Recap: "Now, Aedan Hellathen, be reborn!"

Now

Aedan woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar place. He stared up at some kind of tent ceiling. Where was he? His eyes roamed over the tent spying various animal skins, wood carvings, old tomes and other things. He sat up gingerly since his chest was still hurting from the stab wound. Wait a minute. He'd been stabbed! Aedan quickly felt for the wound only to find his chest bandaged and smelling of herbs, particularly of elfroot. Aedan had to wrinkle his nose at the intense smell coming from it. Quickly shaking himself from his thoughts, Aedan listened for anything that might be going on outside of the tent. He could hear various sounds coming from outside which were clearly people. He closed his eyes as he focused in on some of the sounds.

Footsteps on grass.

Fire cackling on wood.

Laughter... Child's laughter.

People talking... in Elvish? So he was in a dalish camp? That was puzzling. Was it the clan he helped? Why would he be here? No, why would they let him be here? Out of gratefulness perhaps? It didn't matter for the moment. He quickly focused back on the sounds.

The bleating of some kind of creature, maybe a deer.

Metal clashing. Too steady to be a melee fight. Blacksmith or some kind of craftsman.

Footsteps approaching... He quickly lay back down and closed his eyes. He heard the tent flap open then silence. He felt sunlight on his face and it kept shining on him meaning that whoever opened the flap was holding it open meaning that they were most likely staring at him. It was okay, play it cool. If he can keep up his charade till night time he could sneak away in the dark.

"I know you're awake." An elderly woman's voice said as if reading his thoughts. Aedan mentally cursed at being caught. What gave him away? He sighed as he got up. No use trying to keep it up. Aedan looked up and studied the older woman. She was the dalish keeper if he remembered correctly. She was old, had slight wrinkles, which was better than most women her age, white hair, green eyes and a vallaslin which was probably of the god Mythal, though more complex if he remembered correctly.

"Greetings, young one. How do you feel?" She asked.

"Better than last time I was awake, though I imagine anything would be better than being stabbed with a sharp... broken..." Aedan's eyes widened as he remembered what happened again.

"My sword! Shartan! Where is he?!" Aedan asked he began to look around frantically for the sword. Marethari watched him as the young seth'lin looked around for the broken sword. The young adults had brought the seth'lin and the Sword of Shartan, broken and destroyed, as well as the Tome of the Fade. Reaper must have left it there on purpose, seeing no use for it anymore. They had immediately handed the sword fragments to Master Ilen who had studied them carefully. Sadly, Ilen was doubtful that he could since he had so rarely worked with dragonbone material, not to mention that the clan didn't have any dragon bones to use for any repairs for the sword.

The clan hadn't moved from the spot for several reasons. They had too many wounded, which were recuperating. Their food stocks were low as well as their supplies such as herbs. Their halla had been set loose during the battle with Reaper so they were still being rounded up. All in all, they were no shape to move. To make matters worse, that fade portal was still there. While sealed, the occasional demon slipped through which would find one of their hunters who had barely made it back. The clan as a whole could barely fight the demon off too. Clan Sabrae was very well facing destruction under these circumstances. Merrill had brought the Tome to her attention and she poured over it when she had some spare time, which wasn't much.

Then there were the daggers and that pack as well as that horse that were in the camp. They had surmised that they had belonged to the seth'lin. Everyone agreed to let the horse go to which it simply left, headed back towards human civilization. The pack however was kept nearby. Marethari had gone through the pack to get a better understanding about the seth'lin. All she found in the pack were a bow, arrows, several herbs and poisons, more than a few poultices, balms, kits as well as clothes. Unfortunately some of the more jaded minded elves took some of those. The clothes had been returned when the perpetrator realized they wouldn't use them since humans had naturally bigger builds than elves. The bow and arrows were still there since the hunters still had some respect for the young man. Besides, no hunter would steal another's bow. There was no honor for that.

Then there were the daggers that Mahariel brought back. She believed that they were the seth'lin's since none in the camp had a dagger made of such metal that they had not seen before. Not only that but the daggers were obviously human made, given the style and shape of the blades. Marethari could feel the enchantments on them as well as there was lyrium folded in the blades. Tamlen had tried to take them but Mahariel actually snapped at him, which was unusual since she had no ties with the seth'lin and was a childhood friend of Tamlen. Maybe it was out of gratitude, respect or something to the seth'lin. Or perhaps it was due to Tamlen's behavior. The young elf made it no secret that he disliked the seth'lin.

