Dragon Age. Origin
Levyn
Chapter Eight – Gwaren, Witch of the Wild
"It can't be right," the darkspawn gasped. "It's only a legend."
"A legend is fact exaggerated by the word of mouth, tainted being," the dragon sniggered. "Oh, it's been a while since I last faced this many foes! How exciting!"
"Legend or not, I cannot return without her today," said the sinister creature though his gritted teeth. "Even if that means treading through burning fire and smashing through a thick wall of those stupid mortals!"
"Oh, what was awaiting for you down in the Deep Roads, I wonder?" the High Dragon laughed. She tilted her head and breathed a gush of hot air from her nostrils. "Most of your troops are already gone, darkspawn."
The talking darkspawn let out an angry roar and fired spell after spell toward the purple dragon. Laughing wickedly, the creature in the air fluttered her wings and dodged them skillfully. On the battlement, seizing this chance, Levyn drew out the dagger from his sleeve.
"You aren't going to do that, are you?" Jethro cocked his eyebrow quizzically with the corner of his mouth twisted upward, while Wolf nearby withdrew a shocking breath and his face turned a shade whiter.
"No, but I am going to do something about this gate." Levyn pointed at the darkspawn below. "I just spotted another wave of darkspawn pouring in – Maker knows where were they all come from. I thought the Blight killed most of them already! They are still sneaking past the front line; Ser Ciaren won't be able to hold it for long. Mihi's present form will drain all her mana. Should she return to human form; she won't be able to stand at all, let alone fight."
"There's still us!" Wolf complained.
"Yes, my friend." The blood mage sighed. "But how many of you behind this gate are uninjured? Have you seen the makeshift infirmary near the dock? No… I don't think so. They cannot go past this gate, simple as that."
"I've warned you, maleficar, I've—"
"Yes," Levyn looked at the Templar resignedly. "But unless you have better idea to stop those thing down there that keep trying to smash past our gate, I suggest that applying my enforcement won't do any harm."
Ignoring Wolf's stiff glare, which to him it seemed like the Templar was suffering a certain degree of internal struggle, the blood mage went past him and headed downstairs, approaching the half opened gate. The dark, heavy wooden door stood in front of him. Through the gap, he could see Ser Ciaren and several Gwarenians fighting hard to fend off those sinister creatures that still somehow managed to sneak past the dragon and Mihi, the Chasind mage.
Standing with his legs slightly parted, Levyn glared at the entrance sternly. He inhaled deeply before he ran the sharp blade through his palm. Crimson blood immediately gushed out and overflowed onto the sandy ground. The throbbing pain was excruciating, but he chose not to pay any attention to it. The blood mage slowly walked toward the door, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He came to a halt at the stone-built doorframe and placed his bloody hand on it, leaving a red stain on the rock.
He dragged his hand downward, watching in satisfaction the distinct mark left by the blood absorbed into the stone quickly. The mage continued to drag his hand across the door and stopped only when it reached the other side. He briefly glanced back at the blood mark he left behind, before chanting the carefully selected ancient Tevinter syllables. A gush of energy whooshed past him. At once, the stain on the door came to life. It crawled along the wooden surface and whispered in an excited child's tone. Soon the entire door was covered with the bloodstain. An invisible force field swirled and formed between the battlefield and the gate. A shriek rose from the ground, snarling and moving toward the gate at top speed. As soon as it went near the force field, an arcane bolt shot from the barrier and hit the bastard hard. The beast vaporized and turned to dust in front of the crowd within second.
The crowd cheered. Their eyes widened in astonishment as Mihi returned to human form and went past the gate unharmed.
"Nicely done." She nodded toward the bloodmage.
"Likewise." Levyn inclined back.
"Now let's hope that the High Dragon out there is still holding up nicely." The Chasind mage smirked. They headed back to Wolf and the rest of the defense team.
"Man, you really are more powerful than you look, if I haven't tell you that already!" Jethro smacked his friend's back as he returned. "Look at those filthy things. They can't even go anywhere near us!"
Another blighting light shone just below them. The blood mage leaned over the stone rail and saw another Hurlock turn into black dust.
"This spell won't last long," said the mage grimly. "Either the Revered Mother changes her mind and comes over quickly, so we can shut the gate, or that mystery dragon friend of ours up there finishes off the rest soon, otherwise we might still have to face the darkspawn ourselves."
"Us versus such sheer numbers?" Mihi arched her eyebrow. She was now sitting against the wall, trying to regain her mana and strength. "Keep in mind that you aren't the only battle mage here; by then I should be recharged enough to slaughter a few more. Besides, our friend up there seems to be doing quiet well."
