripping broke it. Wynne rose any eyebrow in confusion at the sound. It was close but then she noticed something on the ground the torchlight. Another took its place beside it. She looked up at Aedan's face and could see tears on his face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He croaked out. He could've taken everything she said about everyone else and only felt bad, but when she talked about Neria, he felt like trash. He knew she'd take his leaving the hardest, but sweet Maker! He didn't think she'd be hurt that badly! If he knew... What would he have done? Take her? She wouldn't have been able to make it. By the Gods, he had difficulty and he was taught how to survive! In the end he would've done the same thing anyway. Because the angry kid he was then would have still done it. Over the course of his training, he manage to finally let it go. He was still angry at Reaper, but now it wasn't so strong anymore. It wasn't vengeance that drove him any longer. Merely a need to stop a group of maleficar and to have some closure.
"I know what I did was completely selfish. I tried to justify it saying that only I could do it, but that was just vanity talking. I never wanted any of you hurt. I'm so sorry, Wynne." He said as more tears came out. He held in whatever sobs tried to come as he thought of what happened at the Tower in his absence. His thoughts merely turned back to Neria.
Wynne's glare withered away upon seeing Aedan's remorse. She walked over and hugged him. At the back of her mind, she remembered the last time she gave him a hug. He was ten years old and now he was 19 and so much taller. Where do the years go?
Aedan stiffened at her embrace before returning it. He dried his tears before letting go.
"Now let's have a look at you." Wynne said as she gently grabbed his jaw. She appraised him slightly before letting go. She took a step back, looking over his attire and figure.
"You've certainly kept yourself well at least and groomed to a degree." She critiqued. Aedan sighed before smiling.
"Not bad considering I've been living in the wilderness for two years straight." He commented before turning back to the altar.
"Two years?" She asked almost bewildered.
"Yes."
"What have you been doing?"
"Training." Aedan replied as he placed his hand on the altar.
"Really? Two years of training? What good can that do-?" She began to ask before she sensed his aura. Few mages can sense the aura of another mage and fewer have been able to train in it. It was why she was out here with the rest, because she and Irving sensed the magical surge. When she felt Aedan's aura, she noticed it was big. She always knew Aedan's power was much bigger than his peers' but his current power form what she could tell was at least twice as big. Right now she was sure he could take on Irving and possibly win. That was when her eyes wandered to what Aedan was doing.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to figure out why Reaper made this altar." Her eyes widened.
"Reaper was here?" Aedan nodded.
"What did you find out about this place?" Aedan asked her.
"No much. Three Grey Wardens who had been killed were spotted near here. They had their throats slit but their bodies had extreme blood loss and earlier we felt a-"
"Magical surge of energy, right." Wynne gave an annoyed stare at Aedan.
"I see that the years haven't taught you how to not interrupt people." Aedan chuckled at her as he walked away from the altar and began walking around the ruin, trying to find anything else.
"Anyway, when we arrived there was an obvious show of blood magic. It was in the air itself but it dispersed after a while. How did you know it was Reaper?" Aedan shrugged.
"I'm not really sure if it was Reaper, but it might have been someone connected to him. One of his students maybe."
"What do you mean one of his students?" Wynne asked in concern. Apparently they hadn't known about Reaper's students.
"Reaper has 6 students. Each one having taken the name of a demon." Wynne gasped at him.
"How do you know this?"
"I ran into one of them near Highever. Bastard nearly killed me."
"So that commotion at Highever, two years ago was you then." She ascertained.
"Kind of. I had a hand in it, but I was the good guy. Anyway, the mage I fought was probably on par with you and I was nearly beaten, but likely you guys didn't teach a fool. I had some tricks up my sleeve besides magic. Literally now that I think about it." Aedan said laughing at the end remembering how he got Pride. Then he lost his mirth.
"Which direction did the templar hunters go in?"
"They found a trail leading southeast, why?"
"It's just that the altar itself is the only real thing here that would be used besides the blood in whatever ritual they did. The thing I can't understand is why did they use a fade-touched altar that could all types of magical energies?" Wynne rose an eyebrow in confusion.
"What do you mean by fade-touched and could channel all types of magical energies?" Aedan looked at her with a shocked looked.
"You didn't notice?"
"Notice what?"
"What the altar was made of?" Aedan gestured to the altar.
"No, what is it made of?"
"Silverite, dawnstone and stormheart." At Wynne's blank look he continued.
"Besides the fact that those are high quality metals, each have an elemental affinity. The fact that they're all fade-touched means they can also draw on spirit energy and given the location of this place, nature energy is also in the mix too." Aedan explained.
"I see. So the altar can cover any and all type of magic basically." Aedan made a 'so-so' gesture.
"Not really. I think the higher quality of the metal also has an affect, but this no time to discuss academics. So southeast? Why would they go that way?" Aedan looked upwards to the ceiling in thought. The altar itself was strong enough to channel and direct a huge amount of magic so why move at all and go southeast?
"What is southeast?" Aedan asked Wynne.
"The only places I can think of would be a few villages, the Teyrnir of Gwaren and the Brecilian Forest." The second she said the forest something clicked in Aedan's mind. He read an old history book in the Tower once. About a bunch of fighting that happened all over that area.