Finally, there was the seth'lin himself. A good amount of the elders really did not want him anywhere near the camp, saying he would be just like Reaper. How foolish could they get? This man may be an elf-blooded like Reaper, but he was obviously different from Reaper. However that didn't seem to stop the elders from trying to get the group to leave him in the woods. That was when they told them of the appearance Hanal'ghilan. Marethari couldn't believe that the pathfinder had come to this seth'lin and actually encouraged them to save him. The story, while met with some suspicion, managed to change the minds of the elders who agreed to allow the seth'lin to heal in their camp. Marethari personally saw to treating his wounds only to be surprised. She had found all of his wounds healed, but he was in some kind of inner turmoil. She couldn't place it, but Marethari could feel... something... emanating from him. Merrill had felt it too. They waited for him to regain consciousness for three weeks.

"The sword is with our craftsman, Master Ilen. However, he doesn't believe that he can successfully repair the blade." When she said that, the seth'lin's eyes grew depressed. The blade had obviously meant a lot to him.

"Doesn't matter anyway. I don't really care about the blade. I cared about the person inside of it." Marethari looked at him in confusion.

"What?" The seth'lin looked up at her. He stared at her with a calculative gaze like he was pondering to tell her something. After a moment, he relented.

"I know there are stories about that sword. The Sword of Shartan, a legendary artifact for the dalish elves in remembrance of the elf Shartan who had freed and led the elves into taking back their freedom and homes. The sword which never allowed humans to touch it while allowing elves to hold it yet none were able to draw it from its sheath." Marethari nodded. "And yet you are probably wondering why a half-breed would be allowed to draw such a weapon. Correct?" Marethari nodded once more.

"I'll tell you right now. You dalish were under the wrong impression about the sword." Marethari's eyes widened. What did he mean?

"You merely saw the sword reject the only human to touch it painfully. A human who was going to harm elves, while throughout history, elves had closely guarded it and touched it, but none drew it. That would be because the sword chooses when to be drawn. Not the person holding it." Marethari looked at him confused. The sword chose? Was it possessed by a spirit?

"In actuality the sword can be drawn by anyone, as long as it is in the defense of the elves of course. If not, then at best you have a stubborn sword that refuses to come out. At worst? You're in for a world of hurt just by gripping the handle." Marethari looked at him in suspicion.

"How do you know this?" The seth'lin was hesitant to answer. Just when Marethari thought he would refuse to answer...

"Because the sword told me." Marethari looked at him with even more confusion. The sword told him?

"How could the sword do that?"

"Because the stories aren't completely wrong. The sword did have someone possessing it. Shartan himself or more specifically, a piece of his soul." Marethari was stunned at the information. The legendary elf himself was in the sword? But-But why would he stay silent all this time? Why not contact them or give them guidance.

"Why would he contact you?" She didn't even know she had whispered it until the seth'lin answered her.

"I once asked him the same question. You know what he told me? He said it was because I had his blood flowing in my veins." The seth'lin looked down at his hands which had turned to fists.

"His descendant who couldn't save him. Now that the sword is broken, his spirit is gone. Whether to the Fade or wherever it is that the dead go to, it matters not anymore." Aedan shook himself out of his thoughts. This wasn't the time to chastise himself. He got up and studied his condition. His armor had been removed and the only clothing he had on was some trousers. He was topless unless the bandages counted for clothing. By now the pain in his chest was gone no doubt due to the spirits that he was in league with now. Speaking of which he could feel them. Not really communicate them like he could with Shartan, but it was like he could sense their presence. It was strange. He looked back at the dalish keeper who was looking at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something? I was lost in thought." While her face was stoic, Aedan could see the mild irritation in her eyes.

"I said I am Keeper Marethari. Who might you be?" She reiterated. This seth'lin was like the other children in the clan. At least he had better manners.

"Oh, I am Aedan Hellathen. Pleased to meet you, Keeper Marethari." Marethari raised her eyebrow at his name. The name Aedan was clearly human but his last name. The name of Clan Hellathen. A Dalish clan whose name means noble struggle.

"I see. Since you are fit enough to stand, I can assume then you are able to walk?" Aedan chuckled at her.

"Actually, I could use some fresh air." She moved away from the tent's entrance allowing him to exit. As soon as he did, he looked over the camp. The sun was just beginning to set giving bathing everything in an orange glow. There were aravels, tents, various fires with people huddled around them, even a training area. He could see that everyone was doing something. Either making some kind of food, powdering herbs, making leather, or merely talking. He noticed how most people had stopped doing what they were doing and looked at him. Some looked at him with a small amount of respect, others curiosity and the rest with not-so-subtle suspicion and contempt.

"You'll have to forgive them. We do not get many outsiders here and the last ones..." Marethari trailed off. Aedan knew what she was talking about. While the area was better cleaned, it still bore the makers of battle. Scorched grass, broken and burnt trees, not to mention the multiple graves being dug. If he remembered correctly, the dalish bury their dead and plant a tree over the body.

