A/N Second part to Ice Peak. :) I'm pushing myself to get these out on schedule. Hope all of you like how things are going!
Read, Review, and Enjoy!
"The Tear is just ahead, I can sense the sweet pull of the Fade tugging at my soul..." I whisper behind me as I slowly climb the stairs, my staff and blood magic knife at the ready.
I can practically feel Erianne's concerned eyes burning into the back of my head when Levi says, "Your friend here is making me uneasy Warden."
"Good, then it's not just me." Alistair mutters as we just make it up the last flight of stairs.
"Bark." Barkspawn agrees with a quiet bark.
I turn to look at them and everything shifts as another vision blinds us...
"Make them pay for every inch men!" Sophia dodges and slices a soldier as he lunges towards her. "Hold the flank!" She turns and shouts behind her as the battle rages on, "Avernus, we need you!"
The vision shifts to a relatively young mage casting a spell in the back ranks, "Nelatep obresooth sythan net bekon!" I watch in shock and surprise as I recognize those treacherous words. The Rage demon rises from the ground and thankfully follows orders to attack the king's men.
One soldier freezes on the spot and slowly backs away in fear, "Andraste's blood! Wh-What?"
This is agreeable to Sophia, "More Avernus, whatever it takes!"
Avernus takes it in stride, and pride. His next summoning is far beyond reckless. He tries to summon a Sloth demon. "Kaelee ai benfortus veitus!" The Shade rises from the blood and death around them rather than his spell, forming the less-frightening form of a Sloth demon who immediately reaches out and takes control of the lesser rage demon Avernus had just cast.
"Press them! Press them now!" The Dryden shouts.
Unfortunately the demons were out of control now. The Rage demon stabs his searing claws into a warden mage and the deadly force throws her into the wall. He turns and slashes right through an armored warden soldier next, the metal melting in its grasp.
Avernus gapes at the scene before turning to the Shade in anger, "No! I command you, fight the king's men!"
The demon of Sloth turns and gets right in his face, making his dark and vicious words all the more terrifying to poor Avernus, "Fool! So much death, suffering, and oh yes... BLOOD! The veil is torn, now! Your soul is mine Avernus!"
The frightened master mage staggers back in fear and trepidation towards the only side door out of the area, "Acolytes... retreat now. The battle is lost." He turns and bolts out the door.
Sophia sees this and clenches her fists in fury, "Avernus!"
Everything shifts back to normal and we find ourselves even more woozy than before.
"What just happened?" Levi asks while holding his head. We all look up and immediately tense up at the sight of demons, "Oh no, more fighting?" Levi dives for a cabinet that seems still intact while the rest of us wait for Erianne's decision.
"Form up! Darien we'll give you all the time you need, just shut that tear!" Erianne shouts.
I nod to her in the last second before battle and throw up a layer of blood skin over my person to increase my defense three-fold. The strangely slick liquid sloshes in my ears as I bolt for the first summoning circle and immediately drop to the floor to get to work. I study the five-ring locking rune and groan as I find it's written in Demon's Archaic. The symbols mesh and spin through each-other in random intervals constantly until I touch the symbol in the center of everything. An image pounds like a heart beat in my eyes and I turn the first inner ring to that exact place on the Tevinter Archaic calendar. The ring lights up with green fade energy as the Tear inches open just a small bit further. I swear at the realization, "The portal needs to be opened all the way for me to shut it permanently! Hold them back!" I don't even wait for an answer as I lock the other four into place and dash over to the next one. A Rage demon appears and claws at me, scraping my blood skin slightly but not getting through before I kill it with a flash of Winter's Grasp.
Ok, ok, third, fifth, second, first, fourth!
The last ring clicks into place, ripping the Veil even further towards full asunder. Desire demons flash into existence around us, pushing the group's limits even further.
I have to hurry!
"RARR!" I shake from the adrenaline rush and dodge the twisted abomination's claws to pop the pulsing mesh of flesh and bone like a pimple across the floor with a well-placed fade fireball.
