A/N And I actually got this out on time O_O Really a surprise on my part.

Anyways, Read, Review, and Enjoy!

(Revised as of May 20, 2015)


My cheek still stings from Wynne's violent slap.

I rub the sore spot and sigh as Erianne giggles in the background. "Lets us move on." Wynne says as she pushes past me.

I've really got to filter what I say around these people, that hurt!

We walk into the next room, hearing the mutterings of blood mages as they argue about how they're going to survive the horror.

I roll my eyes and step forward to lean against the column nearest to them in a casual manner as I say, "Anyone have a light?" I flash a palm of green Fade Flames in my hand and let the three blood mages turn and stare at me in shock.

The first tries to rush me and ends up dying with an arrow in his chest.

I throw the flame into the next and he burns to death just as I whip my staff around and freeze the last in a wall of spiked ice.

Beautiful synchronization.

She whimpers as we all approach to interrogate her. "Who-?"

"Tell me why I should spare your life?" I ask lazily.

She looks at me in terror and begins hyperventilating, "I know- I know I have no right to ask for mercy, b-but I didn't mean for this death and destruction! We were just trying to free ourselves!" She argues in her desperation.

I roll my eyes at her, "Oh really?"

She nods quickly, "U-Uldred told us that the circle would support Loghain and Loghain would help us be free of the Chantry. W-Wynne, you know what it was like living here. T-The templars watching, always watching." Her teeth start chattering as her core body temperature drops.

I sigh in reluctance, "A gilded cage, nothing more, nothing less. At least you survived. You chose to turn to forbidden magic, however, a dangerous path." I comment calmly, hiding my own opinion on the subject.

She tears up, "The m-magic was a means to an end. It gave us... i-it gave me the power to fight for what I b-believed."

I frown sadly, drawing the connection between her use of blood magic and my own.

Yes, it's a means to an end. Hopefully I can limit the damage I cause when it blows up in my face, if not... then let the Creators damn my soul.

I open my mouth and feel faint suddenly, a strange buzzing in the back of my head. I try to remember what it reminds me of but my memory is fuzzy.

This is bad, I'm never fuzzy.

"Fighting for what you believe is commendable, but the ends do not always justify the means." Wynne nearly yells in anger.

I quickly become annoyed and sigh in disappointment, "Even in your old age you still do not understand." I turn to glare at Wynne. "What would you do if you could save millions by killing off an entire race? Could you do it? Would you make that choice?"

What am I doing!

I feel myself step up to snarl in her face, my anger flaring for some odd reason. "What would you do if someone forced you to kill your own child to save an entire nation! What! What do you do?!" She stares in shock at my ferocity as everyone watches us in silence.

What the hell am I doing?! This isn't me!

"You are a fool if you think the ends will always justify the means, but somethings the world must burn to save it." I let my anger set my insides on fire as I stomp away from them, releasing the blood mage from her icy prison as I move forwards, hell bent of spending my fury on the demons rather than kill an ally.

I can't feel anything but numbness as I see flashes of death, abominations, demons, others as well until I kick open the cabinet that holds Godwin and yell, "Move! We cleared the lower floors. Tis safer down below!"

"Darien stop!" I freeze and my vision blurs, something hurts but I don't know what.

Why can't I control myself?!

I turn to see Erianne staring at me angrily.

"I'm sorry, tis difficult living in multiple times, almost unbearable." I state plainly, nearly against my will.

She raises an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

I smile and step forwards to whisper in her ear, "Time. Time shifts in the Fade." I back away as she stares in shock. I stare at myself in shock.

"I know what does not exist." I turn away. "Unfortunately I have to change that soon. Now come, Irving must be saved..." I pause as Pause gives me pause. "...and Pause is waiting."

I try and push past this insanity and all I can manage is a small twitch of my right eye.

"What a strange elf." I hear her say behind me and I know something is extremely wrong.

A strange feeling fills me as I pass by demons as they bow in respect to me. I enter the room where the Sloth demon is in-game I blink as I see Pause standing there over Sloth's body, I know it's Pause even though he looks like my father. "Pause?" I wince as a blast of energy hits me and I barely resist. "There's a problem."

