Dragon Age. Origin
Levyn
Chapter Nine – Gate, Let Go
"Enter the Deep Roads?" Levyn looked at Flemeth in surprise. "Is that really necessary?"
Judging by the gasps from the surrounding crowd, there were quite a few others who were astonished by the idea, as well.
"I wouldn't waste my time here if I don't think it is necessary." The old mage inspected her fingers casually. "The darkspawn are brewing something, something to aid the war up north."
"The one at Amarathine?" asked Jethro.
"Indeed." The witch smirked. "That war drew away most of the remaining troops after the Blight. A civil war between the darkspawn, I believe."
"Those things are fighting each other now?" The Chasind logger frowned and looked slightly amused.
"Oh, yes," Flemeth nodded. "They've been like that since the Archdemon was slain. They can no longer feel the Calling. It had stopped."
"Yes, according to the Chantry," Wolf interrupted, "they were supposed to return to the Deep Roads."
"Then why are they still attacking your city?" The witch looked at the Templar meaningfully. "Why are darkspawn we had not previously seen suddenly appearing on the surface, and some of them actually talked?"
"If that's the case," Gwen added as she chewed her upper lip thoughtfully, "to which side are these ones allied?"
"Another reason there is need to head down to the Deep Roads, don't you agree?" Flemeth sniggered. "Whichever side they are with, wouldn't it be a heavy blow if we eliminate them here before they manage to move up north?"
"A very excellent notion you have there, Flemeth," a husky voice piped up from the crowd. Levyn turned his head around and saw a masculine dwarf in chainmail looking at them sternly. His hair was gathered on the top of his head and tied into a neat bun, while his face has half buried by his beard and bushy eyebrows. Like the rest of the Gwarenians tonight, he was covered in blood, and burn marks dotted his body. Small bits of flesh could be seen here and there on his armor and his battleaxes.
"Zac!" Jethro called out.
This was the first time the blood mage saw the dwarven weaponsmith. Levyn saw that it appeared that the small warrior knew more than just how to make fine dwarven crafts. His eye scanned the crowd, glittering with fierce, defiant determination. The dwarf slowly stepped forward and came to stand in front of the witch.
"Ah, a dwarf," Flemeth's mouth curled up. "They said it was the dwarves who used to conquer the lands below. They carved their soul and memories into the stone, and they knew the Deep Roads inside out. This one, I wonder, was he born and raised on the surface, or is he one who came to this world with the blessings of their ancestors?"
"Both," Zac grunted.
"How interesting." The old witch's eyes lit up. "I heard lore of the last Gwarenian dwarves who stayed behind as their empire crumbled beneath our feet. They were the guardians for the passage to the Gwaren below. Only they knew the way to descend to the Deep Roads from this city, and they swore an oath not to tell any living soul about such a route. They were bound to the oath from birth. Those dwarves were known as the Keykeepers of the Gwaren. You heard of such a tale?"
"Yes," replied the weapons smith simply.
The crowd gasped and stirred. Most of them only heard of this lore for the first time tonight, but that Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds, was aware that such a story existed was simply astonishing. Several people seemed figure out the connection and began to cry out in shock, pointing their shaking fingers at the witch, then the dwarf, and back to the witch again.
"Keykeepers of the Gwaren." Flemeth smiled and inclined her head, while Zac tilted his head politely in return.
"So the rumor is true," Jethro whispered to Levyn. "Zac is the last remaining Gwarrenian dwarf on the surface."
"Flemeth." Zac cleared his throat. "You were suggesting we venture down and clear out whatever was left down there after tonight, before they had a chance to regroup and resurface?"
"My very thoughts!" The old witch clapped her hand enthusiastically. "And find out why they were obsessed with this Chasind girl while you are at it." She pointed at Gladys.
"I swore oath not to tell others of the underground route." The weapon smith eyed Flemeth thoughtfully. "And now you are asking me to break my oath?"
"For a good cause, don't you think?" Flemeth laughed.
"Are you also aware," the dwarf warrior continued, "that whatever was down there will not be the sodding last of them?"
"Yes." The witch looked at him meaningfully. "If you remember, I merely suggested it would be a heavy blow to those dwelling up north. Would they be the last of them down there? That's an entirely different story."
"Very well." Zac opened his mouth again after glaring at the old witch for a long time. "Going down to the Deep Roads, that is."
"Wait, wait," Wolf waved his hands. "Should the rest of us have any say about this, or has Zac just agreed to go down to the Deep Roads on our behalf? What about here? What about Gwaren? Has any of you actually thought those darkspawn might return while the entire city heads to the Deep Roads? There is a vast forest out there, and more than half of it is overrun by Blighte creatures and darkspawn. Not to mention, there is large hole in the ground somewhere where they first emerged to the surface when the Blight started. Do any of you think there will be some darkspawn who's smart enough to get up from there and attack us?"