"Wasn't there a lot of battles and a few wars fought in the Brecilian Forest?" Wynne thought it over before nodding.
"Now that you mention it, yes there were."
"And where there is a lot of fighting, there is also a lot of death." Wynne caught on to what he was saying.
"and where many die, the Veil becomes thin. Oh Maker." Aedan had a hard look come over his face before he began to walk to the exit.
"Where do you think you're going?" Wynne asked as she followed him.
"Isn't it obvious?" The both of them exited the ruin quickly as Aedan walked over to his horse, dropping the torch by the entrance. Before he could mount his horse, Wynne got in front of him.
"Oh no you don't. You're not going there alone. You're not going at all. You're coming back to the Tower." She grabbed his arm and began pulling him away from the horse. Aedan shook himself out of her grip.
"No, I'm not going back, Wynne. Not until Reaper is stopped at least. You need to warn the old man before Reaper succeeds in whatever he's schemed up. I'll go and if I can't stop him, then I'll slow him down. Goodbye." Aedan said before he ran to his horse. He mounted it and galloped southeast as fast he could. He could still hear Wynne shouting at him from the growing distance. A few hours later, he came upon the templar hunters. Some were hung from the trees while others looked as if they had exploded. Some however looked like they'd been ripped apart.
'I sense blood magic at work here.' Shartan said as Aedan got off his horse.
'Yeah no kidding, but something seems off. Like there was something else used.' That was when two of the corpses fell from the trees.
"Whoa!" Aedan said as he jumped away.
'Rope must have snapped.'
'Aedan behind you!' On refined instinct, he drew Shartan out and stabbed behind him without looking back. Whatever was behind him gurgled and growled. He looked back to see a templar had snuck up behind him. The templar had gone still from being stabbed in the chest.
'Whoops.' He blandly thought before the templar moved frantically and was snarling at him.
'What the fuck?!'
'They're walking corpses!' Shartan shouted out before the three sword runes changed from the Tevinter rune of 'change' to the tevinter rune of 'Fade'. The blade gained a frost coating on it before the corpse started to sizzle and shriek in pain. Aedan pulled the blade from its gut as it began to deteriorate. He turned around to see the two who fell before had gotten up and charged at him. Aedan stabbed and used crushing prison on the other. He removed the sword from its chest and beheaded it. He turned his attention to the final corpse and lit it on fire using flame blast to kill it. He used flame blast on the rest of the corpses just in case.
'Those corpses couldn't be more than an hour old. We're getting closer.'
'Yeah, at least we finally know my paragon Amorphous Runes work now.'
'True, at least it works for me.' Shartan said as the rune switched back to 'change'. (The Amorphous Rune is my personal creation. It basically can change into any rune.) Aedan mounted his horse again and galloped southeast.
In the Brecilian Forest
Clan Sabrae had a decent year. No troubles with shems and good hunting. They had two up and coming hunters that were very promising.
"I didn't even see that wolf coming lethallin. Excellent shot." Complemented a young dalish elf to another. Both sat around a campfire as the sun began to set. The elf was blonde haired, blue eyed and had fresh painted vallaslin. The elf he complemented was his friend since childhood. She was around his age and she herself had her vallaslin except her's was different. She had silver hair and purple eyes.
"It was nothing Tamlen." She said.
"No, Lyna, it's not. You saved me today." Now she was getting embarrassed. She and Tamlen were both twenty and there had been talk of certain arrangements in the clan. People were beginning to wonder if the two were going to 'bond' at some point soon. The thing was Lyna only like Tamlen as brother.
"Tamlen, anyone would have done it." Before Tamlen could say anything else someone else entered the conversation.
"Tamlen, calm yourself. Lyna's right. Any one of us would've done it." The First said having missed the point of the conversation.
"Merrill that's not the point." Tamlen said in frustration. Merrill looked clueless.
"It's not?" She asked as she tilted her head. Tamlen looked at her.
"No." He said slowly and simply. That would be when the Keeper came.
"Now Tamlen, there is no need for that attitude. Merrill was simply trying to help." Keeper Marethari spoke gently.
"My apologies Keeper, Merrill." Tamlen said in shame.
"It is fine, Taml-" An explosion rocked the front of their campsite. All hunters and warriors sprung into action while the others ran for cover. Before anything was done however, the warriors were pushed back by an invisible force.
"Well, well, well. Andaran atish'an, my old clan!" A voice yelled from the smoke. Marethari's eyes widened. That voice! One she had not heard from in years! She quickly moved to the front and saw a frighteningly familiar face.
"You!" She said in shock. In front of her were 7 people all garbed in robes, each had a staff that radiated power. Behind them were several armed humans. But Marethari bade no attention to them. She only focused on the one leading the other six. A face she hadn't seen for a very long time. The face that looked back at her with a hollow smile.
"It's good to see you again... Aunt Marethari."
"So you've returned... Reaper Din'an." Marethari said breathlessly.
Dun, dun, dunnnnn. Okay how many of you actually saw that coming? Post it on the reviews please. And give me some input here. T-Biggz has been carrying this since the beginning but I'd like to see a little more reviews come in from different people just to keep things mixed up.
So please review and I hope you enjoyed it.