Dragon Age: Origin
Levyn
Chapter Two – Amaranthine Coast, The Tainted Bride
Gwaren.
It was the major logging and fishing capital for the remote parts of the East Coast. The former rebel headquarters stood silently in the late afternoon sun. The battlement, made of giant boulders, possibly carved by Dwarves from some long-ago age, cast dark shadows under the crimson sky. The air smelled of sea here, very different from the aroma of dense moss and pine that had filled Levyn senses since he left Redcliff. Several large flags, each embroidered with a yellow wyvern, hung from the watchtowers.
Levyn lifted a corner of the canvas that obscured the passengers onboard the covered wagon and peeked outside. The gravel road was surprisingly busy. Chasind, elves, northerners, Dwarves, the mage could have sworn he even spotted a couple of Antivians among the crowd. Torches were already lit, flickering from the dark stone walls. Several guards paced along the city wall, and some scattered around the main gate, checking documents from anyone who wanted to enter the city.
"There is a curfew on the street every night, since the beginning of the Blight," Jethro's wife Tabitha explained. "Any incoming or outgoing traffic has to go through the check point. Don't worry, they aren't Templars, they aren't fussy about who you are."
"Well, what about those over there?" Levyn pointed at the Templars who stood not very far from the guard, evidently bored as one of them was trying his hardest not to yawn.
"Those? Those are just for show. Believe it or not, few Templars are stationed in this town." Tabitha, who insisted everyone call her Tabi, shrugged. "I personally have never seen them launch at anybody and scream that they were an apostate."
Levyn scratched the back of his head and turned his gaze at the girl. Her ragged breathing seemed to be easing a little bit since the blood mage's brief healing. Her wounds seemed to be healing quite well, too. However, she was still unconscious and did not seem to be waking up anytime soon. Not to mentioned her fever.
"Poor girl." Tabi cocked her head toward the girl. "It was her wedding day…"
"How—?"
"How do I know? That's the wedding dress we wear in this area." Tabi picked up the corner of the girl's tattered dress. Her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears: "They probably thought the Blight was over, so it was all right to have a wedding reception. The poor dear."
"I was told the Brecilian Forest was safe." The bloodmage arched his eyebrow.
"Not near the Korcari Wilds, no." The Chasind wife shook her head. "Darkspawn are still quite active around that region. You thought after the Battle, they would promptly return to the Deep Roads? Nah. There seems to be something brewing, those bloody creatures."
Levyn suddenly remembered the talking darkspawn he saw at the farm. His face instantly clouded with worry. What were those darkspawn up to? Rebuilding another army? Why didn't anyone see a talking darkspawn before? Have they been hiding in the Deep Roads for all this time, only to come up now after the Archdemon was gone?
He was totally immersed in his thoughts, and did not notice Jethro had already jumped off the wagon and started chatting with the guards at the city gate. The guards did a quick scann of the documents and exchanged conversation with the Chasind man. His face turned chalk white. The next thing Levyn noticed as the canvas suddenly flipped open was the guard's grim bearded face as it appeared in the gap.
"Oh, no." The guard took a look at the girl in the corner and gasped. "She must be the Waverly's!"
"She's the Waverly's girl?" Tabi's voice raised a few decibels.
"Not the girl, no," the guard elaborated. "But they were talking about buying a Chasind girl for their son last month, and yesterday they left almost at daybreak for the farm to prepare for the wedding." The guard's eyes saddened. "Maker's Mercy! The whole reception? I warned them about that. Sodding northerners never listen to us!"
"Listen, mammy! L-i-s-t-e-n!" Boo copied the guard's words enthusiastically.
"Well." The guard tilted his head to check with his colleague: "I supposed I'd better let you pass quickly. She really doesn't look all that good. I will send a word to the Revered Mother about the situation, aye? She might send someone over to have a look at the girl. Will they stay at your house?"
Tabi nodded. "I think so, yeah."
