Dragon Age: Origin
Levyn
Chapter Four – Gwaren, Gladys
Blood.
There was blood everywhere.
Her clothes, the decorations, the fine tablecloths, the food…
The ground, and those who were laughing and gulping ale down their throats just a moment ago…
They were all silent now, torn to shreds and scattered across the blood-spattered ground. Their soulless eyes stared into the grayish sky.
She sat on the floor, her back tightly against a large wooden chest, slowly regarded her surroundings, and her lungs grasped for more air.
No, this cannot be happening.
Nearby, something was moving. Something so bizarre, it could only exist in her dreams. But they were there, baring their jagged teeth, and laughing wickedly as they munched away the flesh, flesh of those who were once sitting beside her, of those who were screaming in utmost fear, of those who were running for their dear life.
Panting, her eyes were widened with fear. Tears began to trickle down her cheek. What are those things?
The creature picked up a dead man's arms; its mouth tore away a large chunk of meat. It made a chewing noise as it gulped down the remains, as if it was laughing. Her stomach turned.
Another monster, slightly bigger, presumably the creature's companion, straightened up from hovering over a gutted cow and jerked its head toward her direction. Its mouth, opened almost from ear to ear, was dribbling blood and its jutting teeth had the intestines of the poor animal stuck between them. It grunted at the smaller one for a few seconds before scanning around the farm again.
Looking like it was searching for another corpse to feed on.
Her back went stiff. No, please, Spirit of the Forest, show mercy, don't let them notice me…
Too late, the monster's bloodshot eyes locked onto hers. Something flickered in its eyes. The corner of its mouth twitched. It turned around and started to walk toward her.
She crawled backward helplessly, as her legs were now too frightened to hold her body up properly.
"No…" She shook her head slightly as the beast crept up on her, its hand outstretched, covered with dirt, torn flesh and blood.
"No…" Her hands waved in front of her powerlessly as the monster's long nails reached for her.
"NO!"
"NO!"
Her shriek broke the silence in the house. The heartbroken and horrified scream lasted for quite some time before anyone managed to approach her and calm her down. For a while, she was sitting in bed upright, hands pulling her long hair as she shook her head violently and screamed.
In the total darkness, shuffling noises and footsteps came from every direction. Vaguely she heard people talking as they came near her. No, are they those monsters again? She began to wave her arms aimlessly, trying to repel those invisible beings around her. Those horrible gulping sounds still echoed in her ears. Their evil shadows still hovered over her, waiting to tear off bits of her flesh. She could still remember the awful drilling pain inflicted upon her when they dug out her eyes. She thought she had died a thousand times, and a thousand times she wished she could simply just die.
She continued to screech, continued to shake, until someone grabbed her shoulders and gently gathered her into their arms: "Ssssh… you are safe now, girl. You are with us. No one is going to harm you."
It took her awhile to finally stop screaming, and another while for her body to finally stopped shivering.
"What… you are not… those things?" Sobbing, she could not believe what she heard: How could that be possible?
"No, we are not," the voice replied calmly. It sounded like it came from a human. A woman, to be exact.
"Huh…" She tilted her head, as if trying to figure out if the woman was lying or she was dreaming.
"Now, what is your name, girl?" the woman asked.
"You really are not one of them?"
"No, we are not." The woman's voice was full of sympathy. "There, put your hands here." She placed the hands on her face. "Feel it. Does it feel like darkspawn to you?"
She twitched her fingers and felt the soft skin under her fingers. No, they weren't rough, or sticky in blood. It was a face of a normal person.
"Those were…darkspawn?"
"Yes, dear."
"And they are not here?"
"Nowhere near." She heard a hint of smile in the woman's voice: "So there is no need to fret, aye?"
"Right… My name is Gladys." she told the woman hesitantly.
"It's a beautiful name!" The woman responded. "Now, my name is Tabitha. They called me Tabi. You are a Chasind, are you?"
"Yes."
"And you were going to marry one of the Waverly boys?" Tabi asked.
"…Yes. Where am I?" She gathered she was no longer in that blood-drenched farm.
"You are in Gwaren. Levyn here managed to save you before they took you back to their lair," Tabi answered.
"Hi, Gladys." Another male voice chimed in. "I am Levyn."
"You…saved me…" Gladys cocked her head sideways, trying to focus on the man's voice. He sounded like a nice person: "From those…dark…spawn?"
"Snatched you, more like," Levyn chuckled softly. "But yes, I managed to steal you out from under their noses and got away."