"Kicked in your front door and invaded. I understand." The two had begun walking towards what Aedan could only guess was some kind of crafting shop. The metal clanging he heard earlier was coming from here. Was it his sword or something else being made?

"How did I end up here? If you don't mind me asking." Marethari smiled at his manners.

"A group was sent out to scout around the fade rift three weeks ago. They found you and brought you back." Aedan nodded with his eyes closed in thought.

"I see. I'll have to give them my thanks."

"You should thank Lyna Mahariel. She was the one who was insistent on scouting the area to bring you back." Aedan looked at her for a moment before focusing on the path ahead of them.

"I'll be sure to give my sincerest thanks." He replied as they continued walking. They could hear the metal clanking was closer now.

"Master Ilen had been trying to repair the sword for weeks now. Sadly, he does not have the materials necessary to repair it." Aedan nodded. Dragon bones were incredibly tough to acquire. You couldn't get any from some dragonling or teenage dragon like a drake. The only bones that were good would be from a high dragon which were rare, not to mention incredibly dangerous. They could breathe fire, ice or electricity depending on their species.

"And what of my other supplies? I believe I left my horse and pack here." Aedan asked causing Marethari to stop walking.

"I'm sorry to say that we let your horse go." Aedan wasn't really surprised. He had figured that out upon not seeing his horse.

"Okay. What of my pack?"

"We may have gone through it" Aedan's eyebrows rose. Now that struck him a little. "and we may have used some of your things." Scratch that last part. It struck him a lot.

"What exactly did you take?" He asked in a tight tone. He could see some of the elves tense with a few grabbing their weapons.

"Just your poultices, herbs and other crafting materials. The clan has been incredibly low on supplies since the attack and we needed them." Marethari explained. Aedan glared at her for a few moments before sighing. Try as he might, he couldn't really hold a grudge for that. He understood that in desperate times people needed to take what they could get. Unlike humans, Dalish live off the land as well as pack what they need. They can't trade with anyone else since there are none to trade with nearby.

"I understand. I can't say I'm happy that my stuff was taken without my permission, but I'm not mad knowing that they were helping people. So ma serannas for telling me the truth and for helping me." His words seemed to have stunned the Keeper as well as the elves listening to them. For them to hear elvish come out of his mouth must have been very unexpected.

"You know how to speak Elven?" She asked. Aedan nodded.

"Yes, though not as much as anyone from an actual clan." This seth'lin was becoming more and more interesting with each passing second. Able to use the sword, able to speak elven and use magic. He was even more understanding than most others.

"If I might ask, what exactly have you done with my weapons and my pack?"

"Your pack is back near my tent." Aedan turned to look back and saw that his back was indeed sitting right in front of the tent he had just come out of, laying against the entrance. "As for your weapons, your bow and arrows are inside your pack. The sword is with Master Ilen while your daggers are in the possession of Mahariel, one of our best hunters." Before he could say anything they both heard someone curse.

"Dread Wolf take it!" Both looked at one another before walking to the person who cursed. They went behind the crafting shop to find an older elf who was glaring at a broken sword. Aedan suppressed a flinch at seeing it was his sword that the elf was glaring at.

"Master Ilen, I take it you have had some trouble in trying to repair the blade?" Marethari asked. Aedan studied Ilen. He was an older elf who had dark grey hair, green eyes and the vallaslin of June. Fitting considering he was a craftsman.

"I'm afraid so Keeper. I can't fix what I have without the proper materials. If that seth'lin hadn't been so reckless-" Ilen said without looking up at them. Aedan cut him off without thinking.

"I wasn't being reckless. The blade was snapped in half by Reaper when he used blood magic on me." Aedan said in a neutral voice. Ilen looked at him with a surprised look having not noticed him. The surprise turned to scrutinizing in a few seconds.

"So your the seth'lin, huh?" Aedan nodded.

"Yes, I take it you're the Master Ilen I've heard about?" Ilen nodded.

"I am. I thank you for your help earlier with Din'an." Aedan raised an eyebrow at the name. Din'an? Was that their name for Reaper?

"Din'an?" He asked. Ilen's expression darkened.

"Yes. His full name is Reaper Din'an. He is a seth'lin like yourself, as I'm sure you know." Ilen said but Aedan could feel a slight undertone in the craftsman's voice. As if he was saying that Aedan and Reaper were the same.

"Yes, he told me about that. Shortly before he snapped my sword in half and stabbed me with it." Ilen looked at him with a raised eyebrow this time.

"Your sword? Boy, this sword has been a Dalish artifact for-"

"Nine centuries. I know, he told me as much and for the time it wasn't in your possession, it was in mine. So it was, formerly as it may be, mine." Aedan said, cutting off Ilen. The craftsman glared at him before turning his attention to his Keeper.