"Right, off you go, then!" The guard waved Jethro through, and the Chasind hopped back to the front of the wagon and steered the horse through the gate.
"See? They didn't even ask about who you are," Tabi grinned. "There is really no need to worry."
Leyvn smiled absently, watching Jethro drive the horse through the town square, past the Chantry and down the steep hill at the other side. It was a lot quieter around here and near the sea.
"The Waverlys moved here not very long after we lost Lotherings." Tabi gently patted Boo, trying to calm him down from all the excitement. "They were among the few people who managed to escape the darkspawn slaughter. Their family had been doing logging for generations, owned a few hectors of land at the Korcari Wilds borders."
"Wealthy enough to buy a girl?" Jowan inquired.
"Oh, yes." Tabi grinned slightly. "It's more common than you think, mage. A lot of families in Fereldan do that. Now, the Waverlys in this town were not renown for their kindness. They were the most stubborn and ignorant sorts. Got into trouble with the Chantry a number of times."
"I see," Jowan said as he nodded in understanding.
"Well," the Chasind woman continued to gossip, " old Waverly retired long ago. Their oldest son ran the whole family business these days and, I must say, did a pretty good job. A lot of loggers here worked for him."
"You, too?" Jowan steadied himself as the wagon turned a particular sharp corner.
"Hell, no! We work for ourselves!" Tabi pressed her hand on her chest. "Now, their second son…" she rolled her eyes.
"What's wrong with the second son?" asked Levyn.
"He's an absolute sodding eye sore!" Jethro interrupted: "Fat as a pig and has the intelligence of a nug! Spent most of the time sitting on their balcony, making a goofy laugh and drooling over the women that pass by below. No wonder his parents had to buy him a Chasind girl… no woman in this township would marry him!"
"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Tabi sighed and cast the girl another side-glance. "I suppose, in some way, she was lucky. Imagine spending the rest of your life with a family like that…."
The wagon rolled down a narrow dust road and stopped at a small wooden hut. Leaning in the shadows of several yew trees, somehow it appealed to Levyn as a warm and hearty place.
"Not very flash, lad," Jethro said, his voice warmwith tremendous pride, "but it's our home. We usually stay here once or twice a month, after our logging trip up in the forest, to sell off the logs."
"It's lovely." The blood mage grinned. Suddenly, he remembered something he had said to Neph, in what felt like a lifetime ago: "We will find a farm in the country, settle down, and have a couple of children!"
Levyn sighed inwardly. It's a wonder how life turns out at the end.
He helped Jethro unhook the harness and carried some of their luggage inside, while Tabi fed and settled Boo to sleep. It was a small, but well-equipped house, with one modest bedroom upstairs, a kitchen and another bedroom at the rear of the structure. A large, stone-built fireplace was at the center of the front-room parlor, several squashy cushions scattered on a rug covering the hardwood floor.
By the time he and Jethro finished unloaded everything and brought the girl inside, Tabi had already started the fire, and the room was as warm as early spring.
"The girl goes upstairs." Tabi pointed toward the room at the back. She was busy chopping some salted meat and vegetables on the table by the fire. "And Levyn, your room is at the back. We can sleep on the makeshift bed in the frontroom."
"No… you are too kind…."
"I insist, my dear," said the Chasind woman sternly. "Unless you think our house is too trashy for ya?"
"No, of course not!" The blood mage shook his head. "It's already way better than what I normally have in the forest!"
"Good." Tabi smiled. "Dinner should be ready soon. Make yourself comfortable, aye?"
"Say, how long will you be staying here, lad?" Jethro's voice drifted out of the kitchen.
"Humph…I am not sure, really." Levyn watched as Tabi shoveled the chopped food into the cauldron hovering above the fire. "I think I will stay a little while, until I am sure the girl is safe, I suppose."
"That's very gallant of you." Jethro returned to the living room with bottles of ale in his hands. "Given you only met her by chance. Ale?"