Levyn turned his head around, saw the High Dragon flapping her taloned wings, causing whirlwinds and twisters around her. Several darkspawn lost balance and tumbled off their feet, including the remaining ogres. The talking darkspawn temporarily dropped his spells. Seizing this chance, a couple of fighters emerged from the shadows and attacked the monster at once. Soon one ogre's head was separated from its body, and the blood that spilled from his body was enough to drown a cat.
More people came out of their hiding places and assisted clearing out the monsters that were still around the square. Ser Ciaren wielded his sword and slashed away at the front of the gate. Wolf leaped down from the wall and landed on the top of a carriage full of hay. He quickly got back to his feet and joined the knight to fight any darkspawn that still dared enough to come anywhere near the gate. Knocking his arrows, Jethro and several other archers drew their aim on any dark creature that was still moving from the wall and killed quite a few of them in a row.
The dragon inhaled deeply and breathed more fire toward the ground below. Hot flames licked those who were still standing, and soon Levyn heard the darkspawn's painful howls. Smoke steamed out of his armor, the darkspawn who talked seemed unable to stand any more attacks. He swayed, and finally collapsed onto his knee.
"No…no," he hissed. "We cannot fail this time…we cannot afford to fail this time. No…."
He suddenly jerked his head around and looked to where Levyn was standing. Before anybody realized what he was about to do, he raised his magic staff and cast one last spell at the battlement. Bright light in the shape of the blade flew out the tip of his staff and went straight toward the gate.
"Levyn, he's going to tear the Veil!" Mihi cried. She was the first who recognised the spell. Her eyes widened in fear. "He's planning to draw us all into the Fade!"
"I know," said the blood mage in confident tone. "Don't worry."
"Are you sure about this?" Jethro became anxious as the light drew near. "Will it hold up?"
"It will hold up." Levyn nodded, his eyes illuminated by the blinding light.
The light finally hit the barrier, making a loud bang and emitting something so bright that made everyone temporally blind. When everyone finally regained their sight, they found the barrier was still there, and the spell the darkspawn cast bounced off.
The dragon landed on the stone cobbles of the town square, sending a surge of wind around her, the ground quaking beneath her. She tilted her head and hovered over the darkspawn, who had used all his strength and mana and was now very close to the verge of death. Dark, charcoal-colored marks gushed out of his eyes, nose, ears and twisted mouth. His jaws opened and closed unconsciously, with nothing-meaningful coming out. The High Dragon grinned from ear to ear, baring all her sharp teeth.
"Tsk-tsk, the trouble with talking too much, as I said." Her fiery eyes glittered with amusement. "Now, if you don't mind to indulge me a little, what so special about this town and people here, darkspawn? I've watched your people prowling around here for weeks. Is it worth you and your troops to stomp all over this city, only to be defeated once again?"
The sinister creature mumbled something inaudible.
"Arh, you got to speak a little bit louder than that, dark creature," the dragon sneered. "I'm afraid with my grand old age, my hearing isn't particularly sharp."
"The Scholar insisted…."
" 'The Scholar,' you said? Charming, now your kind have gained enough intelligence to have a 'iScholar/i'." The dragon's brow arched. "Humph…. What did he want from the city, I wonder?"
"Don't you dare," the darkspawn hissed.
"Hey, I am not the one who nearly turned into a pile of dust just a moment ago," the High Dragon chuckled. "I can be as rude as I am, my dear. Now answer my question!"
"The girl, she wanted the girl…." The darkspawn's bloodshot eyes slowly rolled up.
"Huh?'She'?" The dragon's eyebrow shot further up. "I thought you said it was he?"
The sinister creature's consciousness began to drift in and out. " She wanted the girl…"
"Aarh!" The High Dragon made an impatient growl. "Useless bastard!"
She raised her claw and smashed down, squashed the darkspawn promptly under her foot. She then turned her head around, looked over her shoulder and straight into Levyn's eyes. The blood mage felt a sudden jolt inside him, as if his thoughts had just been read and stirred by an invisible hand. All his past and present memories laid bare for her to browse. He went rigid while watching the High Dragon slowly rise and move toward the gate. His eyes widened when the dragon's large form shifted, became blurry and dissembled. As she moved, a cloud of dark shadow whirled around in a huge mass, drifting away and returning, gradually getting smaller. The dragon – well, what everyone had thought was a dragon – stopped in front of Wolf and Ser Ciaren, who were absolutely astounded and stared at her with jaws slightly agape.
"They were after your girl, weren't they?" The High Dragon no longer. An old woman, dressed in a slightly dated, battered mage robe, with her grey, silvery hair tousled in the wind stood before him. She tilted her head slightly upward and grinned at the blood mage, her eyes glittering with interest. "The girl you found in that farm."
Levyn frowned a dozen questions flickered through his head. At the end, only one of them remained.
Who is this old lady?
