Dragon Age. Origins
Levyn
Chapter Thirteen – The Tear of the Veil
"Now, before we start," Jethro said as he shot a side-glance at Gladys as they stood in the practice field at the back of the house, "have you used arrows and bows before?"
"You are kidding me, right?" Gladys' brows shot up. "I am a Chasind, of course I do!"
"Sorry, Gladys." The Chasind logger scratched the back of his head. "It just…."
"I understand." The Chasind girl flashed a nervous smile before inhaling sharply. "It will be… a different matter when you can't see. So, please, carry on."
"Well…." Jethro shifted nervously. "Okay, then. Let's get started."
After the last darkspawn attack and Gladys miraculously survived, not to mention killing one, the Witch of the Wilds insisted the Chasind girl to learn how to handle her "special ability." They figured teaching her some basic weapon skills could do no harm, since when those sinister attacked, there would definitely be moments when she was alone.
They managed to collect enough darkspawn blood in vials from corpses they gathered. While they did not possess such a strong effect on Gladys, the Chasind girl could still sense them to a degree. Therefore, they were perfect for their target practice.
Tabi had those vials hung at the neck of their practice wheat dummies, before giving her husband an "all go" signal.
"Can you 'see' those targets?" asked Jethro sternly.
Gladys nodded, remembering what Mihi had spent the good part of the last two days teaching her, how to steady her breath and focus on her senses.
"Breath in," the witch's hoarse voice echoed to her ears. "Fill your lungs with air, not your belly. Excellent. Now, picture there is a red fireball situated in the center of your abdominal area. Imagine it grows brighter with each inhale. Hold your breath, good. Make the ball 'rotate.' Exhale. Do a few rounds of that."
"Now," Mihi carried on. "Try to stretch your senses. Use every bit of your skin and your ears. Can you feel the clothes you are wearing?"
The Chasind girl nodded.
"Right." Mihi's footsteps walked closer. "Now, try to feel the ground you stand on. Can you do that?"
Gladys nodded again.
"Excellent." Mihi encouraged. "Okay, now try 'feel' me."
The Chasind girl tilted her head, allowing her senses to travel from her feet outward. Very slowly, she could hear the mage's drape tousled by the breeze, and her rhythmic breath whispered to her ears. She inhaled another slow breath. The fireball in her belly grew brighter. And, suddenly, she could feel Mihi's warm skin from sitting next to the fire for a while. The logs crackled in the fire, sending out sparks like glowing dust into the air above it. The cauldron was bubbling away with some delicious onion soup. Boo was playing with a wooden sword his father had made him earlier.
"Looks like she got it. And in one go; that's an outstanding achievement." Flemeth's smiling voice drifted from near the window. She could "see" the Witch of the Wilds as she leaned against the windowsill. Her grey hair was slightly messy and her eyes glittered against the firelight. The darkened and well-polished magic staff, made of Remu, she held firmly in her right hand. The smirk on her face looked like she just saw the most amazing magic performed in front of her.
"Arh, Flemeth." Tabi's voice drifted from the kitchen. Gladys turned her head around, and she "saw" the Chasind woman as she stood near the kitchen door. "You are not with the Revered Mother and Gwen tonight?"
"Nah," the old witch laughed. "I don't have to be with them all the time! Besides, I need some rum! Those served in the Inn taste like water you soak your socks in!"
The Chasind logger's wife returned a minute later with a clear glass bottle. The amber liquid swirled inside vigorously. "Orphee is going to weep if she hears you say that. Her rum in Gwaren is famous!"
"Bah!" Flemeth pushed herself away from the windowsill, turned around and came in through the door. She paused briefly as she walked past the doorframe, as if she was studying something. Hearing the witch's footsteps hesitate, Gladys frowned, trying to figure out what the old woman was watching.
"If she has enough willpower to hold herself, the discomfort would not be so great when a real darkspawn turns up," Mihi said as she picked up an apple from the bowl on the table.
"Indeed." Flemeth said, turning her attention back to the living room. "The meditation she has taught you is quite useful, child. Try practicing whenever you can. The more you do, the better you will get. You have heard of 'practice make perfect,' haven't you?"
"Yes." The Chasind girl nodded. "Of course I have."
"What did you see there, Flemeth?" Mihi asked through her full mouth.
"What?"