"I'm afraid I will have to pass, Jethro," the blood mage said, smiling politely. "I am not on good terms with ale… got horribly drunk a few times a few years back. Got into trouble because of that."
"You really?" The Chasind man cocked his eyebrow, eyeing the mage up and down. "You don't look the type."
"You are not the first to say that!" Levyn laughed. "But I am more dangerous than I look."
"You? If you are dangerous, my son is a nug!" Jethro roared with laughter.
"Oi!" Tabi complained.
"Sorry, love!"
Levyn grinned contently. Jethro and Tabi were the nicest couple he had ever met since…Maker knew when. The warmth they shared between themselves and toward others came out in waves. Was that what normal family was supposed to be like? He didn't have a clue. He was left at the Chantry door at the age of five. Before that, he remembered money had always been tight in the house. There were just way too many children to feed. Father and Mother were constantly fighting, and it usually ended in tears. Later on, when he was in the Tower, yes, he was well fed and had nothing to worry about other than his learning, but the nagging feelings of constantly being watched drove him up the wall. Warmth in the Tower? Laughable.
Someone was knocking the door. Tabi shot her husband a frowning brow, unsure who would visit them at a time like this, considering the curfew. Levyn jerked his eyes toward the wooden door, visibly nervous. Jethro slowly put down his ale and walked toward the door.
He tugged the door open. Outside stood a small, wrinkly old lady. Dressed in a simple mohair robe, her silver hair was combed into a neat bun. She squinted her eyes toward the light as the Chasind man opened his door.
"Good evening, Jethro." She grinned, showing wrinkles deep around her eyes. "Those chaps at the gate told me you lot brought back the Waverlys' bride. May we come in?"
"Hello there, Gwen." The Chasind logger smiled.
"And you said she had been fed something of theirs when you saved her?" Gwen sat by the bed, with the girl's hand in her lap. She carefully checked the girl's pulse before reaching out her hand to lift the bandages on her eyes slightly for better examination.
"The talking darkspawn seemed to think so, but I am not absolutely sure," Levyn shrugged.
"Oh, she's definitely been exposed to the darkspawn taint, all right, like all those animals and trees did in the forest." Gwen coughed. "Her skin seems blotchy, her pulse is irregular, and have any of you noticed her temperature is way too high?"
"We do, actually." Tabi darted past the old plump lady and replaced the folded towel on the girl's head with another ice-cold one. The new towel hissed with steam as soon as it touched the girl's forehead. "We've been trying to cool her down for quite some times now. But, as you can see, it hasn't worked well."
Levyn bit his lower lip and cast a side-glance at the still unconscious girl. If only his healing ability was as good as his blood magic skill, he would have improved her condition a lot more than he was able to back in the forest. Healing had never been his strong point, not even when he was in the Tower, before he resorted to blood magic. That was Neph's specialty. He remembered having to spend hours practicing after each class every time there was a new healing spell taught, only to see his best friend master it within seconds. It was so frustrating.
"We can find an empty classroom after the lectures." Neph looked at her dear friend earnestly. "Look! Let me help you! I can show you how to do the spells!"
"No…all I need is a few hours alone before lights out," he lied through his gritted teeth. "I will get the hang of it by tomorrow. You go ahead. There is so much to do in potion-making class. Better start sooner or later!"
"Jowan…"
"I am serious." The mage apprentice tried his best to smile at his friend. "Go, I will be fine."
"…All right." Neph took a deep breath. "See you at the same place tonight?"
"Yes." Her best friend suddenly reached out his hand, ran his fingers along her delicate chin line. For a long while they simply stared into each other's eye, but neither of them spoke.
Finally, he came back to his senses. "Now go."
The bloodmage sighed inwardly. Was that the reason he started dabbling with the blood magic, and got in too deep without realizing it? Was that the reason he decided not to tell anybody, even his closest friend? He still saw the shock and feeling of betrayal on her face when Gregior and Irving revealed his true identity every time he closed his eyes. It was one of the many moments he truly regretted what he had done in his life.
