Chapter 4) Ruins

Layla POV


"Layla, what are you doing here?" I jerked my head up to see Wynne walking into the library. "It's late, dear," she continued with a smile. "Have you not noticed?"

"No, I am afraid not," I replied honestly. It was hard to tell the time here in the library.

She came to sit beside me. "Well, what were you reading that had you so engrossed?"

"It is just a simple history book." I closed it and held it out to her so that she could see the title.

"I wouldn't call anything about the Blights, 'simple'." She flipped through a few pages. "Why read this?"

"It was mentioned in our history lessons today. Since I had nothing to do, I decided to look further into it."

"Nothing to do? You lot?"

"Anders and Neria are both busy with girls. Jowan is in detention for the last prank."

"Busy with… Oh, I see." She laughed softly. "I remember those days. But you don't seem to be very interested in such things."

"I suppose I just haven't met the right one, yet, or something." Even as I said the words, though, my face heated up in a flush.

Thankfully, Wynne pretended she did not see it. "So, you chose to read about the Blights?"

"Yes, I did. I wish I had not, though." I shuddered as I recalled what I had read. "It is quite scary. I am glad they do not exist anymore."

"I'm not sure that's something that can be said. Just because something has not happened does not mean it can't."

"Then I shall be thankful I will never see such a thing in real life. I am quite happy here in the Circle, and have no intentions of leaving."

"And I am glad you see it that way, dear. Truly."


"Commander Duncan, why are we returning to the ruins?" I asked as we wandered the woods.

"I need to check something there," he answered me easily, if vaguely.

"I thought you had hoped to be in that oddly named city by now, though."

"Denerim, and yes, but this is something we really need to check. And also…"

"Yes?"

"No, nothing. Hopefully, it's just my paranoia acting up. Careful, there's a root here." Even with the warning, I tripped over it anyway. "Are you all right?"

"I am fine." Considering how many times I had fallen over, I believed my feet were becoming immune.

I would never have considered myself clumsy before. Certainly, I never tripped in the Tower. But there were just so many things out here! There were rocks in the road, roots in the path, and my feet somehow found each and every one. The roads and paths were not smooth, like the floors in the Circle, so I would stumble when I found a small hole. Oh, and the things I could see and feel were so strange! The trees were taller than the walls of the Tower; their bark was rough and coarse to the touch. The flowers were bright and cheerful. The wind was gentle yet fierce as it whipped my hair about. The mud clung to the bottom of my robes, worse than any dust.

I was not much liking the world outside of the Tower. There was just too much to focus on. I felt like someone was trying to cram the entire library into my head! It hurt almost as much as my feet. I would much prefer to return, but I had a feeling my request would be denied.

Well, if I could not return, then I hoped we could leave this forest soon. It made me incredibly nervous. "Commander Duncan?"

"Yes?"

"Must we stay here much longer? The Veil is thin, and I do not feel safe."

"We'll be leaving tomorrow," he promised. "I'm not surprised by the Veil, though. Many people died here, in the days long past."

I shuddered at the mere thought. That many deaths… it was a horrid thing to even think of. What could have possibly been worth fighting that much for? There was nothing, really, that I could think of. What good was surviving when you had so much blood on your hands and that many corpses trailing behind you? "Commander Duncan?"

"Yes?"

Could I go home now? "I believe we are almost at the ruins?" At least, that was what I hoped. All these trees looked the same to me.

"Yes, we are. Stay behind me."

"Huh? Why?"

"Just do as I say." I knew that tone. Irving would take that tone whenever something dangerous was near. So, I instinctively did as he ordered, keeping close and staying behind him as a strange sort of noise grew louder and louder. I would say it was talking, but I did not know the language. It sounded harsh and cold. I hated the sound.

I was startled from my thoughts when Commander Duncan grabbed my arm and tugged me behind a tree. "Commander Duncan?"

"Easy," he murmured. "They're right there."

I almost asked what he was talking about, but then I caught sight of them. There were only a handful by the entrance there. There were shorts ones that toddled about on tiny legs, and taller ones with pointed ears and what seemed to be an iron mask over their face. Both, however, were being pushed around by the slightly taller ones, who were dressed in broken armor. It would have been almost comical, if not for how twisted they looked. Their skin was mottled yellow and red, and they bore decaying fangs. Even the ground underneath them could not bear their rank presence, rotting beneath their feet.

Not even a Pride Demon was this terrifying.

"C-C-Commander D-Duncan?" I began shakily. I hoped they would not hear me. "W-what are th-those…?"

"Darkspawn," he answered easily. These… these things were the darkspawn of legend? What sort of disgusting mind conjured them up? Surely, it was not the Maker. "Genlocks, hurlocks… not often we see shrieks this early."

"Pardon?"

"The short ones that resemble dwarves are genlocks." They resembled dwarves? Ugh, what disgusting creatures dwarves must be! "The ones with pointed ears are sharlocks, though we mostly call them shrieks among the Wardens because it reminds us of their most dangerous weapon." Why would they have pointed ears? The only race with pointed ears was the elves, was it not? "The last ones are hurlocks. You will see many genlocks and hurlocks, especially during a Blight."

"Is it strange to see these… shrieks… because they are the rarest?"

"No, the rarest are ogres. Be glad there isn't one of them about."

"How can you tell?"

"Trust me, Layla, you will always be able to tell when an ogre is near." He turned to face me. "Okay, here's what I need you to do." I had to do something? I wanted to run. "Do you see in the back that one genlock? The one wielding the staff?" I had to peek out further than I wanted to in order to see it, but I eventually nodded. It was hiding deeper in the ruins. "That's an emissary. Likely, it's commanding the others here. I need you to keep it from casting spells on me while I deal with the others."