I look over at the group and gawk as Sten and Alistair are cornered and Erianne has changed out to her blades to duel three abominations. She slashes the head of one while diving around and stabbing the second as she notices me staring, "GO! WE'LL BE FINE!"
I reluctantly shake off my impulse to go help them and dive towards the third circle.
Two- oh sod this thing is spinning too much!
I take a breath and use the fade energy around us to slow down our perception of time, effectively casting haste.
There we go. Two, five, one, three, four.
The circle flashes with another pulse of power and the Tear rips into the fabric of reality, causing blinks of the past battle with Sophia and Avernus to overlay with our own, the spirits battle with demons of the past while we struggle to hold the boundaries of the present. I watch the spectacle for a moment before a crushing sound causes me to turn and see the leg of a massive Pride demon stepping through the Tear.
Oh by the Dead Wolf!
I whip my staff around and throw up a wall of ice against the Tear to slow the monstrosity's advance while I start to solve the last summoning circle.
"Our hearts are our own! Take them-!" I look over and watch as I witness Sophia Dryden being forcefully possessed by a twisted Hunger demon that passed through to our realm.
Poor Sophia... Ok, back to it! Five.
*CLICK*
Four.
*CLICK*
One.
*CLICK*
Three.
*CLI- SHATTER!*
The ice wall explodes outwards as I set the second and final circle into place. The wisps of fade energy holding the Tear in place pour out of the glyphs and into the Veil Tear itself as it closes.
"I AM FREE!" The Pride demon stomps out of the Tear just as it shuts, pulling all the strength out of the lesser demons and allowing them to be easily put down by my companions.
"Katara, bas!" Sten slices an abomination in half tall-ways, spilling the liquefied guts onto the ground around them as Alistair successfully takes down the last Desire demon with a quick beheading.
I back away from the Pride demon and slip on the blood and gore coating the stone tile. "Guy- Oof! Guys!"
Everyone turns and I see fear on Sten's face for the first time since I've met him, it's fleeting, but that one moment causes Alistair and Erianne to really start to panic.
"Hold the line!" Erianne commands.
I get back to my feet and step to the back of the group as the five meter tall demon approaches, "I don't think that's going to work Eri. We have to take it down strategically!" I yelp in fear as the demon picks up and tosses a dead abomination taller than I am across the room to splatter against the far wall.
Erianne's eyes dart around the area, looking at the ceiling, the demon, the floor, us, everything before she shouts one word that defines every damn plan we've come up with so far. "IMPROVISE!"
Instantly Sten charges ahead while Erianne fires an arrow at the monster's head. "AH!" The demon raises its arm up to block the arrow, allowing Sten to swing and slice a large gash into its left leg. "RAA!"
"YAH!" Alistair shouts out his battle cry as he charges up to bash the head of the demon as it kneels down to regain its balance.
Now staggered, the demon backs up slowly, still blocking the arrows Erianne is firing at its forearm. I lift up my arms while tapping into my mana and entrap the monster in a field of frost that creeps up its legs to slow it down to a crawl. "It's open! GO!"
Sten takes this opportunity in stride, climbing up the back of the Pride demon to shout, "Ebost issala!" as he stabs his greatsword down and through the top of the demon's head.
The demon's mouth hangs open in a silent scream for a moment before the eyes blacken and the entire thing crashes down to the floor, throwing the frost up into the air to slowly drift down in the form of indoor snow. The demon's black blood slowly grows around its massive corpse as we all stare at Sten in shock and awe. He yanks his greatsword out of the demon's head and hops off to land perfectly in the pool of blood, splashing the black liquid all over his armor as he stands proudly with a satisfied smile. "It is done."
…
"By the Creators..." I breath out in surprise. "That... was... epic!" I laugh and holster my staff to properly bow to Sten in respect, "You sir, are a fearless and powerful warrior Sten."
He sheaths his greatsword on his back and his smile drifts into a smirk he fights to keep subdued, "Is that so surprising?"