"Before you came in, you seemed stop and looked at something by the door." The Chasind mage swallowed the fruit in her mouth. "That's where the darkspawn appeared a few days ago, wasn't it? Those who attacked Gladys and Boo?"
"I simply admired the daisy by the wall!" The old witch laughed exaggeratedly. "Arh…aren't they the purest and most beautiful thing in this world today?"
"If I may be so bold, Flemeth." Mihi chuckled. "But you don't strike me as the type of person who would stop and look at the roadside flowers."
"Why, aren't you a smart girl." Flemeth sounded amused. "Yes, I was looking the spot. There were still some magic matter residues floating around."
"Outside my house?" Tabi sounded horrified. "Does this mean those evil creatures will start their attack from our house again next time?"
"Don't panic, Tabi." The sound of her rustling robes moving across the table suggested the Chasind mage had reached across the table to squeeze Tabi's hand in reassurance. "Chances are, they won't do it again for a very long time. It takes a lot of mana to set up a route like this, particularly for a small group of darkspawn. I reckon they will try to take our city the old fashioned way — through the front gate."
"What kind of route are we talking about here?" Gladys interrupted, a bit hesitantly. "Levyn mentioned something about the Tear…"
"No, a Tear cannot transport darkspawn." Flemeth's hoarse voice piped up again. "One, perhaps. But judging by the number we encountered the other night, I would say it was close to twenty. No mage, darkspawn or not, could have that kind of power to do such a thing."
"So, what is it then?" asked Tabi.
"I suspect," Mihi paused for a second. "It was a portal. And not just any portal, a portal powered by blood."
"By blood?" Gladys inhaled sharply. "A blood mage's doing?"
"And someone who knows a lot about such a practice," Flemeth added. "It's quite ancient; not many books mention it. Most blood mages wouldn't even know its existence. In my grand old age, I only witnessed such a magic being performed twice. The last time was during the last Blight!"
"Who performed the Summoning Poral last time?" Mihi sounded curious.
"Me," replied Flemeth wickedly.
"Alright, Gladys," Jethro called out. "On the count of three. One."
Gladys drew an arrow from her back and knocked it.
"Two."
The Chasind girl aimed toward her target. Feeling the burning sensation tightened her chest; she inhaled sharply and tried to steady herself.
"Three."
Her fingers released the bowstring. The arrow shot out and thudded into the dummy.
"Humph…." The Chasind logger strode toward the target and wrenched the arrow out. "Missed it slightly. Not bad for…arh…the first time."
Gladys chuckled. "Don't worry about my condition, Jethro. I've come to accept that I am a blind girl and, most likely, I will be like this for the remainder of my life."
"Sorry." Jethro sounded a bit uncomfortable.
"Well, I suppose I will have to practice a bit more, won't I?" The Chasind girl grinned. "Come on."
She drew out another arrow and knocked it. Her breath was steadier this time as she carefully stretched her senses and aimed at the target. Brows drawn as she frowned in concentration, she released the bowstring.
Thud.
More arrows. Knocked, aimed, and released.
Thud.
Knocked.
Aimed.
Held breath.
Release.
Thud.
Somewhere In The Deep Roads
A jet of icy blasting wind shot the Disciple right in the face, sending him flying backward and smashing against the cavern wall. The frozen body shattered into pieces as it smashed against the rock surface. The remaining darkspawn were running around the chamber in panic, trying their hardest not to be the next victim. The close, confined hall was full of noise: Darkspawn shrieking, rocks falling, spells whooshing across the room, spells hitting the wall or the dark creatures, and the Scholar's furious scream.
"Fail? AGAIN? AFTER I WASTED A GOOD AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL DARKSPAWN-WORTHY HUMAN'S BLOOD ON SUMMONING A PORTAL TO TRANSPORT YOU USELESS SCUM THERE, YOU BLOODY FOOLS HAVE THE GUTS TO TELL ME YOU HAVE FAILED YET AGAIN?" The leader of the sinister creatures was fuming.
"My….milord," another Disciple stammered. "We almost got her. I swear! It was just that….that…"
"THAT WHAT?" the Scholar roared. The leader's eyes glared at him angrily. "Tell me, what was it that caused you brainless scum to failed this time, with over half of the people in that city in the Deep Roads, navigating their way around the barrier I set up as we speak? AYE? ENLIGHTEN ME!"
