Chapter Two
As the night worn on, Selene found herself unable to sleep. There were many things on her mind, for instance, Armand and his new shine to Terra. Selene knew that it wasn't an affectionate shine, but couldn't help but feel mildly jealous. But the one thing she couldn't stop thinking about was The Architect. The image of his handsome, yet at the same time, twisted face plagued her memories. 'I wonder why he wears that mask?' she thought as she turned onto her right side, staring at the inside of her tent. She listened to the sounds of the cavern they camped in, listening to Terra's snoring mostly. 'Armand seems to be awfully quiet,' she thought as she sat up. She crossed her legs under her blankets, still thinking of The Architect.
Just then she heard rustling outside of her tent. She reached down for her staff, as a young Deep Stalker entered her tent, carrying a rolled up piece of parchment around it's neck. She kept her staff in hand as she reached for the parchment with her free hand To her surprise, the Deep Stalker didn't at all become hostile at her touch. She had never encountered one before, but she was always told of how vicious they are to their prey. But not this young one.
Selene read the note, which made the Deep Stalker runaway in fear. "That was odd," she said quietly as the letter read.
'Ms. Selene,
As promised, this is my messenger. I did not wish to use one of my disciples, as that would have lead to calamity for you. I hope that you are considering my proposal. I await to see you in the tunnel where we met, the one near your camp I believe.
The Architect'
Selene took a moment and reread The Architect's letter. 'He has such neat writing,' she thought. 'If I leave Armand, will he notice? Or, will he even care? He probably won't care anyway. I think I'll go,' she thought as she made up her mind and began to gather her things.
She used the tip of her staff to open the back of her tent as she clutched her pack close to her chest. She didn't bother with changing into her mages robes; she is wearing her sleeping clothes thankfully. She was certain that The Architect would have something for her to wear. As she passed by Terra's tent, Selene noticed that Terra's snoring got louder. Selene crept as quietly as she could so as to not wake Terra. She then noticed that Armand is still sitting by himself hunched over his text books, the faint glow of the still slowly burning fire showed her that. Selene knew that he's sleeping, as he often would fall asleep while engrossed in his studies. She frowned at Armand's back then continued on her way to the tunnel.
As he promised in his note, The Architect stood waiting for Selene, but this time he had a small glowstone with him. As Selene neared him, she couldn't help but smile sweetly at him. To her it felt like she was seeing the love of her life for the first time in a long time. She couldn't understand why she felt this way for a Darkspawn but all she knew was how she felt and it felt so true to her. She noticed that even The Architect smiled at her affectionately which made her smile even sweeter.
"May I assume that you have thought about my proposal then?" The Architect asked as he reached out one of his hands to her. Before she knew it, she was standing close to him and leaned her face into his outstretched hand. "Yes I have and I want to go with you. Armand means nothing to me anymore and I do not agree with his plans. I know who I am now. I just needed more thought on the matter," Selene replied as she stepped as close as she could and placed her face on his chest. "Please, take me with you. I pledge my loyalty to you and your cause and I will always fight with you, never against you. Not even if you ordered me to," she said looking up at his twisted face as he looked down at her. For a moment she thought that they had locked gazes but she could not tell through his mask. He smiled at her then said, "Then let us be off, my dear." And with that she held tightly onto him, and her things including her staff, as he initiated his teleportation spell and teleported them to one of his camps within old hollowed out dwarven ruins where he conducted his experiments.
During the time to which Selene had pledged her allegiance to The Architect, Armand awoke suddenly. He quickly rushed over to Selene's tent and peered inside. Much to his horror she was gone, along with all of her things. Well everything except for her robes which he gave her as a 'loving' present. 'Damnit! Where did she go? We're so close to our dream…well my dream but she said she loved me enough to see this through until the end. But I do have one way of finding her. But first I must wake up 'plan b',' Armand thought as he left Selene's tent and rushed over to Terra's tent.
"Terra, wake up! Selene has been taken by Darkspawn while we were sleeping!" Armand yelled while trying to wake Terra up. It took a couple of seconds for Terra to comprehend what Armand was shouting about, but as soon as she processed the words "Darkspawn" and "Selene", she sat bolt upright. "WHAT! THOSE BASTARDS! I'LL TEAR THEM TO PIECES!" Terra exclaimed as she grabbed up her battle axe. She never bothered with changing into her night clothes as she always believed that she needs to wear her armour and to be kept on her guard at all times, asleep or not.