"Wolf has a good point there," Gwen spoke again. "I agree. We need to go down there and strike down their leader before they have a chance to regroup, instead of passively staying here and waiting for the darkspawn to send stronger, bigger troops in. We can't just all rush down there. We need a plan. Someone will have to stay here and guard the city."
"I will go." Levyn first raised his hand, closely followed by Zac.
"I will go," Wolf grunted.
One villager shook his head. "I will stay. I've got wife and kids to take care of."
An elven archer stepped forward. "I will go."
"I will stay," said a frightened dwarf.
His son also declined. "I will stay."
The townsfolk soon divided into two groups. Levyn, Zac, Wolf, and a handful of Gwarenians were going to the Deep Roads, while Flemeth, Gwen, Mihi, Ser Ciaren, several knights and Jethro, who protested loudly until the blood mage reminded him about Tabi and Boo, stayed behind. They decided to assemble at Zac's shop at first light; from there, the dwarf would lead them down to the Deep Roads via the passage.
Gladys was visibly shaken by the ordeal tonight, and the idea that Levyn and the others were heading to the Deep Roads at daybreak. Gwen and the others had suggested her to remain on the surface. Her condition would make her easy prey should she accompany them down to the Deep Roads. Besides, they were concerned that the taint in her blood might develop even further should she become exposed to the darkspawn-infested area for too long. The enchanted artificial eyes might not be able to hold the taint if that happened.
But she seemed to hold herself together pretty well, other than an unusually tight grip on Levyn's hand as he led her back to Jethro and Tabi's home. She occasionally paused and tilted her head to listen to the sounds in the wind. Most people would have fallen apart by now.
They returned to Jethro's house in silence, and carefully walked around the dead shrieks as they passed them in the ally. Tabi bid them goodnight and carried Boo to their bed almost as soon as they entered the house. Jethro headed to the kitchen, saying he needed a few bottles of ale before lying down.
"Sorry," the blood mage mumbled as he carefully guided Gladys upstairs and back to her room.
"What for?" The Chasind girl arched an eyebrow.
"Well, remember when the darkspawn were… all over the place earlier and we needed to retreat to the docks?" They arrived at the top of the stairs and Levyn pushed the door open for her. "You asked me not to leave you. Now look at me: I am leaving you here and going down to into the Deep Roads tomorrow."
Gladys chuckled; a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth for the first time since the darkspawn attack that night. "There is no need to apologize over this. It's all right. Besides, you've already done so much for me. Do you think I'd really care about a small thing such as this?"
The blood mage shook his head and smiled foolishly.
"Levyn?"
"Hmm?"
"The witch…Flemeth," the Chasind girl tilted her head and frowned slightly. "She called you runaway mage …"
"You heard that, huh?" Levyn scratched his head.
"Have you two met before?" asked the Chasind girl.
"No. It was the first time I've actually seen her," replied the mage solemnly.
Gladys drew a deep breath. "Is that true? Did you really run away from the Tower?"
"Of course." Levyn shrugged. "Why else would the Templars be after me?"
Testing the area in front of her with her walking stick, the Chasind girl slowly entered her room and moved toward the water jar by the window.
"Need anything else?" asked the blood mage.
"No, that will be all, thank you." Gladys half turned her head around and smiled over her shoulder.
Levyn inhaled and was about to excuse himself when the Chasind girl called out. "Levyn?"
"Hmm?"
A thudding sound echoed through the room. Gladys returned and stood in front of him. Her opaque eyes glittered under the dim lamp. "Mind if I… ask you something?"
The blood mage looked at the Chasind girl quizzically. "Sure. What is it?"
"I've asked you this before. I understand if you still don't want to answer." Gladys cocked her head sideways a little, trying to hear Levyn's movements. "Why did you leave the Tower?"
The mage froze. Yes, she had asked him that before, and he had brushed her off that time. It had been a couple of months since then: Did he trust her enough to tell her the reason why he left the Tower, to share his burden with her? Or should he carry his guilt to his grave, allowing it to slowly eat him from within? He hadn't told anyone, not even Jethro, to whom he had grown pretty close since their encounter in the forest. The only one in Gwaren who knew about his past was Wolf. Even then, it was because the Templar discovered the secret by himself. Did he trust this girl enough to tell her something like this?
Gladys' smile at the corner of her mouth was disappearing fast. She mistook his hesitation as a sign of still being unwilling to share. Her shoulders sagged; her lips trembled slightly and sighed.