Gladys' mouth twitched slightly. "Is there anyone else you managed to…snatch?"
"No. I'm afraid not." Levyn's voice saddened. "You are the only one at that farm alive. Everyone else is dead."
The Chasind girl's shoulders deflated. "No… no one…"
"Yes, I am sorry." His voice sounded apologetic.
"No…it's…" Gladys sighed. Her mouth sagged. Suddenly, she felt as if all the energy had drained from her body.
"Well, dear." Tabi pawed the Chasind girl's hand. "The most important thing is that you are alive now, and you are safe. Let's not dwell about other things, shall we? Now I must get someone to inform the Revered Mother that you are awake. She's been concerned about you ever since we brought you back from that place."
Something small and tiny touched Gladys' hand, and nearly sent her into another screaming hysteric. "Lady."
"Oh, I nearly forgot." Tabi's warm voice was full of love. "This is my little man, Boo. Boo, this is Gladys."
"…Lady?"
For the first time since she woke up, the Chasind girl's face broke into a small grin. "Hello, Boo."
"Lady cry?" The little voice was perched at the edge of the carpet: "Lady hurt?"
"I was," Gladys reached out her hand and found the little boy's. "But not as much as I used to. Don't worry."
The Chasind girl heard Tabi turn and speak to Levyn: "If you don't mind, Levyn, can you go to the Chantry to tell the Revered Mother this wonderful news?"
"Huh…" Levyn sounded reluctant. Gladys frowned. Why?
"Don't worry. She won't do anything," Tabi assured him. "You have my word."
"…Very well, I'll go."
Levyn closed the door behind him and sighed. It had been a while since he last walked into a Chantry, let alone actually talked to a Revered Mother. The whole Lily incident left him with certain degree of fear every time he went anywhere near a Chantry. Maybe they knew each other and would judge him harshly if he ever faced one?
Lily.
He felt sorry every time he thought about her. There was a period of time that she was his life! Her every move, every word, and every smile tugged his heartstrings as no one else had previously done. Her very existence brightened his otherwise dark days within the Tower. He adored her. He would not want to go anywhere else but simply stayed by her side. He believed she felt the same.
Until that disastrous day.
Knowing how much she disliked blood magic, Levyn hid his practice from the Chantry girl, just like he did to Neph. Even when she discovered what Irving and the Chantry planned to do, to make him Tranquil, to leave him less than who he was… a person without emotions, even when she told him in a panic and advised they should flee the Tower, even when….
Even when they stood in front of the First Enchanter and the Templar-Commander.
He knew it. He knew as his blood splashed towards them, his relationship with Lily was over. As they glared at him in shock, he could sense something cracked behind their eyes. He had betrayed them, betrayed their trust. And there was no way he could repair what he had done, making things what they used to be. As he ran away from the Tower, his heart ached from the guilt that he had hurt them so badly. In the name of Andraste and all things Holy, he would do anything to gain their trust back.
But it was too late. Lily was now probably in Aeonar, and it took Levyn another long while, plus several other bad decisions to bump into Neph again.
He stood at the end of the alleyway and watched the hustle and bustle of the town square. His mind riddled with thoughts. How could everything gone so horribly wrong? How many more people would he hurt because of his mistake?
He walked across the town square and up a set of stone steps. On the top of the stairs set Grwaren's Chantry. Built with rocks and the best timber in this area, the building was one of the most solid structures in the city. The blood mage strolled slowly toward the heavy wooden door, stared at the beautifully crafted wrought-iron bands blankly for a few minutes before placing his hands on the door handle, and bracing himself to step into a Chantry for the very first time in years.
Someone tapped Levyn's shoulder. He turned around, only to see Wolf. The sulking Templar stood behind him, his brown curly hair wafting in the wind.
"Oh, hi." The blood mage smiled politely. "I am just—"
His words were cut off abruptly when the Templar grabbed him by his collar. He was dragged into a small corner next to the Chantry and shoved up against the wall. The Templar's elbow pushed tightly against his neck, causing him to have some trouble breathing.
Wolf's face was inches away from him. "I'm afraid I am not in the mood of any usual chit-chat …i Jowan./i"
Levyn's face whitened. "I … have no idea what—"
"Oh, I believe you do, Jowan." The Templar's dark auburn eyes narrowed. His hot breath blew onto the blood mage's face. "Don't assume Gwaren is a remote place and that the Teyrna in charge here ordered the Templars not to hunt maleficars or apostates, or that no one will know who you really are. I know who you are and I know what you did at the Tower. Because of you, my little sister Lily is now locked away in Aeonar for the crime she wasn't even aware of and no longer recognizes any of her family members!"