"Are you sure she was taken? I mean they didn't make a noise and that's not typical Darkspawn behaviour," Terra said, as she and Armand left her tent together. "I'm sure of it. She isn't here and if she wanted to go off for a walk she would've told me," Armand said as he added, "I think she might've been taken by an emissary. It would explain the silent capture." "Yeah…you might be right," Terra said with some doubt in her voice. "But how will we find her?" she asked, while trying to keep up with the frantic mage as he rushed around the camp gathering his things. "I have my way of finding her. Don't you worry about that. For now gather your items, we're heading out now," Armand said as he grabbed up the last of his books and packed them away in his pack. He then walked towards the tunnel where Selene disappeared into forcing Terra to bustle after him.
With a rush of wind, Selene felt her feet touch the ground softly again. She opened her eyes as she realized that the Architect was holding onto her as tightly as she held onto him. He looked down at her, and after fighting off thoughts of kissing the top of her head, he quickly let go of her and looked around the room. "This is my sleeping chambers. You may stay here for now until we can make other arrangements for you else where. I also took the liberty of retrieving a set of robes for you. We don't have many women emissaries so this is all I was able to retrieve," he said, showing her the room around her and pointing to a set of robes lying neatly on his bed. She looked at the bed and thought, 'I did not know that Darkspawn can sleep in beds like the rest of the world above. I always thought that Darkspawn slept on the ground where they came from. I wonder how soft it is though.'
"Thank you Architect, you are most kind to me. May I ask why that is?" she asked as she moved away from him a bit and folded her arms across her chest. "That is a good question. I believe that it is because you are so willing to help me with my cause than others from the past. Another reason might be because I find myself…drawn to you. Why? I do not know," he replied as Selene felt her face redden as she realized what he meant. "Oh…that's strange…I seem to feel the same way…for you too," she said, bowing her head as her face began to glow red completely.
An awkward silence fell between them as neither one of them wanted to look at each other. Selene then decided that she shouldn't feel so embarrassed about finding love with him. She stepped closer to him again and asked, "Why do you wear this mask?" He looked at her, surprised by her question then replied, "I wear it to cover the way I look. In a way you can say that I am ashamed of the way I look, even though I am a Darkspawn." "I wonder what you look like though. May I take it off and see for myself?" she asked while reaching up to his face. He moved away reluctantly as she continued to try and touch his mask to remove it. "You would not enjoy my real face. I can assure you of that right now," he said, still edging away from her. But he was too slow as she managed to lightly remove his mask. He looked down at her with his cold, dead white eyes, knowing that she would scream in terror at his misshapen face. But much to his surprise she did not scream, instead she said, "You are a rare creature. A Darkspawn that can talk and think of his own free will and yet…you are ashamed of how you look? You are wrong about your appearance Architect." "I am? What do you mean by that?" he asked, both mildly confused and mildly interested to hear her answer. "Yes you are. Because you are the most handsome Darkspawn I've ever met. You have nothing to be ashamed of," she replied as she stroked the twisted side of his face lovingly. He felt himself enjoy this touch most of all, as his hands traveled up her back. His thin, spindly fingers traced small, gentle lines along the curve of her back as she shivered lightly. She wanted so badly to reach up and kiss him. He felt a want to cup her face gently and pull it towards him. But at that moment Seranni and Utha burst into the Architect's room suddenly, both out of breath and shocked at the scene before them.
"OH! We're sorry master! We'll just…leave…you two…alone then…wait…you're that mage I saw before…" Seranni said, bowing out of the room, closing the door slightly. Utha looked at Seranni defiantly and used her sword to hold the door open. Selene and the Architect quickly moved away from each other. The Architect took his mask back from Selene, putting it back on, while Selene smiled weakly at him. "So this is your informant then?" Selene asked while looking down at the ground. He said nothing to her and placed a hand on her right shoulder as he faced Seranni and Utha. "What is it this time Seranni? Utha?" he asked, mildly annoyed at them.
Utha noticed the annoyance in his voice and looked angrily at Seranni. She then began to make many frantic gestures with her hands and at the end of it all, she pointed to Selene. "Yes that's right. A mage and a dwarf are on their way here. They keep on yelling for a 'Selene', and I'm guessing that's her," Seranni said as all eyes fell on Selene suddenly. "But I don't understand. How did he know I left…oh…NO!" Selene exclaimed as she remembered something very important. "What is it my dear?" The Architect asked as he reached up to cup the side of her face gently. "The blood pact! Armand and I never, not once, experienced the thrill of sex but we did make a blood pact before the final battle at Denerim at the tail end of the last Blight. He said that it would be just as thrilling as sex but only he and I would be connected to each other at all times. No matter what unless one of us dies in battle. If I'm injured he'd know. If I'm missing, he'd know and try everything in his power to seek me out knowing my exact location. If I die…so would he," she replied placing her hands over her mouth as she cursed herself in her mind at forgetting that tiny bit of information while moving away from the Architect.