He turns around and nods, "I know, now wake up! Sloth is still alive!"

I gasp as I'm tossed back into my body, feeling my hand wrapped around my dagger, my vision clears up as I find the shocked and tearful face of that one bloodmage at the end of my blade. "Nice try bitch." I pant out before ripping my dagger out of her gut and letting her fall to the floor. I blink and suddenly feel faint, the last thing I see s the Sloth Demon stepping closer to our unconscious group.


I groan as I wake up to stare at the green Fade sky above, "Oh great, I'm in the Fade... again." I rub my eyes and sigh as I feel the pure energy of the Fade flow into my body.

There are definitely benefits of specializing in the Fade.

A flash of thought tells me that the bitch blood mage I trapped in ice somehow found out a way to trick me into releasing her and allowing her to come with us. She fought with us and we succeeded up until Sloth, then she betrayed us by allowing Sloth to use my connection to the Fade as a catalyst to pull everyone into his realm just before I stabbed her to death.

The selfish bastard.

I step forward and ignore the simple tricks around me as I approach a hidden Fade portal behind a stone wall, "Lets see what we can do here." I close my eyes and touch the deactivated rift of fade energy, pulling as much will into it as possible and whispering a spell Flemeth taught me on how to control large quantities of fade magic.

Come on...

I refocus it with a mental image of Sloth's main base from the game and with one final punch of fade energy it starts up. I smirk at my success before stepping through...


Oh... well, ok.

I look around and see that I'm actually in a forest of some kind, another illusion clearly. I sigh and walk through the area, careful not to touch anything so Sloth isn't alerted to my presence.

"Oh Erianne..." I freeze as I enter a small clearing and see myself, or at least a very good copy, making love to Erianne by the campfire from two and a half years ago.

"Darien!" I cringe as I feel the broken emotions from years of contempt clouding her mind.

I shake my head and flash a dispel across the area, breaking the illusion and revealing the Desire demon for what it truly is, "ENOUGH!" I shout angrily.

The Demon glares at me, "You would ruin my fun and take my pet?"

I stamp my staff into the ground and don't give an answer as I forcefully banish her to another island.

How dare these demons trick her even further!

The entire forest and area falls away to the Fade once again. I look down at Erianne as she lays shaking on the ground from shock. She stands up and turns to gasp at me before disappearing all together, just like in the game.

I sigh in agitation and roll my neck, "Oh, well that's just sodding great." I turn around and re-align the portal to another area of the Fade, trying to get it right this time and avoid more useless detours.


I open my eyes this time to find Alistair there with his sister, "Oh for the love of-"

I step forwards and he quickly notices me, "Oh hey you! We were just talking about you."

I blink slowly, "Alistair, what color are your socks?" I ask softly.

He blinks and looks down, "I don't-"

I take this moment to draw my dagger and slice his sister's throat. She falls to the ground, choking on her own blood before the entire place shifts to the Fade once again.

Alistair looks up and around in confusion before staring at me in surprise, "Uh... what just happened?"

I roll my eyes, "Demons, the Fade, deception, the usual." I cross my arms as he disappears from sight. "And now lets try this again." I stalk back to the portal and work my way into another Island...


"Ahh, here is the struggling dreamer." Sloth states while in his Arcane Horror form, slowly stepping up to me as I fold my arms and stand defiant. "I nearly had you, had a dreamer captured and subdued, but that pesky little demon interfered."

I shake my head clear as I look around and frown as I find no-one else with me.

Ok, well... shit.

I end it all with a few words as I charge my strongest spell, "No more talk Sloth! You must die!" I raise a hand and the entire area shifts and cracks to release the infinite fade energy the land itself is made out of.

"Wha- What are you doing?!" Sloth staggers back in shock as I bend the swirling vortex around him into a hurricane of fade energy.

"I'm ending this!" I pull my hand into a fist and slam my eyes shut as the vortex implodes, tearing the field apart and setting it aflame with the intensity of my burst of fade energy.

"Noooooo!" Sloth screams as he falls to the ground, all the energy and will sapped from his body.