I smile at his attitude, "Apparently so. Tis beyond satisfying that we actually managed to take down an army of demons and close a fade tear without any casualties."
"That's the Elven way." Erianne states happily. Sten raises a heavy eyebrow at her. "And Qunari way, no Humans to ruin the plan!"
"Hey! Humans are just as witty!" Alistair exclaims from behind us.
We all turn to stare at him and Sten sums it all up in one word, "No."
Alistair sighs and mutters, "We don't win anything anymore."
"I am hardly surprised, your people are soft and quick to flee in a crisis." We look at Sten and he stares seriously back at us. "Elves are also too small for large conflicts."
"Hey!" Erianne and I say simultaneously.
…
…
"The Wardens summoned demons!" We all look over and see Levi walking around the demon corpse with Barkspawn beside him as they come to rejoin us. "I can't believe it, and my grand mother..." He looks over at the dead Pride demon. "She knew."
I shrug, "The Wardens don't forbid blood magic, and why should they? Tis useful in situations such as this." I see Alistair glare at me out of the corner of my eye as Erianne steps up and places a hand on Levi's shoulder to comfort him as his world comes crashing down.
"She was fighting for her life Levi."
He lowers his head further, "I believed that my family was better than that," Something changes and he looks hopeful, "but answers might lay up ahead." Erianne and I nod in agreement.
As we walk over to the side door that leads to the back rooms and then to Avernus' tower I sense something radiating from a dead abomination to the side and walk up to it.
It... feels like it's freezing...
I kneel down and flip it over to satisfy my curiosity and grin as I find the rare staff, Wintersbreath, laying there surrounded by a thin layer of frost and ice.
Just my luck!
I grasp it and cringe as the cold bites through my gloved right hand to stab into my skin. I quickly holster it on my back with my other staff and rub my hands together to negate the cold. "By the Dread Wolf that staff is powerful..."
Alistair bashes the door open and swings his sword, slicing the first corpse while blocking the claws of another with his shield as the third he bashes with his helmet. Another slice and another bash and all three corpses are down with absolute precision before any of us can even react. "Lets move." He declares after his victory.
We step into the hallway and I immediately walk up to the hundred candles long burned out on an altar. "This is strange..." I pick up a small jar and brush off the dust to see the simple label for raspberry jam. I immediately grin and wave it around for Levi and Alistair to see, "What's this? A stale jar of raspberry jam labeled 'for Sophia *wink*', and it being awfully close to her bedroom." The both of them stare at me, "Hmm... I wonder what she was spreading this on in the bedroom..." Immediately both of them blush until their cheeks are beat red. I struggle to hold in my laughter when I notice Erianne staring at the jar with twinkling eyes.
Ok... not thinking about that.
Placing the jar back on the altar we move over to Sophia's room and ready ourselves for anything that might be behind the rotted wooden door.
"Raspberry jam?" Cassandra states in disbelief.
Varric shrugs, "Apparently the warden Dryden was quite adventurous in the boudoir." She shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Alright alright, I'll speed things up." Varric thinks for a moment before speaking again. "Sophia Dryden's body was inhabited by a demon that tried to forge a deal with the warden to allow it to roam the world of the living in exchange for strength and power to destroy the Warden's enemies." Cassandra's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Yeah, it seems like the only one not surprised was Darien, in fact he spoke quite clearly to the demon as if he already knew it before Sten lost his temper and chopped it in half."
"Interesting, so once again Darien is shown to have knowledge of an event before it happens." She worriedly taps her chin as she tries to put all the pieces together, "Guardian, what have you gotten yourself into?" She mutters to herself.
Varric nods in agreement while looking at the floor before sighing as he continues, "Levi Dryden now knew the secret behind the warden rebellion, and his great-great-grandmother's death for defying King Arland's rule."
"So the wardens have meddled in politics before?" She asks as another piece reveals itself.
"It appears so."