"Keeper, why is he still here? He is awake and is obviously well, if his smart mouth is any indication." Marethari merely sighed before turning to Aedan.

"As you can see, you are not well received here. While some may respect you, others are not as welcoming." Aedan nodded.

"I understand. Let me just take something that I had placed on Shartan's hilt. It isn't elven so I doubt you would want it on your artifact." Aedan said before walking over to his former sword's hilt. Ilen made to stop him, but a look from Marethari made him think twice. Aedan picked up the hilt and studied it carefully before finding three familiar markings. He held his hand up to them and concentrated. After a few moments the runes had come off of the hilt and into his hand. He lowered the hilt back to its resting place before turning around to the two older elves.

"What had you placed on the hilt?" Ilen asked. He had wondered what the seth'lin had done to the sword that would require him to take it off of the sword. Had he defiled the sword in some way? Possibly. This stranger wasn't exactly the most trusted and why should he? He's similar to Reaper and that alone was enough to keep away from him.

"I had placed some weapon runes on it. These were meant to help me in most situations." Aedan held his hand out to show them his Amorphous runes." Ilen raised his other eyebrow now. These were what he needed to take? Okay, they weren't the worst things he thought Aedan had done to the sword. Marethari was surprised by the runes themselves. Not for them being on the sword, like Ilen was, but from the feel from them. Most runes had a single feeling that emanated from them like a flame rune which obviously gave off heat magic or a cold rune which gave off an ice cold feel. These runes however had multiple feelings emanating from them. First hot, then cold, then static, suddenly turned to pure and it went on and on.

"What type of runes are these?" She asked, her curiosity piqued now.

"They are my personal creations, the Amorphous Runes. Runes that can change into a different rune depending on what type of magic you send through them. I have an armor variant as well, which is located on my armor." Both elves were surprised at the information. No one had even considered making such a rune. Sure, there had been hybrid runes but their powers, while different from the other runes, were not as effective as the runes Aedan was talking about. A rune so powerful that it was capable of utilizing other runic abilities and it wasn't just in a weapon form either but in an armor form as well.

"You should be more careful when speaking about your runes. You never know who might want such a weapon." Ilen said. Marethari nodded her head in agreement. If anyone got their hands on those runes, it could spell trouble.

"I know. Don't worry about it, I have it under control. I made a fail-safe in the runes' formulae that allows only myself to be able to use it." Aedan explained. The runes could only be crafted by a mage and only used by a mage as well. While anyone could make a rune, the Amorphous runes needed to have multiple to runes to transfer their essence and fuse together into a single runestone, then activated by magic which is then keyed into the rune so that it would only respond to the mage themselves in order to change. Though he didn't tell anyone that.

Aedan looked over, see his armor lay nearby. He quickly strode over to it, studying it, noticing the hole in it where Reaper had stabbed him. The armor runes lit up at his presence, sensing his magic. Drakeskin was the third strongest leather material in the world, but considering it was up against its metal counterpart, there should be no surprise that the sword went through it easily. Sadly, he going to have to replace it now. He quickly took the armor runes from it before looking back to the two elves who had silently watched him.

"Could you please lead me to the person who is holding onto my daggers, Keeper Marethari?" Marethari nodded and beckoned him to follow her. Aedan did, but not before glancing at his sword one last time. Ilen noted his gaze before grunting and moving on to work on other things that the clan needed.

A few moments later saw Aedan and Marethari approaching Mahariel who was with the group who brought him to the camp along with several others including their Hahren. All of them were sitting around a camp fire talking. Aedan studied the group's faces carefully noting the men and women. One caught his attention the most with her silver hair and purple eyes. She also possessed delicate features which Aedan felt were deceptive to her actual skill. It took a second to realize that two of these people were the ones he had saved along with the Keeper. The group had noticed him and Marethari's approach now and he couldn't help but notice the dark look one of elven men giving him. He was blonde haired with blue eyes. Aedan recognized he had the vallaslin of Elgar'nan as well.

"Lyna, the seth'lin has come for his daggers." Marethari said. Lyna nodded and pulled out his daggers from behind her and held them out to him. He carefully took them from her before looking at her. So this was the one who had wanted to come after him?

"Ma serannas for keeping them safe, I appreciate it." He said with a grateful nod. He noticed the others, save Marethari were wearing surprised expressions at his words. Was it so surprising that he knew elvish? He waited for them to accept this new information about him before Mahariel returned his thanks.

"You are welcome. It was the least I could do after you saved us." She said respectively. Aedan shook his head, ignoring how some of the other elves gained an annoyed look when she mentioned that.

"No, from what your Keeper tells me, you were insistent on looking for me. I dare say you and the group you were with saved my life. So the way I see it, I might actually be in your debt." Aedan said with a smile. Lyna smiled at his response. He wasn't like Reaper and his students at all.