I look around me and the tears and cracks slowly heal themselves as they are supposed to.

Good, I didn't rip the fabric of reality around me... this time.

I sigh in relief that it actually worked and wait for the smoke and dust to clear up, revealing Sloth's form as he pants pathetically and struggles to stay on his knees. "Are you finished yet?" I growl out. "Sloth..."

He coughs out a mouthful of blood, "I cannot stand to your power."

I kick him in the side, forcing him to the ground fully as I smirk at his defeated state.

That was for every two fucking hour long sessions I had to suffer through trying to beat your stupid fucking Fade puzzle shit in Dragon Age: Origins!

He looks up at me blankly, "Will you wish to bargain for my life dreamer?" He says lazily.

I kneel down and ask, "Why do you call me a dreamer? I simply bend the energy of the fade around me."

He laughs while weezing slightly, "My apologies, I forgot what you felt like last time you were here... Drifter..." He falls to the ground with a short groan, succumbing to his wounds.

Tis done.

I stand up and turn around only to be blinded by a flash of light. A person in mage robes walks up to me as it ends, "Wha-? Where am I?" Niall asks while I recover from being blinded. "You- you killed the demon. You are so much stronger than I-"

I cut him off as I rub my burning eyes, "I'm sorry but what the hell was that?!"

"I..." he starts, but I cut him off again.

I groan as my eyes finally readjust to the strange lighting the Fade has, "The tower needs to be rid of demons still and you're going to die anyways so lets keep this short. What do you wish to be your final words Niall?"

He nods in understanding, "I see, yes. I wish for the circle to know of my sacrifice, but only to show I didn't die in vain for a worthless cause. Please tell them."

I smile sadly, "I will, goodbye." Everything turns to blinding energy as I return back to my physical body in the realm of mortals...


"Oh..." I sit up just as Sloth's body hits the floor. I hold my pounding head as I stand up from the gore-covered floor. "Son of a whore that hurt." I creak my spine back into place and step over to take the Adralla from Niall's corpse as everyone else wakes up.

Rest in peace brave soul.

I shut his eyes and turn back to the group, "Leliana, take the Adralla. It's more effective in the hands of a bard than I. A good singing voice strengthens it's power."

She blinks at me in surprise before taking it.

Everyone sits up except Alistair. It takes him another minute before he wakes up.

"Ow, oh what in Andraste's name?" Alistair sits up to see everyone watching him worriedly. "Uh... hello?"

"What's your father's name?" I ask just to be sure.

Demons are slippery.

He blinks, "Wha-?"

I stop him, "You either tell me the truth or die as a suspected demon." I draw my daggers. "Your choice."

He gulps, "M-My father was..." He bites his lip with uncertainty.

"King Maric."

"WHAT?!"

"Holy Andraste!"

"That was unexpected."

"He's fine, a bit annoying but fine." I state plainly while turning towards the next door and last floor before we find Cullen. "Now let us be off lest the dust gather on us."

Oh I just love that saying... I'm having way too much fun doing all this aren't I? I'm just in a good mood because I personally got to murder the Sloth Demon! Oh Yeah!

I smile to myself as we all rest for a moment, sharing our experiences in the Fade before walking up to the door that lead up to the next floor, and going through it.


(Half a floor later...)

I stagger back from the barely missed bite of another dragonling and freeze it solid before shattering it with a blast of the lingering fade energy around us. "Dragons? Why in all of Thedas did the circle mages keep Dragons here?!" I shout as I engage another group of three.

"They were pets for those who wanted them." Wynne explains as she remotely buffers the group with another barrier.

Literally everyone stops what their doing to stare at her in shock.

I scoff, "Just like usual, too incompetent to see what's actually wis- OW!" I wave my hand about before punching the dragonling that just bit me in the head, "Venedhis!" I shake around the searing bite mark on my hand and blast the dragonling responsible into a wet stain on the floor.

"Kill first, talk later!" Leliana calls from the side.

"Aptly put!" I look over the crowd to gawk at two Drakes as they stomp up to us, their height dwarfing even Alistair, and he's six foot one! "Son of bitch!" I toss a fade fireball into the group before swearing as it barely damages them.

