Chapter 105) Legendary Archdemon
Layla POV
I was not certain when I realized it. One day, I was cowering away from each spell I cast. Then, suddenly, the next, I was embracing the magic I wielded. The magic that I had feared had become one of my greatest traits. I loved magic. I loved the Circle.
If I had to guess, though, I would say it was around a year after I came to Fereldan, while Irving showed me a spell. It was hard to be afraid when he made it fun.
The song in my head made it difficult to concentrate. I suppose it did not help that this was my first 'real' time hearing it; I had been unconscious when it appeared at Ostagar, after all. It was a beautiful sound, ethereal and nostalgic. Honestly, though, if it had not reminded me so much of a demon, I might have just lost myself in it.
I was not sure if the others had as much trouble. There was truly too much going on for me to ask.
I conjured up a forcefield as the Archdemon spewed strange purple flames that 'felt' more like spirit magic than actual fire. I held the shield until the soldiers behind me could fix their formation, and then brought it down so that they could charge. My vision blurred a bit as I stumbled back, struggling to breathe. I looked up at the clouded sky, trying to calm and focus. I was running low on mana. This battle was long, too long.
This would, however, have been much, much easier if the stupid Archdemon had not leapt to an isolated platform where no one but our ranged fighters could reach it. Nuada was working on a plan to let the ranged fighters rest, but I did not know if…
"All forces down!" Nuada's order cracked through the air, and we hit the ground, uncaring of the blood. Two strangely oversized arrows flew over our heads, thudding into the fleshy under-part of the Archdemon with almost terrifying ease.
I glanced back to try and figure out what it was, and saw these strange… mounted… oversized… bows. Aiden and Nuada were coordinating them, while Zevran and Leliana flitted around each one. What was…?
Something took my hand, and I almost called on the Arcane Markings to punch whatever it was. I checked the impulse when I realized it was Cleon, and he was spelling out something in my hand. It took me a couple of seconds to string the letters together: ballista. So, these were ballistae? I had read about them, but this was my first time seeing them. I think, at least.
'They are old and disused, so they jam frequently,' Cleon signed. I imagined that was why Zevran and Leliana were constantly fixing them. 'But they work, and work well.' Yes, I could see that. The Archdemon tried to bat them away, burn them even, but the ballistae were set up so that they covered an extensive range, too far for the Archdemon to deal with all of them.
One bolt caught it in the eye. It screeched, releasing a pulse of power that nearly sent me flying, and the threatened storm made the sky fall.
The rain hammered us, made all the blood run off the side in strange little streams. Thunder rumbled and lightning cracked. I was reminded of Ostagar, and wondered if that storm had been caused by it then, too. I remembered how I had thought it 'suitably dramatic' back then, and Nuada and Alistair had pointed out how it was a bad thing. Rain reduced visibility, and heavy winds would make it even harder for archers to cover. Mud made it harder to move, and the stress of everything led to soldiers making mistakes. Well, there was no mud up here, but the stone was slippery with both blood and rain.
There was a slight 'change' in the song, and I turned to see a darkspawn had just… appeared in the middle of reinforcing horde. But there was something strange about it. It had a different 'presence', and it was more armored than any of the others. It wore a horned helmet, and wielded a strange blade with green mist clinging to it.
'I know that darkspawn,' Cleon signed. He glanced back at the darkspawn before looking to me. 'Duncan called it a Vanguard or something.' So, it was a leader? 'It killed Duncan.' …Ah.
"Shall we?" I whispered, deliberately making my signs light. His response was to grin. "Let us go, then."
Both of us charged forward, and the Vanguard met us. Cleon blocked the strike, smirking for some strange reason as his daggers caught the blade, and I used the opened guard to slide underneath and strike at a joint with my rapier. It stumbled back, perfectly silent, and made a gesture. Screams startled me, and I turned to see Shrieks targeting the ballistae operators. I saw it gesture again, and I saw the Shrieks suddenly die, bringing more in their place.
This thing was controlling them. It controlled the darkspawn, possibly to carry out the Archdemon's orders. In a way, you could call it the 'tactician'.
"I think it's past time for you to die," I whispered. I brought up my off hand and conjured up a spirit blade. I let the Arcane Warrior's memories give me the tactic I needed, and I used blood magic to make sure I moved right.
When the Vanguard swung down, I caught it with the spirit blade, gritting my teeth as my arm screamed and my vision blurred, and called on Arcane Markings to ram the rapier straight through its… did darkspawn even have hearts? If they did, were they in the same location? That… was a question to answer if I got through this.
Regardless, I rammed the rapier through its chest, and used its shock to bring the spirit blade up to crack the helmet. Cleon leapt from the shadows then, and drove his dagger through the crack, twisting to rip apart the skull.
The Vanguard fell and, for good measure, I drew my magic into my legs and jumped on what remained of the head, splattering it. The Archdemon roared in fury just a split-second later, and Cleon and I shared a grin. We killed it, and now, the darkspawn were without their tactician. Of course, we were battered and tired, and there were really far too many darkspawn up here, but if we hurried, then maybe, just maybe…
Vines suddenly twisted over the edge of the roof, crawling towards the darkspawn and wrapping them up as arrows thudded into them, all fatal injuries despite the rain and wind. I turned, confused, and saw… and saw that, for the first time, we had reinforcements. Lanaya, Irving, Greagoir, Neria… Greagoir and Cullen… the dwarf Aiden called 'Kardol'… all the Redcliffe and Fereldan soldiers… they were here. Our army was here, ready to help us finish this at last.
"The final blow must belong to a Warden!" I heard Aiden shout. "Only we can stop it's regenerating!" Though, it would be at the cost of a life. I remembered Garahel in the Fade, and how he urged us to 'remember him'. Had that his way of warning us? Had that been him showing us the true price, condemned to wander the Fade for eternity? Had it been his way of saying 'find another way'? Ah, if only I had looked into it sooner, then perhaps we could have.
But I had not. We had not, so now we paid the price. It would all come down to these next few minutes.
Next Chapter – Aiden