"Then consider us even... I'm sorry, but you haven't told us your name." She said.

"True, my name is Aedan Hellathen. It's a pleasure to meet you." Aedan said with a greeting bow. All the elves, save for Marethari, looked at him with curious looks at his last name.

"Hellathen? You do know that is an elven word?" Hahren Paivel said causing Aedan to look at him.

"Yes, I do. In fact I actually know a good amount of elvish." Paivel looked at him skeptically.

"Truly?" Aedan nodded.

"Yes."

"And how did you come by this knowledge?"

"My mother was a Dalish First. She taught me most of what I know of the Dalish." His answer caused all of them to look at him in shock. His mother was Dalish? One of them? But...

"Who is she? I might know her." Marethari asked wondering who she was. See had met multiple Firsts when her Clan would meet others.

"Dahlia, of Clan Hellathen." His answer seemed to put the rest of them into silence. While some might have known Dahlia, the others who hadn't had heard of the clan's destruction. No one knew what had happened to the clan exactly except that it had been attacked by human's. This information came from the very survivors that the clan had picked up. Once Marethari had learned what had happened, she sent scouts to find the campsite to see what had occurred. When they came to it, there was no one left alive. The corpses numbered in the tens with both humans and elves. Most of them were men, but there were a few of woman and children who hadn't made it. The entire campsite itself was burned to a crisp.

"I'm sorry, but did you say your mother was Dahlia?" Marethari asked.

"Yes, did you know her?" Marethari nodded.

"I did, but I thought she had died in the attack on her clan. How is she?" Marethari asked. If Dahlia was still around, then she would be welcomed back with open arms. Well, mostly open. Some of the more jaded members might resent her for having Aedan. Those thoughts came to an end when she noticed the saddened look in Aedan's eye.

"She is at atisha." He said causing a few elves to bow their heads.

"I see, ir abelas." Marethari said.

"It's fine, you didn't know." He noticed Marethari was looking at him intently.

"What is it?" He asked a little unnerved.

"You have her eyes." She obviously meant his mother.

"I know, they're probably the best things that I inherited from her."

"Then that means you look like your father?" Lyna asked jumping into the conversation which had started to ignore everyone else.

"Yes."

"How did your parents meet?" The First asked. Aedan looked at her funnily.

"What? Is there something on my face?" She asked feeling her face for anything before he could say anything.

"Besides the vallaslin? No, it's just I don't know your name." Aedan said. He had a feeling this girl was innocent and naive.

"Oh! I'm sorry! My name is Merrill. It's nice to meet you, Aedan." She chirped making him smile.

"As to how my parents met, it was when my mother was running from Reaper who had attacked her clan. She had taken both the Sword of Shartan and some kind of Tome. Reaper's followers had run after her and almost killed her when my father saved her from them. When Reaper caught up to them, they both managed to make him retreat in the end. Afterwords, my mother, fearing that Reaper would be able to track her if she went to another clan, decided to go to an alienage. My father escorted her to the city and kept close to her there. I'm not privy to what exactly happened between them, but one year later, I happened."

"How did she-?" Marethari began to ask without finishing her sentence on purpose. Aedan's nostalgic expression turned into a dark look that made everyone else nervous.

"Reaper." He growled out causing everyone to shudder. His voice was tight but as he uttered Reaper's name, everyone could feel the anger held within it.

"I see. My apologies for bringing up such painful memories." Marethari said. How could this of happened to Dahlia? She never deserved any of this. She was supposed to have stayed with her clan, become their Keeper and lead them until the next one. Marethari couldn't help but smile though when she looked at Aedan. While he may not look it, he was definitely Dahlia's son with his attitude. He proved that when he saved the clan. Dahlia would definitely be proud of him for that.

"It is fine." Aedan looked around and noticed that it was getting dark. "I'll need to get my things together. Otherwise I won't be able to leave or get far."

"You can stay till morning." Marethari stated. Aedan was about to protest until he saw her expression which broke no argument. Aedan sighed seeing he was not going to be able leave tonight. He wasn't in the mood to get in a verbal spat with someone right now anyway.

"Very well. Let me get my things and I'll take a spot on the edge of the camp. I trust that will make things easier on everyone?" Aedan said making Marethari nod.

"Good, you'll have a much safer trip in the morning." Marethari said. Aedan walked away leaving the group. As soon as he was out of earshot, Hahren Paivel spoke.

"Keeper, is it truly wise to have him walking around?" He asked as he kept his eyes on Aedan's retreating form. He didn't trust the young man. He didn't hate him, he just didn't trust him. He was too similar to Reaper regardless of what he had done to save them. Though the fact that his mother was the First of Clan Hellathen did help make him look less suspicious. He knew that some of the younger ones like Lyna and Merrill felt that he could be trusted to a degree. He also knew that the other ones like Tamlen felt that Aedan needed to leave the clan, now.