...

Dragons, duh! Fireproof!

I internally slap myself at that horrible decision and switch to a concentrated frost storm to slow them down and freeze some of them solid.

Creators I hate dragons.

I slice my dagger into the roof of one Drake's mouth, piercing the brain as it's fire breath scorches my arm. I stab my other dagger into it's eye, killing it quicker. Both of us fall to the ground as Wynne rushes over to patch up my arm and scold me about heroics that I ignore.

She's worse than my mother in my first life and my fifth girlfriend in my second.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, go heal up Erianne's side." I wave at where Erianne lays in a growing pool of blood and Wynne rushes over.

She took a full bite to the side by the second Drake so Alistair could take it out via decapitation only to get pinned by the body as it rolled over.

"Can somebody help me up already?" Alistair asks tiredly as he stupidly struggles himself into nearly passing out before giving up.

I look over to where Leliana nurses a laceration on her leg and sigh in trepidation.

We seriously need A LOT more practice before taking on a High Dragon, or the Arch Demon, or Flemeth for that matter. God we kill a lot of dragons before the end don't we?

I get to my feet and step over to kneel down and start dabbing some salve on Leliana's laceration, "How are you doing?"

She winces, "Just- Ah! Fine, just- I'm alright."

I shake my head at her stubbornness and finish up the patch work by wrapping her wound.

She sighs, "Thanks for that, the wound was burning for some reason."

I nod, "The natural oils and liquids from a Dragon or dragonling for that matter are extremely acidic and flammable. Which is ironic since their scales are extremely fire-" I stop my textbook recital as I remember the Drake armor that Wade makes in-game. Looking at the two warm bodies covered in rare and tough scales I blink, "-resistant..." I smile broadly as I walk over to the first corpse. "Leliana help me cut off some scales while Erianne recovers and Wynne gets Alistair ready to be pulled out."

She blinks at me, "But why?"

I take my dagger and carefully stick it in-between plates to slowly cut it off. "I know a guy that might make us some armor from these." I don't have to turn back to see Leliana's ecstatic smile as she jumps onto the dead Drake and starts cutting some scales off herself. I laugh at her eagerness before taking my first scale and setting it aside.

We'd need maybe twenty per person to make a full set of armor. Maybe forty for Alistair and Sten each for a heavy armor variant. Drake Scale armor plus previously burned Leliana equals a happy fire resistant ex-bard. Simple arithmatic.


Ten minutes later everyone had a full pack of scales and there were two stripped and rotting Drakes laying where they fell as we moved on.

The moment of truth.

Erianne and I push open the last door, I turn the corner to stare in awe at the shimmering shield of arcane energy powered by the sundering of the Veil around it. "Holy shit..." I breath out appropriately.

"There's someone in there." Erianne points at the man trapped inside.

We spill into the small room and step up to the barrier, myself still in awe at the complexity of the barrier.

"This trick again? I know what you are. It won't work. I will stay strong..." The severely tormented man says miserably as he kneels to huddle on the ground in pray for salvation in his desperation.

"Are you alright?" Erianne asks worriedly.

Wynne speaks up, "The boy is exhausted. And this cage... I've never seen anything like it." She looks to the man, "Rest easy... help is here."

He only whimpers and cradles his head in his hands, "Enough visions. If anything in you is human... kill me now and stop this game." He shakes in fear and pent up anger.

"He's delirious. He's been tortured... and has possibly been denied food and water. I can tell." Leliana goes up to the barrier, holding out a piece of jerky, "Here. I have a skin of-"

He backs away, "Don't touch me! Stay away! Filthy blood mages... getting into my head... I will not break... I'd rather die."

Erianne folds her arms, "Don't be foolish we are not an illusion of your mind."

He jumps up angrily, "Silence! I'll not listen to anything you say! Now begone!" Cullen's eyes widen as I roll mine, "Still here? But that's always worked before. I close my eyes, but you are still here when I open them." He looks on the verge of hysterically crying.

I sigh in annoyance, "I'm sick of this buffoon's incessant prattling!" I wave a pulse of fade energy into the barrier, overloading it. The cylinder shatters and Cullen passes out from the shock of finally being free.