"That... actually explains a lot. Please, continue." She crosses her arms, every bit of information she's getting is pointing to the Guardian, but who is this Darien? And why does he know so much about these events?
Varric scoffs, "You keep interrupting me I might just start making shit up." He sighs as he sees Cassandra is lost in her own thoughts. "Alright, the warden's group just finished clearing a way to the tower when-
"Stop!" I exclaim as I spot the first room inside the tower is filled with books and vials.
Erianne stops to look at me curiously, "Darien?"
I stare at the dust covered laboratory in a small bit of excitement, "This is an Alchemy lab! Oh what wonders do this madman's writings hold for me?" I immediately rush up and collect what seems to be the journal of Avernus. After reading a few lines about the enhanced warden potion I grab the green vial and place it in my pack with a few other things the formula needs.
I can't believe this thing's actually intact! Look at all these recipes!
"Just give me a moment and I'll have everything useful in order." I state to anyone who's listening behind me.
By the Dread Wolf...
I run my gloved finger down the table of contents and nearly faint at the amount of knowledge stored within this one journal. Hundreds of experiments all about increasing sterilization and sanitation while also touching on harmful poisons and potions that don't affect the wardens due to the darkspawn blood in their veins!
I flip a page and blink as this one is written in Qunlat. A shadow crosses over me as I start to read it and I look up to see Sten burning a hole into the page as well, "That is Saar-qamek, a-" I cut him off.
"Poisonous gas the Qunari use, yes. Apparently this Avernus did many a deal with your people Sten, curious." I check the catalog number for the vial and grab it from a shelf to see the contents still swirling in a mysterious greenish gas.
Sten growls at it as I walk back over, "The Arishok would not part with that willingly, not without great force." I look directly at him to see he's genuinely pissed off by this discovery. "I only wish this mage, Avernus, was still alive to tell of its origins."
I sense a finality to the 'tell' part... better not to get in his way.
I swallow and nod in agreement for different reasons, "Me too Sten, me to." I pack up everything and start to collect the intact vials when Erianne steps over.
"Did you find anything?" She asks, eager to get this done and be gone.
I nod sullenly, "Apparently Avernus was trying to find a way to-" I take the journal from my pack and flip to that page, "-to 'unlock the power within the Grey Warden blood'. His methods included unwilling LIVE participates."
"That's sick!" Alistair calls from across the room.
Erianne blanches, "Oh Maker... are you sure?"
I scowl at her in thought before opening up the journal again, "Day 32. The subject is not responding to the stimuli. Testing the pain threshold has uncovered nothing. Only three subjects are left." I pause to see Erianne swallow hard before flipping ahead a bit to the next one I remember from the game, "Day 82. If only I could reproduce last night's extraordinary success. Electricity is only a catalyst. The blood is the key."
Huh... there's a diagram for- oh my... that is just sick!
I show the diagram for how to properly 'prepare' the subject through electricity via nailing rods into the victim's limbs and both of them go white as ghosts, "By the Maker..." Alistair breaths in shock.
I nod and flip ahead to the next one, "Day 92. Energy and blood. Repeated applications have duplicated the results. I conjecture that success can be induced alchemically. But there are no more subjects left. If only I had one more, or a dozen. The things I could do!" I shake my head in disgust, "I hope it was worth it Avernus."
Erianne stares at me for a moment, her bottom lip quivering in shock before she speaks up, "I... can unfortunately see the benefits this... research, might unearth."
"What?!" We turn to Alistair, "Erianne you can't be serious! This, Avernus tortured his brothers and sisters in the order! Killed them to further his research! And for what? I don't see how any of this can be beneficial." He exclaims furiously.
I roll my eyes at his temper tantrum, "Because, dear Alistair, if I can finish his research and find a way to 'unlock' the secrets inside warden blood alchemically through his writings, then I might be able to eradicate the need to succumb to the calling. Or even make the joining itself less deadly! Avernus was right in his pursuit, it was his methods that damned him." Erianne nods resolutely in agreement.
"And what's keeping you from repeating his sick and twisted research?" Alistair bites out like a dog.