"I do not see the harm in it. He is merely staying the night. Besides you saw how reluctant he was to do so. He's not blind to the clan's opinions of him despite what some of you may think." Marethari replied, pointedly looking at Tamlen and a few others. Tamlen didn't really care as long as Aedan kept himself away from them. As far as he was concerned, Aedan had no place here.

Aedan himself made it back to Marethari's tent and grabbed his pack before moving over to the outer edge of the campsite. He opened his pack, took out a blanket and a shirt before laying it on the grass. Putting the shirt on, he sat down on and crossed legs. He could feel the spirits within him getting restless for some reason. He wondered what had gotten to them to make them so before clearing out his mind. He needed to refuel his mana and stamina and the only way to do that now seeing as he had no poultices or potions was to meditate.

A couple hours later

Aedan had finally come out of his meditative state to see it was now nearly pitch black. He had thought over on how he might be affected by the seven spirits that were with him now. For one thing his mana and stamina had been increased astronomically. He felt like he could cast multiple high level spells in rapid succession before physically attacking several enemies alone without feeling the least bit drained. Another thing he noticed was that he could feel certain emotions emanating from someone. A few minutes after talking with Marethari, he felt worry, shame and sadness. This would be one such case of his new empathy power and for someone reason he had felt this urge to try and sooth the hurt inside her. It wasn't just that he wanted to, but it almost felt like he needed to which was offsetting.

Aedan snapped himself out of his thoughts when he felt something stirring inside of him. He felt cold. Like really cold and... depressed? The two feelings had come on so suddenly he knew they couldn't natural. He suddenly felt the despair leave him as feelings of hope rose from deep within his chest. He knew it wasn't from him though. Something had spurred Hope to interfere, but what? Aedan noticed frost had started form on the ground. Strange. Before he could think on the matter more he heard a shriek pierce through the air.

"What the hell was that?" He said getting up quickly. He ignored the soreness in his legs as he moved them. Aedan focused on the camp itself and noted that the fires they had going had completely been extinguished. Not even the embers were smoldering which they should have been. He kept his eyes looking through the camp before spotting something moving through the camp. It was too fast. All he could see was a shadow at best flitting between tents. He calmly took out his daggers and stalked into the camp, eyes vigilant. Something was in the camp. Aedan kept walking until he came to the middle of the camp. He crouched low and listened for anything. There was no sound. Not from the wind, not from the animals, or insects. Nothing. He suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He quickly turned around, daggers poised to strike when he came to face to face with a notched arrow.

"I knew we couldn't trust you." He looked at the owner of the voice to see it was the blonde elf who had kept glaring at him through his conversation earlier. "Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right now for stalking around the camp." Aedan thought over his words carefully before answering.

"Because there is something in the camp. Something that isn't me, you or anyone else from your clan." The elf brought the drawn arrow up to Aedan's forehead.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You're out here because you heard that shriek, right?" Aedan asked back. This time the elf did stop and freeze.

"That wasn't you?" Aedan shook his head.

"No, I saw something moving in the campsite and went to investigate after hearing the shriek." The elf slowly took the arrow away form his face allowing him to stand up. "Whatever caused that has to be connected to his unnatural cold that's descended on us."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Aedan gave his best 'are and idiot?' look.

"Honestly? Whatever this is, it's not normal. That means it is a threat to not just you, but me as well. If you can't trust me personally, then trust in that." Aedan knew it might not win him a friend, but at the least it might get him an ally for the moment. The elf studied him for a moment before nodding.

"Fine, I don't like it, but I'll agree to work with you. On this and only this." The elf said before walking in another direction. Aedan followed after him, keeping his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.

"So what's your name?" The elf looked at him before looking forward.

"Why do you want to know?" Aedan rolled his eyes.

"So I don't give you a nickname. I'm terrible with them. Would you rather I call you blondie?" The elf gave him a glare and an accompanying grunt.

"Tamlen. My name is Tamlen."

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere-" Aedan stopped talking when he noticed something in the distance. It was dressed in rags and floating off the ground. At first glance Aedan would've believed it was some kind of small, old lady, but he knew it wasn't.

"Hey." Aedan said nodded to it. Tamlen looked to where he nodded and aimed an arrow at it before firing. The arrow soared through the air quickly towards the creature only to freeze midair just before reaching its target.

"What?!" Both of them said as the creature turned around to face them. Aedan finally got a good look at the creature and was disgusted by its face. It didn't have a face! There was no nose, no eyes and... Sweet Maker! It looked like it was just a mouth inside a mouth. And not a person's mouth either. It looked like it had mole teeth inside.