I stare at the result and then look at my hand in surprise.

Well that was unexpected...

"That was not necessary!" Wynne scolds as she kneels down to inspect the young man.

I shake my head and sigh, "And still my headache persists. Tis most annoying." I rub my forehead to try and alleviate the sharp pounding while trying to formulate a plan to take on Uldred.

It only takes a few more minutes for Wynne to be satisfied that Cullen was out of harm's way and we can move on.

Erianne leads us up the stairs to the Harrowing chamber, our group still muttering from my... questionable actions.

"I swear he's worse than Morrigan. At least she never tore the Veil to kill a demon." Alistair whispers quietly. I feel Leliana nodding in agreement.

I look back at them blankly, "T'would be best to not anger the powerful Fade mage who just cracked a Pride demon's prison without so much as a beat of sweat, yes?"

They look away in embarrassment, or fear, I can't tell right away.

"And I don't tear the Veil, I temporarily sunder it to boost my magic's potency when it is required. Tis useful against demons, dragons, bandits, pretty much anything alive and dead." I look forwards again, silently grinding my teeth at the pure fade energy that seems to radiate from beyond the door.

I hope I can stand against Uldred's power. I hope WE can stand against his power.

"Alistair, you and Leliana stay to the shadows near the doorway and enter after a few minutes, or when you hear any fighting." Erianne declares as we reach the door to the Harrowing Chamber.

I raise an eyebrow at Erianne as she says this and she just winks back to me when she notices.

Oh you sly little elf...


Pained and muffled screams of agony rip through the air just as easily as the lightning flies from Uldred's fingertips to torture the latest victim of his insanity. The demon lifts its hand up and raises the poor mage to the tips of his toes as he goes limp from complete physical and mental exhaustion.

I watch in horror as Uldred whispers something in his ear and the mage nods. I step up to stop what's going to happen, to speak those words that I know in fact to undo blood magic and release the poor victim from dying for a demon's vanity, but I can't. I just watch as he falls to the ground and flashes of fade magic fly from Uldred's and two abomination's hands to be absorbed into the vessel like a sponge. I look away and see the horror in my companion's faces as they witness something I've learned to perfect using my bloodmagic...

Permanent Possession.

Flemeth said it was necessary some times to take what might die and make it unable to be destroyed for the betterment of the whole group. I disagreed but still studied, still learned the Ancient Tevinter dark rituals that allowed total control over someone's soul. I can't believe I agreed to study under her all that time.

"W-what's going on here?" Erianne exclaims in absolute horror as the now three fully grown abominations and Uldred turn to address us.

Uldred, the Pride demon, smiles wickedly, "Why, we're having a bit of fun!"

I sigh as I fold my arms, "Torture is fun, tis true, although I disagree with it in this instance. Tis unnecessary." I shake my head at him while carefully choosing my words.

Uldred nods slowly, seemingly enjoying himself a bit too much.

I wonder if he was this demented before the demon arrived, or that the demon just brought it out into the open for everyone to see.

It smirks at me, "Oh... the mage that can control the Fade! I'm quite impressed you're still alive. Unfortunately, that must mean you killed my servants. Ah, well, they are probably better off dying in the service of their betters than living with the terrible responsibility of independence."

I see Wynne cringe out of the corner of my eye as she hears her former colleague rant with more insanity than I thought possible.

I raise an eyebrow at him in false disbelief, "I'm sorry... are you upset I killed your pets?" I let a cocky smirk through to add to the sarcasm, and my deception.

Uldred frowns and fights back a snarl, "We needn't fixate on who killed whom. That doesn't help our relationship."

I nod and smile wistfully, "Tis true, tell me then, what were you planning to accomplish with your means?"

Uldred smiles at my apparent ability to act civilized with a demon, "A mage is but a larval form of something greater. You're Chantry vilifies us, calls us abominations, when we have truly reached our full potential!" He touches the melded flesh of an abomination with admiration in his eyes before he licks the still pulsing and rotting stretched skin, everyone but Wynne and I gag instantly.

That... was absolutely disgusting...