I hold up the journal, "This, this is the collection of results from the gruesome part, now all I have to do is translate it into alchemy and bam! We got the most important discovery in the history of the wardens at our fingertips!"
"You're not using any of my blood, are we clear?!" He retorts angrily. I just roll my eyes again.
Stubborn templar training...
Erianne sighs, "Lets just clear out the tower and finish this mission up already." She turns to walk up to the door that leads to the inner labs. Alistair and I exchange distrustful glances as we catch each-other's eye.
Just stay back templar, I'm saving the wardens from the calling whether you want me to or not.
We step into the torture chambers of what looks like a dungeon. Ancient blood stains and rotted pieces of corpses still thrown about. I spot the blood mage himself, Avernus, as he stands from inspecting an altar in his elevated lab station. "Ah." He grins, splitting his aged skin in multiple areas, causing his lower lip to bleed. His dry and withered tongue flicks out to taste the addictive substance that seeps from the wound before it seals off completely. I see his eyes gain a bit of their luster as he tastes the one drop of blood.
Whatever magic he's using to stay alive is beyond powerful.
I give Erianne a look that means we shouldn't try to battle him unless it's the only option. She gives me a look that acknowledges my warning while telling me to be ready for anything.
"It has been so long since I could focus. You see." Avernus' grin lowers as his mind starts turning ever faster, "But the rip in the Veil has been mended." He seems genuinely happy.
Unfortunately Erianne takes the hard path, "I know your crimes, Avernus. You're a monster." She snarls with more contempt than I thought one could possibly have for someone they've barely met.
I glare at her and try to balance the situation, "Please, let this be civil." I say to both of them calmly.
Avernus ignores me and snarls right back, "A monster? For a hundred years I have fought them. Thought by thought. Spell for spell, If I am a monster, it is because I must be one."
Sten growls, "This is why mages must be bound. This one is like an animal gone rabid. It must be put down." I frown at him and he doesn't even look at me.
Avernus scoffs spitefully, "The same could be said of your entire people, Qunari. Enough!" He turns back to Erianne, assuming that she is the leader of our little group. "Why are you here? What is your intent?" He asks with immense suspicion. I feel the air around him tighten as he starts gaining more control over his magic.
This is not good... he's already nearly as powerful as I am and he just started powering up!
Eri crosses her arms and stares neutrally at Avernus, "I'm debating whether I should let you live or die."
He sighs tiredly and my jaw locks as I sense his power double again, "And here I thought you were here to rescue me." He grins devilishly, "Since the fall of Soldier's Keep, my every breath was dedicated to keeping the Veil from being torn completely open. And this is the gratitude I get?"
I close my eyes, "We've seen your experiments..."
He clutches his fists and narrows his eyes into slits to glare at me. I don't flinch, I've gotten worse from my own mother. "They were necessary. Any tool, any iota of information that could defeat the Fell demons was justified!" He looks at Erianne, "As a warden you should know that."
"Necessary?" Alistair speaks up. "Having to relieve yourself after an eight hour ride is necessary, but there's no excuse for summoning demons!" He declares angrily.
"Charming" Avernus retorts.
I turn to look at Alistair without expression, "I've summoned demons Alistair. Tis sometimes the only way to end a conflict."
He gawks at me in shock, "I can't believe you think that. You! A-"
I cut him off before he can say anymore, "I am the son of a legend Alistair! I am who I am!"
"Enough!" Erianne ends the debate with ease and turns back to speak to Avernus, "How do you purpose I deal with you?"
He laughs as I feel his power stabilize out at ten times my own.
This blood mage is ancient...
"Charitably I hope. With the Veil mended, I would seek to continue my experiments in peace. Perhaps I could advance the warden's knowledge one last time before age claims me." I swallow as his words bite into my mind and fail to take hold.
He's trying to force his release!