Levyn was completely gobsmacked. "You are…you are…Lily's…"
"Oh, yes. I am Lily's brother, her only surviving family member after the Blight!" Wolf whispered angrily. "And I will never, ever forgive what you had done. You had no idea…my sweet sister Lily."
"I'm…. I'm…"
"Do you have any idea how long it took me to track down my sister's whereabouts? Most Templars and mages in the Tower were either dead during the Uldred's upheaval, or the Blight. When I finally managed to find her…"
"I'm sorry, Wolf," Levyn blurted. "I have no idea…"
"Oh, you don't, do you?" Wolf laughed sarcastically. "You shouldn't even…even have gotten involved with her in the first place! Don't think because both the Revered Mother and the Teryna are on your side and you are all clear. I will keep my eyes on you. If I ever see you use the forbidden art on something sinister, I swear to the Maker you will wish you had never been born!"
And just like that, the Templar suddenly released the blood mage, leaving him collapsing onto the floor, gagging for air as he stormed off.
Levyn rubbed his neck as he stared at the back of the Templar. Lily's brother? Who would have known?
At least he knew what happened to Lily now. But would that make his quilt ease the slightest at all? She was in Aeonar and went insane because of what he'd done. Maker, please stopped punishing those around me, punished me instead.
He sighed, got back to his feet and straightened his robe. The blood mage pushed the Chantry's door open and stepped in.
The Chantry was slightly different then what he remembered. First, there was definitely no moldy smells that filled your nostrils and nearly suffocated you. Instead, the whole place was scented in some unknown flowers. The stone floor was well polished, so much so he saw his own reflection. Bookshelves and lit candles lined the walls — that part didn't changed – while a white marble statue of Andraste stood at the end of the aisle.
There were a few people inside as he entered; most of who recognized him as the mage who helped them defeat the darkspawn attack. They gave him a slight nod and a smile as he went past.
He found the Revered Mother in a small study at the end of the Chantry. She was talking to a Knight… from the Teryna's residence, perhaps. A Templar was standing by the door. Levyn noticed Wolf wasn't there. Levyn was relieved. He wadn't ready to face the Templar yet, and after their minor confrontation just before he came in, he wouldn't think Lily's brother was ready either.
"You must be Levyn." The Revered Mother beamed as he approached, opened her arms and gave him a warm hug (while the blood mage, unused to the customs, blushed slightly in her arms). She was a bit younger than the one he had pictured in his head. Well, the only one he knew was the one who looked after him before he was sent to the Tower and she was damn old and wrinkly.
"Revered Mother." The mage bowed, with arms crossed in front of his chest.
"I've heard so much about you from Gwen and Jethro. I must say I cannot thank you enough for aiding us in our town's most recent darkspawn attack!" The Revered Mother smiled, "It was common knowledge that our town did not even have enough man power to defend the city. If it weren't you and several other brave souls, Gwaren would be overrun by those dark creatures by now."
"You are too kind, Revered Mother." Levyn inclined his head.
"Gwaren welcomes you, my child." The Revered Mother waved her hands gracefully. "I do not care what you are, as I can see your pure soul and good intention to put your ability to good use. As long as you are here, you will be safe. I speak for both the Chantry and the Teryna."
"Where is the Teryna at the present?" Levyn couldn't help but hoping he could meet his childhood friend again.
"She's in Denerium at the moment." The Revered Mother waved her hand and gestured one of her initiates over, asking him to make some tea. "There are just so many thing to do after the Blight. She will stay there for about a year or two before returning to Gwaren."
"I see."
"Now you must be here because of the Waverly girl." The smile on her face faded slightly. "How is she?"
"She's great," replied Levyn. "Actually, she just had woken up."
"Is she indeed? That's wonderful news!" The Revered Mother walked near the door and exclaimed loudly to the statue outside. "Thank the Maker! Bless you!"
"She still seems to be shaken by the ordeal, however."
"Of course." Revered Mother turned around and faced Levyn again. "Any poor suffering soul would. Now, I must spare some time to visit her myself. I was told she's a Chasind, yes?"
"Yes, she is, Revered Mother." The blood mage inclined his head.
"What was her name?"
"Her name is Gladys, Revered Mother."
"Very well." The lady shook her head. "Tell Jethro to feel free to come to ask should they need anything. As far as I am aware, they are not the richest people in this place. I shall be visiting them first thing tomorrow."