I swallow hard, "My Chantry? I'm a mage and don't exactly call myself religious."

Uldred turns to me and frowns with disdain, "Look at them." He waves a hand at a group of barely alive mages in the corner sitting on the most blood splattered tile of the room. "The Chantry has them convinced! They deny themselves the pleasure of becoming something glorious!"

Wynne finally finds her voice, "You're mad! There's nothing glorious about what you've become, Uldred!"

The anger and fury in her voice startles me for some reason. I look at her in surprise before nodding in agreement with her and looking back to Uldred.

It laughs loudly, whipping it's head back further than a Human's neck should bend before coming back up to smile at us, "Uldred? He is gone. I am Uldred and yet not Uldred. I am more than he was." I swallow at the excitement and happiness its voice echoes through the Harrowing chamber. "I could give you this gift, Wynne. You and all mages. It would be so much easier if you just accepted it."

I tilt my head, "Wouldn't it?" I ask airily.

Uldred glares at me, "But people can be so stubborn."

"Say what you like, I'm still going to kill you." Erianne growls out as she draws her bow.

Uldred throws his arms up and turns to shift just out of Erianne's direct sight as he stalks around the Abominations. "Resistance! Everywhere I go, resistance! How very inconsiderate."

Something catches my eye and I look over to see an elderly mage-

Oh no.

"What do we have here? Why it's the First Enchanter. Come say hello Irving." Uldred pulls at the fade tendrils I can sense holding Irving back from resisting and he staggers to his feet to face us. I gawk in shock at the still bleeding cuts that line the elderly man's face and torn robes.

He tortured Irving?

"Don't mind the blood. He's had a... hard day."

"Makers blood!" Alistair shouts out in surprise.

I look over to see him just getting through the doorway and then proceed to gawk with Leliana at the horrific scene in front of us.

Wynne gasps as she finally takes a breath of shock at Irving's state. "What have you done to him!"

Uldred smirks as Irving turns to look at Wynne against his will, "S-stop him... he... is building an army. He will... destroy the templars and-" Irving struggles to continue but Uldred forces him to bite through his lower lip, causing a stream of blood to stain his gray beard crimson-red.

"You're a sly little fox, Irving. Telling on me like that. And here I thought he was starting to turn." Uldred mutters out plainly as if it was inevitable.

Time to do something about that.

I clench my left fist behind my back while Uldred isn't looking my way, slowly building fade energy there for the first strike.

At this point everyone is armed and ready for a the strike. "Never!" Irving struggles to bite out through the intense pain I can see in his eyes.

Uldred waves a hand and Irving flies back into the corner, roughly skidding to a stop before hitting the half-mangled body of a mage that didn't survive the transformation process. "That's enough out of you, Irving." I snarl at Uldred as he turns to smirk at me and say, "He'll serve me, eventually. As will you..."

I open my mouth to shout attack when Erianne beats me to it, "I think my answer is a no." She lets an arrow fly, piercing the soft fleshy pack on the side of one abomination's head, splattering the gore all over Uldred as the creature dies at his feet.

He calmly wipes his face off with his robes and snaps his fingers. A flash of light blinds us for a moment before we all look up in fear and fury at the massive six meter tall monstrosity that was, the Pride demon's physical form. "Then you will die like the rest who deceived me!" He shouts with a soul tearing power that nearly breaks my concentration.

I grab my staff and throw all my concentrated fade energy out in a small ball of green fire that impacts with Uldred's chest as Alistair rushes up to stab at the five abominations that appeared from the corpses lining the walls.

My fireball explodes a second later, flashing an ear-popping concussion of energy that throws Uldred back multiple feet while incinerating most of the dead or dying corpses and abominations around the chamber, shattering all our barrier protection that Wynne threw up moments earlier.

Now THAT was a fire ball!

Erianne stares at me in surprise for a moment before tossing some ash into another abomination's face and rolling around to kick out it's feet before firing two arrows into the back of it's skull, splattering the pulsing mess onto the stone floor.

I set the corpse on fire as Leliana yells out from the other side of the room. "Uldred's doing something!"