"What in the name of the Gods is that thing?" Tamlen asked getting another arrow ready. The creature opened its mouth and breathed in.

"A despair demon." Aedan said grimly as he gripped his daggers.

SHRIEK

"It uses ice as its main attack. Whatever you do, don't get struck by it!" Aedan said as the despair demon fired several ice spikes at them. Both rolled out away in opposite directions. Aedan quickly casted a flaming enchantment on his daggers as he charged at the despair demon. Tamlen notched his arrow and fired. The arrow zoomed past Aedan's head and struck the despair demon. Or at least that's what it looked like before the arrow shattered on contact. Tamlen's eyes widened as Aedan's narrowed upon seeing this.

'What happened?!' Tamlen thought in shock.

'It's got a barrier around itself.' Aedan thought just before twin striking the demon. He knew his attack wouldn't destroy the barrier even with the precise dual striking and the momentum he built up. He was proven right when the barrier flashed as he struck it shortly before he was sent flying back towards Tamlen. He landed on his back and skidded until he stopped near Tamlen. He quickly got back up and readied himself as the despair demon shrieked at them.

"Why aren't any of our attacks working?" Tamlen questioned.

"It has surrounded itself with a magical barrier." Aedan stated before raising his own barrier around them. And not a moment too soon either as the despair demon fired a beam of cold magic at them. The ground outside of the barrier froze with ice spikes starting to grow up it.

"Why isn't anyone coming out to help?" Tamlen asked looking around. Aedan noticed it too. Why wasn't anyone coming to investigate? That was when Aedan felt a large amount of despair. It wasn't from him or Tamlen, that much he could figure out on his own. He focused on it and noticed that it was surrounding them and flowing towards the demon. Then it hit. A despair demon feeds on despair itself. The most intelligent of these creatures are to be feared, for they not only feed on despair, they understand its causes... and seek to bring it about. From the shadows they ruin lives, drinking the tears of those who have no idea the cause of their misery is not random chance. So that was it. This clan was obviously hurting from the recent attack. They had lost a lot from resources to lives. The despair demon had been attracted to their suffering and came to feed on it. But how did it get here from Fade? Unless...

"Is that fade rift Reaper created still active?" Aedan asked making Tamlen look at him.

"As far I know, yes. But what does that have to do with why there is no one else awake?" If that situation hadn't been dire, Aedan would've rolled his eyes.

"This demon came from the Fade physically. If it were still there, it would probably be attacking only one or two of your clan. But since it's here, it can affect everyone within the vicinity." At Tamlen's annoyed look, Aedan summed it up.

"The demon is keeping them in a deep sleep and giving them nightmares of which there is no waking. Basically, it's making them feel worse than usual while keeping them sedated. It's feeding on them." Aedan said making Tamlen's eyes widen before narrowing them at the demon in rage.

"Why aren't we affected? Shouldn't the Keeper be able to fight it?" Tamlen asked readying several arrows for rapid fire. Aedan reinforced the barrier as the ice kept coming. Aedan wasn't going to tell anyone that he had a few spirits inside him anytime soon so he needed a cover.

"My guess is that we are too blinded by other emotions to really let despair take over. As for the Keeper, considering you found me near her tent after I tried to find it in the first place, she might have been the first victim." Tamlen snarled at the demon. This thing had attacked his clan and was feeding on them. They already had enough problems!

"We need to kill that thing now!" Aedan nodded.

"I agree. The longer this takes, the more dire it becomes." The ice suddenly stopped allowing Aedan to bring down the barrier. There was a bunch of ice in front of them providing cover for the moment but it slowly starting to crumble.

"We need to wear its barrier down first then keep up the attack. I'll through in some fire since it might be more susceptible to it on the account of its ice powers. We cannot let for even a second." Tamlen nodded.

"Understood." Both leapt around and attacked. Aedan quickly closed in on the demon and began slashing at it, avoiding friendly fire from Tamlen. The despair demon shrieked at the sudden attack as its barrier was worn down quickly. Aedan kept slashing until his attacks became an unending flurry. The demon shrieked from the pain and clawed him in the chest. Aedan moved back a little and ignored the wet feeling on his chest before jumping back into the fray with a crippling attack. The demon retaliated to Aedan's onslaught with a blast of ice. Aedan couldn't block it and could only yell in pain. The ice actually felt like it was burning him. The claws wounds that had been dealt by the demon had only made it more worse as he could feel his own blood starting freeze inside. As suddenly as the blast had begun, it had stopped. Aedan, still in pain, struggled to look as the demon turned to Tamlen who was still shooting arrows. Aedan tried to get up but the ice burns on him had slowed him down greatly. He watched as Tamlen came to his last arrow as the demon approached him. Tamlen took out the arrow and fired it. Aedan knew that it wasn't a normal arrow. He could see that Tamlen had concentrated on the arrow itself before firing and when it struck the demon, it lodged itself deep into its head. If that wasn't enough, the arrow shattered this time with shrapnel flying around. Aedan had been surprised that Tamlen had a burst shot hidden away.