I look over at Erianne and see her looking at the floor, seemingly fighting an internal struggle. I grab her wrist and the blood magic is instantly thrown out of order, allowing her to think again. She looks up at Avernus as he smirks at her in what he assumes is a victory. "No." She rips her bow off her back and fires a notched arrow lightning-quick, quicker than I've ever seen in my life.
I hear it hit soft tissue before I can even turn my head towards Avernus. And before I can notice Avernus bleeding out on the stone floor I can feel his power collapse inwards at his death. I let out a breath of relief and turn my head to see Alistair and Sten just coming out of their blood magic induced trance.
He was so powerful as to control the perceptions of three, well two mentally strong individuals and an average one at the same time! I cannot even fathom the amount of concentration that requires.
I look at the corpse and see the flesh start to slide off the bone from over a hundred years of delayed decay catching up to it.
Probably a lot if he couldn't throw up an arcane shield to block that arrow in time.
"Erianne?" I ask while staring down at the melting corpse.
"Yeah?"
"Next time fire the arrow before giving him your answer, never give enemies as powerful as he was time to react, always gloat after their dead."
…
I look at her seriously, "You got that?"
She blinks at me before nodding, "Yeah, yeah sure. And thanks for-"
I shake it off, "It's nothing, one advantage of knowing blood magic is being able to block out other blood mage's control with simple stimuli such as the touching of one's arm."
She sighs as her eyes catch the corpse with a disturbed look. "Right. Make sure you get to work on that formula as soon as possible, I'd like to be rid of my nightmares as fast as possible." She says quietly.
I take a calming breath, "You got it Eri."
She looks me in the eye at the mention of my nickname for her. "Thanks." She cracks her neck and adopts a look of command before stepping towards the exit, "Come on, it's time we get the hell out of here." We all agree whole-heartedly and follow behind silently, Levi being the quietest of us all.
As we step back outside and all take a breath of fresh and chilly air, Levi decides to stop to congratulate us, "You've done it Warden. Solder's Peak is safe again. That old geezer Avernus deserves what he got, if you ask me, but there was no proof to redeem my family."
Erianne stops but doesn't look at him, "Even with proof, Sophia's actions were damning."
Levi sighs, "I suppose they were at that. For so long I was focused on the past. On answers, but I think I'd be better off if I'd stayed at home."
I smirk, "Oh where's the fun in that?"
Levi ignores me, "But enough of that." This time Erianne actually turns to watch Levi talk. "I find myself at a loss. You've got a whole fortress now. I suppose I should start plying my trade again."
She struggles to smile at him, "Any chance you could stay?"
"Hmm... well, I'm no good in a fight, but I'm a fair trader if I do say so myself." He grins as he gets an idea, "my cousins have been looking for a safe place to store trade goods and the Peak will do nicely. Whatever the Drydens have to offer is yours, for a sizable discount!"
Alistair shuffles uncomfortably in his banged up and dented armor, "We could definitely use some better equipment."
Erianne agrees, "Yes, we'll stay for a day or two until your cousins can arrive."
Levi smiles, "Thank you Warden-"
"Please, just call me Erianne."
Alistair's face scrunches up as Levi nods, "Alright, thank you Erianne, for everything you've done for my family."
Alistair scowls and cuts off any more small talk, "Looks like we're done here. A demonic invasion thwarted, a warden base safely rescued..." His scowl lifts as he genuinely smiles, "We do good work."
Erianne smiles back with renewed energy, "Alright, lets get back to camp, I'm starving."
I shiver from the whipping blizzard still concentrating around the fort and flip my black velvet robe back into a cloak to try and conserve body heat, "As long as we remove ourselves from this forsaken fortress and find a warm fire to curl up next to I'll be for it. Tis freezing up here!"Everyone but Erianne and Sten bursts out laughing. I look at her as the chuckles die down and see the mark of command already scaring her mind and body. We share a knowing smile that doesn't reach our eyes as we re-enter the cave together, the only source of light my light wisps that float around us in the dank cavern.
A/N Next set of chapters coming next week! Have a great weekend everyone! :)