"Humph…Wolf," Gwen suddenly called the Templar, who came with her but had been leaning against the wall, staring at Levyn in a rather curious fashion, but did not speak a word since their arrival. "What do you think?"
"The Revered Mother gave me some holy water and a lyrium potion before I picked you up." The middle-aged Templar withdrew his glare from the blood mage rather reluctantly. "I suppose we can give it a try."
"Well, might as well." The old lady shrugged. "Can't be more harmed than she is now."
"Yes, ma'am." Wolf gave Gwen a deep bow before he lowered his head and took off a small pouch that had been hanging on his belt. He yanked the small bag opened and tipped out the contents. It was a small blue bottle, which Levyn recognized instantly as the lyrium potions; and another small bottle that shimmered with golden light.
"Many are those who wander in sin," The Templar drank the lyrium potion, kneeled before the bed, holding the holy water between his grasped hands and started reciting the Chant of Light: "Despairing that they are lost forever, but the one who repents has faith. Unshaken by the darkness of the world, and boasts not, nor gloats…"
Very slowly, he uncorked the holy water and poured some in the palm of his hand, then sprinkled it over the girl's body.
"Over the misfortunes of the weak, but takes no delight." Wolf continued his chanting. A surge of white light rushed through his body, extended out of his outstretched hand and onto the girl. " In the Maker's law and creations, she shall know the peace of the Maker's benediction. The Light shall lead her safely through the paths of this world, and into the next."
The girl began to shake, as she tossed her head from one side to the other, mumbling something inaudible. The Templar's eyes showed more determination and his chanting became louder: " For she who trusts in the Maker, fire is her water. As the moth sees light and goes toward flame, She should see fire and go towards Light."
The shaking got more violent. The girl now almost shrieked at the top of her lungs in some unrecognizable language. Jethro and Levyn rushed forward, trying to hold her in bed.
" The Veil holds no uncertainty for her," Wolf sprinkled more holy water and started reciting what the blood mage identified was the final part of the Chant: " and she will know no fear of death, for the Maker shall be her beacon and her shield, her foundation and her sword! In the name of the Maker and holy Andraste, I now expel you, the evil taint, from this body!"
The girl arched her body backwards, her mouth wide open, her hands hammering the bed rapidly. Blighted light flowed from her mouth, and soon the entire room was bathed in it. After a split second, the light vanished and everything was back to normal.
It was the first time Levyn had ever seen a Templar using their training to expel something evil from a human body. Prior to this, he had always assumed they simply just raised their sword and killed the poor person. At least that was how they did it in the Tower. The only way to get rid of an abomination was to kill it, which was their principle. There was no way around it. But tonight, he saw first hand how the Chantry had the ability to repel the taint to a degree from somebody. To be honest, it…surprised him.
What else had the Chantry not told them? Why did they want to hide such a thing? Was that only because they were mages and posed more threat toward others?
"Her pulse seems more stable:" Gwen checked the girl again as Wolf packed up the bottles. "And her fever is going down. However, the blotchiness is still there. I have a funny feeling the taint had not been siphoned out completely, and this is as much as we can do."
"We should let the Revered Mother have a look at her at daybreak," Wolf suggested.
"Indeed." The old lady nodded in agreement. "Well, I suppose we—"
Her words were interrupted by sudden hammering at the door. The sense of urgency and desperation were unmistakable. Once again, everyone looked at each other with arched eyebrows.
"A curfew on the street and we got more visitors then we normally have?" Jethro grimaced. "Maker's Breath, we are spoiled!"
He opened the door and greeted a panicked Templar.
"Thank the Maker, Wolf. I've been knocking four houses and was about to go straight to the Revered Mother!" He looked tremendously relieved.
"What is it?" Wolf moved toward the door.
"Dark….darkspawn!" the young Templar sputtered. "We have darkspawn approaching the gate! Gwaren is under attack!"