"I see." She slowly turned away from the blood mage and headed back to her room. "I'm…sorry…I wasn't meant to—"
"Because I was in love with a girl." Suddenly, without realizing what he was doing, Levyn blurted it out. "Because they were going to prosecute me, turn me into a tranquil because of my magical practices, and I wasn't willing to lose everything for that. I had no other option but to run."
"Tranquil?" Gladys paused for a moment.
"Tranquils are mages whose emotions were removed and their connection to the Fade is completely cut off. The Circle of Magi performed the Rite of Tranquility to those who they thought were too weak of will to survive the threat of demonic possession, or those who practice forbidden forms of magic," the blood mage explained. "In my case, it was the latter."
"Oh, Levyn…." The Chasind girl turned around and returned to him. There was sympathy written all over her face.
"I asked the girl, and my best friend, to help me escape, to destroy my phylactery so they wouldn't be able to find me, without telling them I'd been practicing blood magic for years." Truth continued to pour out of Levyn's mouth. He could not stop. He had been holding his secrets for far too long. "I… I betrayed their trust. I should have told them the truth…."
"The Templars and the Circle of Magi caught us. They….they were going to carry the girl away. That was when I lost it." He shut his eyes tightly, pained from his memory. "I…I performed blood magic right in front of them…."
He collapsed onto the floor and began to sob. The mage was so immersed in his own remembrance, he didn't notice Gladys when kneeled down by his side and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I….I betrayed them, Gladys…I was weak, I shouldn't have sought the blood magic, I should have let them know. You should have seen their faces, you should have seen them!" Levyn cried out like a wounded animal.
"What happened…" the Chasind girl swallowed. "What happened to the girl?"
"They took her to Aeonar, the mage prison. She…she went with them willingly." The mage's body started to rock back and forth. "It was the last time I've seen her. I was told…. Wolf…told me…she went insane inside that place and can no longer recognize anyone…"
"Wolf?" Gladys frowned for a moment. "What did he—I see, that girl was his sister, wasn't she? She was Lily, the sister Jethro was talking about."
"Yes." Levyn nodded.
"Levyn…"
"I was weak, Gladys." The blood mage buried his face in his palms. "I should had faced my destiny right there, instead I ran, leaving my friend and the girl I love behind. I deserved to be made into Tranquil. I was weak, I am weak, and I always will be weak!"
Gladys hands moved up from Levyn's shoulders and toward his face. She managed to find his chin and tilted it upward. As if trying to isee/i what he looked like with her fingers, her feathery touch brushed past his cheek, his eyes, his nose, and finally, they stopped at his lips.
"You are not weak, Levyn," whispered the Chasind girl softly. "A weak one would not save me from a contingent of snarling darkspawn; a weak one would not help Gwaren defend the city, not just once, but twice; a weak one would not voluntarily to go down to the Deep Roads first thing in the morning, to eliminate the looming threat below; a weak one would not remain here for this long, even after the girl he saved is fully recovered. Levyn, you weren't weak, you aren't weak, and you will never be weak!"
With the last word, Gladys leaned forward and gently pressed her lips against his. They were soft, tasted slightly of pine, elfroot and small scented white flowers.
A wave of tremors rippled through him. He felt his head swoon, drift into Fade and gradually return to his body. Instinctively, he closed his eyes, reached out his hands and grasped the Chasind girl's fingers. Every single cell within his body was awakened and sighed with content. It had been quite some time since another girl kissed him like this, or made him felt like this when kissing him. Was it Lily? No. Lily's kiss was sweet, but it wasn't like this. Neph? The faded memory flashed past his mind. Yes, Neph. And even that was really a long time ago.
When their lips finally parted, it felt like almost a century. Levyn looked at Gladys in surprise while the Chasind girl's face was in crimson.
"Gladys…"
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that! I—" she stuttered, trying to apologize. But her words were cut short when Levyn leaned forward and covered his mouth over hers again.
"Don't say that! Don't you ever apologise. Not for this. Don't—" When their kisses broke off once again, the mage cupped her face, his forehead against hers, murmuring as they both tried to steady their uneven breath. The Chasind girl beamed. A small smile flew up on the corners of her mouth.
Their blissful moment was interrupted by the heavy knock on the wooden door. Before Levyn could gather him self up and investigate who it was, Jethro emerged from the kitchen and answered the door.
"Sorry to disturb you in such a lateness." It was Wolf, who cast the blood mage a detestable glare over the Chasind logger's shoulder before he continued. "We have a… certain unusual situation at the gate. Some...unexpected visitor turned up…no, don't panic. It's not the darkspawn." His lips curved up slightly as he saw the residence inside the house all turned white faces. "It's something else, I think you should come."