"We are fighting?"

"Yes, that's what Wardens do. We can't allow them to reach the other parts of the forest. They'd destroy it."

As much as I hated the place, even I could see just how devastating such a thing would be. "I will do my best."

"Just focus on the mage. I should be able to take the others. Get a shield up in case one slip past me."

"Pardon?"

"Just do it." He ran off before I could ask anything further. "Um… Very well, sir…" Oh, what was I supposed to do? Well, let us see… there was that spell from the Spirit Branch. Yes, that would work out nicely.

As the sounds of fighting rang out, I concentrated on the flow of magic in the area. It was startling just how frayed the Veil was here, and how much the magic crashed about. I had to be extra careful in how I shaped my magic, and how I hunted for the enemy mage in the mess. With that said, once I found it, I was surprised I had not immediately gone for it. The thing's magic was as twisted as its skin. There was just something wrong about it, just as there was something wrong with blood magic. But even with it being so wrong, it was still magic and, thus, would be affected by this simple spell. "Power of mine which flows through the world," I whispered. "Find all spells in the air and spirit and reap them from the soul." There was the danger of harming your fellow mages with it, because of the large area it encompassed, but when you did not have to worry about such things, it was invaluable for making sure your enemies could not take cover behind spells. "At my command, Mana Cleanse." There was a shriek in the distance and I could not help but grin as the creepy little thing stomped about like a child throwing a tantrum as its mana broke apart into the ether. Whatever spell it had been trying to cast, it no longer had the reserves to use it. Mana Cleanse wiped out all spells.

Now that I was thinking about it, it would also disrupt healing spells, wouldn't it? Thank the Maker that this thing was not attempting that. A life was a life, even when it was an enemy's, and I could not bear the thought of accidentally causing a death because I had nullified the-

"Layla!" I snapped my head up to see one of the creatures racing right for me. It was one of those… shriek things, and it was coming from a different direction that the others were. It must have been hiding in the shadows. That was... oh, why was it coming after me?!

W-Well, I suppose I would just have to freeze it in its tracks. I had just the spell to do it, too! "Here me now, whispers of…" Just as I was summoning the magic, though, it shrieked and the pain in my ears startled me into losing control of the spell. Raw magic shot from my hand and went right through its head. It fell at my feet, blood splattering all over my shoes and robes. It was dead. It was dead. I… I had killed it.

"Layla, are you all right?" Commander Duncan was by my side, gripping my shoulder. When had he appeared? What about the other things? Did he kill them? "Layla? Did-"

"I killed it." My voice was very, very soft, and it shook so much in just three words. "I killed it."

"…Layla…"

"I did not want to. I was going to just freeze it. I was! But I lost the spell and it went flying and… and…" Why was I freaking out? Why was I panicking? I had killed before. I had killed demons. I had killed Fade creatures. But this… this was different. Even though it had been a twisted thing, it bled. It bled, just like… like I would, if I were hurt. It had truly been alive. Yet now it was not. I had killed it. It was dead.

"You saved quite a few people by doing so." Commander Duncan's words were soft. "Try to focus on that, when things get hard." I nodded, unable to say another word. "Come on."

He gently took my hand and led the way into the ruins, right past the bodies. I tried to ignore them and study the area, but there was not much to them. Certainly, there was very little to distract me from the blood staining my robe and shoes. There were crumbling walls, broken doors, and foliage twisting about. Once or twice, I thought I caught the remains of a poor soul, but I made myself not take a closer look. I did not like it when things died. I could do nothing for the dead. I learned healing to save people, not watch them die in front of me.

Oh, why could I have not stayed in the Tower? I preferred it there! I wanted to go home!

"Ah, so this is where the source is coming from," Commander Duncan said after a long while of meandering about. We were at some strange door in a corridor. I glanced inside to see an odd mirror, one that made my skin crawl. I was not sure what 'source' he was talking about, but I certainly did not like it. "I'm going to investigate further in here. Stay out here until I get back. It's dangerous in there."

Wait, so I was to stay out here, alone? But I would rather… no, wait, I did not want to go into that room. So, instead, I nodded and he let go of my hand to walk away. "Commander Duncan," I whispered, as I remembered something important. He paused in the doorway. "Beware of corpses and spirits. They can reach through more easily when the Veil is thin, and this place seems to be filled with things long gone."

"Thank you for the warning," he replied. I… got the feeling he already knew that. Oh, how embarrassing! "Shout if you see anything."

"Very well." He disappeared in the room and I kept myself busy by studying the strange statue placed in front of the door.

I would be very happy to leave this place, and never ever return. I would be very, very happy indeed.


Author's Note – Okay, just a cute little intermission with Layla and Duncan. Just little things like Layla getting a bunch of shocks. Fun, fun! (If it wasn't obvious, Layla is NOT really a fighter, just a mage who fends off demons. Oh, I'm going to have fun with her~ hehehe, hello, Ostagar!)
Darkspawn DO appear in the Dalish Origin. Instead of having Cleon kill them though, as he would in game, I'm having Layla take care of it! Mana Cleanse is a… slightly bugged spell that does the opposite of what it says in game without a patch. I'm just going to assume it does exactly what it's supposed to. For now, at least.
Why do I have darkspawn magic being 'wrong' and 'twisted' and 'like blood magic'? Well, it's mentioned that demons/spirits don't really know what to make of darkspawn, implying they don't ever go into the Fade, and darkspawn were said to be born from Tevinter Sin. What magic doesn't require mana and is famous in the Imperium? Blood magic.

Next Chapter – The rest of the Dalish Origin with Cleon