His question was soon answered by the voice that rose near him. It was Gwen, holding her usual wooden stick in her hand and a piercing look sharp enough to see right though anything. Not very far from her stood the Revered Mother. Looking slightly shaken but unharmed, she simply stared at the new guest with intense curiosity.
"Flemeth, the Witch of the Wild. What a pleasure to have you here." The corner of the Gwen's mouth curved up.
Jethro and Mihi kept staring at Flemeth in awe long after they came down from the wall and joined them. As a matter of fact, almost the entire populations of Gwaren were staring at the old mage with their mouths gaping as they gradually gathered around the gate. Flemeth was a legend in this area, and the fact that she stood under the same sky that they were under, breathing in the same air they were breathing, was simply unbelievable. Ever since he left the Tower and started his journey as an escapee, the stories about a certain witch living in the Korcari Wilds had been steadily heard from all kinds of people. Of course, some of them were plainly exaggerating, like how she managed to lure men into her sweet honey nest and only devour them not very long after sleeping with them, or how she could turn anyone into stone with just one glare, or that she had many, many daughters, going about in the wilds and doing her dirty works.
Actually, on the last count, it might be true. Didn't Neph whisper to him one of her companions, Morrigan, was the daughter of a legendary witch? Or did she mean the Witch of the Wilds? He could not remember.
"Those creature had been crawling around in the forest for quite some time, well after the Blight was finished." Flemeth smirked. "And all of the sudden, they were gathered around here, rather than joining their comrades up north. That's what got me interested. And when they attacked this town for the second time tonight…let's just say I could not resist hopping in myself."
"That was very gallant of you," Gwen said, inclining her head slightly. "Without your assistance, Gwaren might have been torched to the ground."
"Cha-cha, I should had done it long time ago." Flemeth smiled. "Instead allowing these pests to infest my forest…."
"You think they attacked Gwaren because of Gladys?" asked the Revered Mother.
"It was one of my suspicions, yes." The old mage nodded. "And those darkspawn pretty much confirmed that tonight that's who they were after."
"Did they say why?" Levyn frowned. "She's just a normal girl. I had never seen darkspawn that persistent before."
"Nor a darkspawn that speaks, I am just saying." Flemeth laughed. "No, they didn't say why. Curious, no?"
The crowd stirred, and soon a path was cleared for someone to come through. Gladys slowly moved forward to the front. Her head tilted slightly, listening to the commotion that went on around her. Her artificial eyes shimmered under the blue moon, looking ethereal and yet serene. The slight gaunt appeal on her seemed more obvious tonight after being so close to the darkspawn. She sought out Levyn and walked toward him. The blood mage reached out his hand and laced his fingers with hers tightly.
"Arh, just the girl we were talking about." Flemeth's eyes glittered with interest. "You are Gladys?"
"Yes." The Chasind girl hesitated for a moment before answered.
"A Chasind….humph… I can see they've started the work on you, even when they knew you've lost your…." The witch folded her arms and began to circle around Gladys. "Still, that doesn't explain why they wanted you so badly."
"I don't want the whole city to suffer because of me." Gladys' face was whiter than usual. "If…if it is I who they wanted, I can….I can leave here and…."
"No." Jethro immediately shook his head.
"Don't be absurd!" Several voices cried out at once, basically all expressing the same thing, that there was no need for the Chasind girl to leave the town in order to save the rest of them. The girl's face went flaming red as Flemeth's eyebrow arched up and she laughed wickedly.
"Do you think they will leave Gwaren alone by doing so? Then you don't know the darkspawn at all! No, they will still flatten this place after taking you, my dear. " The old mage stopped laughing, and chewed her lips thoughtfully. "Although, I do wonder about what this talking one said before I crushed his skull."
"What exactly did he tell you?" Levyn asked.
"Now, you are the runaway mage." Flemeth did not answer the blood mage's question; instead, she suddenly turned her attention toward him. "How curious…."
She moved closer and stopped mere inches in front of him. The old mage reached out her hand and tilted Levyn's chin upward, examining him intently. The blood mage once again felt transparent and naked.
She did not say anything more, much to his relief. Flemeth withdrew her hand and paced back to Gwen and the Revered Mother.
"What he said…intrigued me." After a while, she opened her mouth thoughtfully. "You are aware there is another darkspawn behind this, namely the Scholar?"
"Yes," replied Levyn, Jethro, and Wolf together.
"And are you aware there might be two Scholars?"
"Wha—?" The blood mage looked shocked. "Two?"
"Worrisome, yes?" Flemeth frowned. "Worth investigating."
"Investigate?" Levyn's eyebrows nearly shot to the sky above. "Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?"
"Oh, yes." The legendary mage nodded firmly, a small smile at the corner of her mouth. "We need to enter the Deep Roads."