The demon however wasn't dead. Wounded, but not dead. Shrieking in pain and anger, it fired several ice spikes which directly scored Tamlen in the chest. The impact of spikes were so great that was taken clean of his feet before landing on his back. Aedan could that spikes had pierced through his armor when he was in the air. The demon turned back to him now. Aedan glared at the demon. He had enough of this! He had nearly gotten killed, he's been rejected by a majority of the Dalish clan and now he couldn't save someone because of his own carelessness! Aedan heard a rasped voice yell from behind the demon.

"Kill it now!" It was Tamlen's voice! He was still alive and could be saved. Aedan felt hope course through him which was joined by several other feelings. So the spirits inside him were helping out now, huh? Aedan rose up, pain having faded away completely. Unknown to him, his eyes began glow blue and cracks of light began to appear near his eyes. This caused the demon to stop in its tracks. It had obviously been shocked by Aedan's newfound power and he wasn't going to miss this opportunity. He stuck his hand out and fire blasted from his hand towards the demon who responded with its own ice blast. Both attacks collided with the fire overwhelming the ice as if it wasn't even there. The flame blast engulfed the demon before shortly piercing through the demon and destroying it. Aedan immediately stopped the attack once the demon was gone. He stared at his hand, stunned by the amount of power he just used. His flame blast was far more powerful than he had ever casted it. He was pretty sure it was powerful than his inferno spell which was supposed to be his strongest fire attack. Aedan shook himself out of his thoughts and ran over to the downed Tamlen, his eyes losing their glow and the cracks receding.

"Did you... get it?" Aedan nodded. Tamlen was panting and gasping from the pain.

"Don't speak, I need to heal you." He looked over the elf and could see the spikes had gone in pretty deep. Blood was pooling out around them. Aedan placed his hand over them, causing Tamlen to flinch in pain. He focused on his magic and melted the ice. The blood immediately started flowing out of the wounds but Aedan quickly healed them with his magic. The thing is, the wounds closed instantly and Tamlen got onto his feet with no trouble at all. Aedan got up, curious as to why that happened. His spells never healed that fast and Tamlen was moving around like he wasn't sore at all or even fatigued. Could it be that the spirits enhanced all of his powers?

"Wow, you are good. I don't feel any pain at all!" That confirmed his theory. So his magical powers had been greatly enhanced by the spirits. Had his other abilities been also? If so, to what extent? If his flame blast was strong then what of his speed or strength?

"Oh my! What happened here?" A feminine voice said causing the two look behind them. The sun was just beginning to rise allowing them to see the camp in a blue-like light. It had appeared that everyone in the camp had woken up now. Merrill and Marethari had gotten to them first with Merrill having been the one to have spoken. Aedan immediately noticed that there were more than a few disapproving looks directed at him, obviously blaming him for whatever happened.

"Explain this." Marethari demanded pointing to the area behind the two which was covered in arrows, ice and had one large, smoldering scorch mark on the ground. Aedan sighed.

"Well-" Before he could say anything, he was cutoff.

"What happened was that Aedan saved the clan." Tamlen said. Aedan was surprised that he actually used his name. "A demon was in the camp and had trapped everyone else in their sleep. We were unaffected since we had been awake when it struck. We tried to kill it but it wouldn't go down easy. The demon struck me some kind of ice attack giving Aedan the opening he needed to kill it with a spell. Then he healed my wounds which would have killed me had he not been there." Everyone was stunned by Tamlen's intervention, most having believed he would be one the first to put Aedan down. But if what he said was true, and it had to be since Tamlen wasn't one to tell stories, then the half-breed had saved all of them again.

Marethari looked around and began feeling for any residual energy in the area. She could feel a demon's twisted presence in the area that was gradually fading away, but she could also feel another presence. It was different from a demon's and far more powerful. Seeing there was nothing else to see, she looked at the two.

"Then you have saved us once again, Aedan Hellathen. Ma serannas." Aedan smiled as he noticed the judging, hostile looks had gone down considerably in number.

"It's no trouble, but..." Everyone's eyes turned to him. "I'd like to stay for a little longer to see what can be done about that fade rift in the forest. If you'll have me of course." Marethari nodded.

"You are welcome to stay and help. Perhaps, with your assistance, we will no longer be under the threat of demons such as the one that came tonight." Aedan returned the smile, bowing his head.

"Ma serannas, Keeper Marethari." For the first since he woke up, Aedan felt like he was accepted into the clan.

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We'll be dealing with the Fade Rift and will find out what happens after in the next chapter.