She was finally sleeping. Jaxon gently removed his hand from hers and tucked the blankets closer around her fragile form. He pursed his lips in thought as he studied the old mage. Just what had she done? What caused her to regret so much? Questions jumbled against each other in his head as he stooped to add more fuel to the waning fire. The only answers he had were scanty at best. Returning to his seat next to Maly's bed, Jaxon pulled the worn journal from his pocket and, once more, began to read.
The words were familiar. He had read the journal over and over until Avernus' writing had been burned into his mind. He had to be missing something. The blood mage had written about everything in minute detail but was eerily quiet on the subject of the Warden Commander that had saved his life. Jaxon idly ran his fingers along the cover of the journal, worrying the worn leather between his fingers.
He stopped and frowned. Was it thicker there where the binding met the edge. He slipped a dagger from the sheath at his side and carefully pried the paper from the leather . Several pages of parchment had been slipped between the two, hidden away. How could he have missed this? Was it some sort of magic that the hiding place was revealed only now? He returned the dagger to its sheath and slowly unfolded them. Avernus' writing stared back at him.
The Warden Commander is back. She is interesting to someone who has seen much over the centuries. I can smell the Power of her Taint. It seethes beneath the surface of her skin, calling to me. I have to wonder: can anyone else smell it? Do they not realize that this is why she is so loved? Yes, she is a hero, but the love the common folk have for her knows no bounds. Even the cold queen in Denerim is coming around to her charms.
She calls to them as the Archdemon called to the Darkspawn.
What is she now? Can I mold this? Can I mold her? She comes to me each time she visits the Peak. A tea tray in hand to entice me, a shawl about her shoulders to keep the chill of my labs from her… She smiles and laughs and asks questions of me. I find myself drawn to her, even though I know it is the Taint beneath her skin, the Power of the Gods, the Darkness… How I wish to mold her in the image I see in my mind.
Such power she would have if she would but let me improve her.
Jaxon shuddered at the tone behind the carefully penned words on yellowed paper. Avernus and his research scared him. The fact that Avernus seemed to hunger for the Warden Commander, for the very woman who slept fitfully under Jaxon's watchful gaze… It was disgusting and frightening. Just how far had the blood mage gone? Had he truly gotten his hooks and desires into Maly? Knowing now how paralyzed with grief she had been, would she have allowed Avernus to get close enough to change her? Would she have welcomed it?
They whisper that the Warden Commander is running herself into the ground. She works to rebuild the Wardens, play politics, and help the mages. One woman. She is a fool to think that she can do everything. Why does she push herself so?
I asked her this today. She came to my labs again, tea and cakes in hand. As she settled in across from me, I asked her, "Why do you push yourself so hard, Commander?"
The Commander froze then looked away. She would not meet my eyes for several minutes. When she looked back at me, it was only to ask, "One lump or two?"
She intrigues me. With each visit, I find myself wanting the answers to the secrets in her eyes.
He frowned down at the page. Avernus seemed to grow increasingly obsessed with the Commander.
Once again, She visits. This time, She is in battered robes, Her curls straggling around Her face, and fatigue etched in every line of Her body. There is no tea tray, no witty banter. She is grim and determined. There is a focus in Her that I have never seen before. Beneath the fatigue, She burns like a fire. She comes to me with a request – such a request. To see Her bow beneath the knowledge of what She will have to sacrifice… Once more, I am drawn to Her, as though a moth to Her flame. She is my Andraste. She will burn into immortality. I will attempt to fulfill Her request, grant Her what She desires. She will be my Masterpiece.
Jaxon could barely believe what he was reading. Maly had gone to Avernus with a request? She had willingly gone to a Blood Mage for something?