"The girl…." the Disciple bowed, his forehead banging onto the ground loudly. "The girl suddenly seemed be able to… see us! She attacked with such accuracy, you would have thought she wasn't blind in the first place!"
"The girl…." The Scholar seemed to deflate a little. "… attacked back?"
"Yes, milord." Blood soaked through the soil on which the Disciple's forehead rested, but he dared not move.
"I think she's been out there long enough to discover the use of our…. connections, my love." The infant voice suddenly echoed from the shadows.
"Our connections?" The Scholar frowned. "Well, of course! She had been tainted long enough!"
"Time is on their side, my love," the voice squeaked. "We must make haste. That girl must be brought back! She must be brought back! I want that girl!"
"Hush, my sweet." The Scholar once again tried to calm the voice. "Patience. Only patience could get us the most fruitful trees. Of course, we must get that girl. We still have enough troops up on the surface, summoning them for another attack won't be the problem."
"Are you sure about this, my heart?" The infant voice sounded doubtful. "You've promised me twice before that you will bring her to me, but so far I've seen nothing but a bunch of useless zombies!"
"Let's just say I will let our Disciple bring her a…special present this time." The Scholar sniggered wickedly….
"Levyn!" Lanaya cast a blizzard spell on a group of Fade demons consisting of a Revenant and several Rage Demons, causing the area to be suddenly covered under a howling wind and heavy snow. "Seal that damned Tear NOW !"
Levyn spun on his heel and charged toward the dark, hollow shadow floating in midair, his hands sparking with magic. Demons still poured from the black holes, sneering and snarling toward the group. Nearby, Zac and Wolf waved their weapons, slashing away as the ice spell weakened demons. Several Dalish archers fired ice arrows from a distance.
As soon as they encountered the Tear of the Veil, the group was swamped by demons as they exited from the Fade. Adding to the darkspawn drawn toward them, getting anywhere near the Tear had proven extremely difficult. Quite a few men had fallen within the first ten minutes. Levyn and Lanaya had to keep gulping down potent lyrium potions to retain their high mana in order to cast attack spells while healing and reviving their fellow expedition members. They had to take at least one hour's rest after the Tear was sealed up and all the demons and darkspawn alike were slain.
And it was just one of the many Tears. Soon, they found out there was more than one, and each one was bigger than the previous ones. By the time they reached one of the many naturally formed stone bridges, the Veil Tear that awaited them on the other side was large enough to fill the entire cave.
"Maker's breath…" Levyn gaped as they watched the demons and darkspawn roaming around the cliff at the other side. "How in Thedas are we going to seal that one off?"
"That's the only way to get into the old Gwaren," Zac said as he crossed his arms. "Tricky."
"Fire spell?" Lanaya suggested as she placed her hands on her forehead and narrowed her eyes to have a better look. "That should clear out most of the darkspawn crawling there."
"That won't work on those Demons, though." Wolf nodded toward the other side of the bridge. "Desire Demons, perhaps. But those Revenant and Rage Demons are pretty tolerant to that."
"We need two mages to seal that one off." Levyn chewed the left side of his lips. "Even with blood magic."
"Lanaya." One of the Dalish piped up. " Durgen'bel."
"Indeed!" The Dalish keepr's eyes immediately lighted up. "I can use that!"
"Alright." The bloodmage side-glanced the Dalish mage. "What's that?"
" Durgen'bel." Lanaya was about to explain when an unexpected voice interrupted their conversation.
"It means 'many stone' in Dalish. It usually known to the others by another name: 'the Oracle.'"
Everyone jerked their head around, and saw a strangest looking human slowly stepping out of the shadow. The person was really old; his hair was now silvery white; his face was half hidden under a silver mask that covered him from his forehead to his upper ears, and the expose parts were lined with wrinkles. His body, however, was strong built and muscular. The grip he held his two weapons was still tight. Several people drew out their weapons and pointed at the stranger. Unfazed by the unfriendly reaction, the man smiled calmly.
" Andaran atish'an " The man bowed toward the Dalish. "Never in my living days I would have expected to see your kind again — or any non-darkspawn or demon beings in this Maker forsaken place."
"Who…who are you?" asked Wolf with an eyebrow arch.
"My name is Tainjen." The man took off one of his arm plates, revealing a Griffon tattoo. Several people in the crowd gasped, including Levyn and Lanaya. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance; I am a Grey Warden."