Wynne and I turn to see Uldred casting fade energy onto the mages laying in the corner, "Stop him! Use the Litany!"

Leliana whips out the scroll and sings the sweet and bitter song that instantly breaks Uldred's concentration from the mages. Unfortunately this gives it time to swing around and grab Alistair by the shield and toss him at my head.

I duck barely in time to hear Alistair's armor slam against the stonework and crumple down behind me unconscious. "Damn it! Hold position! Erianne flank on right! Leliana left! Wynne, heal Alistair!" I shout out my commands and swap out for my daggers only to throw up a strong arcane barrier to block a massive fade blast Uldred sent my way. Its flames relentlessly pound my magical shield as Erianne and Leliana are occupied fighting the last four abominations around the room and Wynne does her best to keep Alistair stable.

The flames end just as I fall to the ground in exhaustion. I pant out, trying to draw at the fade energy flying around us to refill my mana, but it doesn't work. I look up and see Uldred in Human form standing over me. "You are weak, unfit, a small piece of my plan..." It grabs me by the throat and lifts me off the ground, I drop my daggers as the corners of my vision start to pulse with tendrils of green energy. My eyes widen as I feel the spell he's casting. "Yes. I'm taking control of your mind Darien... or should I say Dylan... and once I have it I'm going to use you to destroy this realm!" I spit in his face in a pathetic act of defiance and his grip tightens.

No time... left...

My hand reaches out and grabs my back-up dagger before stabbing it into his throat. He drops me and staggers back, clutching his gushing trachea before ripping the dagger out and running over to the wounded mages.

What the sod is it doing?

I barely stagger to my feet before I hear three mages scream out as Uldred uses blood magic to heal itself back to full power at the expense of three of the five surviving mage's lives. Only Irving and one other are left.

Uldred roars out and flashes back into his Pride demon form to bear down on me. "You cannot kill me- AH!" Uldred staggers back in his Pride demon form as Erianne and Leliana rapid-fire arrows into the splitting skin stretched around Uldred's chest.

Grabbing my staff I swing it around and form an ice blade at the bottom end just before it cuts into Uldred's thigh.

He yells out and swats me away as I turn to cast a fireball. I feel myself flying through the air before something hard impacts with my back and all the air is thrown out of me. I slump down to the floor and cough out at the lack of oxygen while Erianne and Leliana barely distract Uldred enough to keep him from murdering any of us.

"Use the Litany!" Wynne screams out.

I look over and freeze as I see Uldred possessing the last mage before Irving himself. Leliana pulls out the scroll but Uldred is prepared this time.

"Your pathetic existence will end!" A flash of fire throws her back against the wall and tosses the Litany into the center of the room. "Let the blood of the heretics burn the words of life." Uldred physically rips the last abomination apart over the Litany, soaking it with the corrupted demonic blood before setting it aflame.

"NO!" I'm faintly aware of my own voice as I scream out and toss two fireballs into Uldred's body, they stagger him away, but it's too late, the Litany's already ash.

It's all up to my memory now.

"What are you going to do now little mortals?" He taunts with a sickening laugh.

I stand confidently as Uldred casts his possession onto Irving, the words of the Litany on my lips as I speak the words that no blood mage should.

Every syllable burns my tongue, cuts my mind, tears my soul, but I can see it doing the same harm to Uldred so I continue.

"AH! RAH!" Uldred covers his head and swings around, crashing into walls and statues desperately to stop my chanting before pulsing a massive mind-blast that wipes out everyone's thoughts.

I can only focus on breathing as everyone tries to recover in time to save Irving's life.

A dark shadow engulfs me as I close my eyes to try and calm my scattered thoughts.

"I will deal with all of you on my own terms..." The deep growl forces me to open my eyes and nearly scream at the horrific sight of Uldred's mangled demonic face inches from my own.

The last thing I remember before I black out is it's wicked smile turning into a face-splitting grin...


A/N The poll for Darien's romance can now be found on my profile.

Last part of Broken circle coming tomorrow. :)

(Revision: The Poll already ended FYI :) Tell me how this chapter turned out to be after the revision! Did I miss anything? Tell me and I'll go back and fix it when I can!)