Seranni and Utha stared at Selene, baffled at her proclamation. The Architect on the other hand said, "So your former master and his traveling companion are on their way to you in the hopes of rescuing you so that he may continue with his plans?" "It seems that way, yes," Selene said as she looked away from everyone in the room. Utha made some suggestive motions to which Seranni said, "Yes he does seem persistent on finding you. Maybe we should kill you. Like you said, if you die, he dies too." The Architect threw them both a nasty look, one of which Utha had never seen on him before. Selene did not acknowledge them as she laid her pack and staff on the ground at her feet.
"They are right…it's the only way for me to be freed from him," Selene said as she placed a gentle hand on the Architect's chest and stood before Utha. "Please end my life. I have been a doomed soul since the first day I was taken from my family and taken to the Tower…the same day I met Armand to be exact. Most importantly, I do not want him to fulfill his plans of using me to create another Blight. Least of all, I do not want to see either of you three die for some one like…someone like…me," Selene said as she closed her eyes and bowed her head to Utha.
A small sliver of silence fell in the room as everyone watched Selene begging silently for death. Utha could not believe that she was faced with a person so willing to die. She felt a sudden sadness for Selene while at the same time a feeling of compassion for her. Utha looked to Seranni then to the Architect then back at Selene. She closed her eyes, then raised her sword above her head. Seranni covered her face in fear as she realized that she was wrong about siding with Utha's idea. The Architect looked away sadly, as he felt another feeling that he never felt before; the feeling of crying for the imminent death of the only creature he ever loved. Selene looked up at Utha and said, "Thank you. Please make it swift and quick." A small tear fell from Selene's eyes as she bowed her head again. Utha couldn't help but let out a tear as well. She moved away from Selene and swung her sword to hit a nearby boulder.
The clang of the sword on the boulder was enough to rouse everyone from their own fears and sadness's as Utha holstered her sword to her waist and fell to her knees. The Architect looked at Utha and Selene and felt a sigh of relief leave his lips. Seranni fell backward onto the door, propping herself up and sighed too as she began to cry lightly. Selene stayed bowed, feeling a myriad of emotions plaguing her thoughts. She fell to her knees too, unable to speak. Utha reached forward and placed a hand on Selene's right arm and made some small gestures. Selene looked to Seranni, as Seranni said, "She says that she couldn't do it because of how sad you are at being alive. She goes on to say that you deserve a proper death…one of battle…not a mercy killing. And she also says that she respects you for the compassion you showed for each of us, for our well being and the well being of the rest of the lands. Both above and below." "Thank you, but we must move quickly. Armand will stop at nothing to get me back," Selene said as she stood up and reached her hand out to Utha. Utha took it and stood too, as Seranni removed herself from the door.
"Yes, my dear Selene is right, we must move quickly. Seranni you will stay here with Selene until she is ready to face her former master. Utha, you will come with me. We will greet this 'Armand' ourselves," the Architect said as Utha nodded in agreement. "Yes master," Seranni said as she bowed and entered the room completely. Utha made her way out of the room as Seranni took a spot near the Architect's bed and the robes he has for Selene, waiting for Selene patiently. The Architect reached down to cup Selene's face as he said, "Is your death the only way to end him? I…I do not wish to see you perish." Selene reached up and gently touched his lips with her fingers. "It is either I die or another Blight is created. I do not wish to die either Architect, but if I must then…I must," Selene said as she placed her hands around his neck affectionately, then ran them down his front feeling him shutter. "Now is not the time, my dear," he said regretfully. "I know…I know," she said as she turned away from him and made her way over to Seranni. "This is the perfect time to stop that bastard before he destroys everything you are working so hard to stop! And I will finish him off myself!" she said as she grabbed up her staff from off of the floor before facing Seranni.
The Architect and Utha left the room to Seranni and Selene to prepare themselves. The Architect felt an even greater sadness for what is left to come and Utha felt it too. As they walked through the shadowy tunnels, to which Utha had to navigate through, the Architect's anger grew within him with every step. Utha looked back at him, then turned to face a Darkspawn corpse hanging from the rock face. She pushed it aside then ran ahead, as the Architect followed soon after her.
After the Architect and Utha left, Selene turned to Seranni and said, "Guard the door while I change please." "Yes miss," Seranni said as she walked over to the door. Selene took a moment to think about the task at hand and found her eyes begin to tear up. She wiped them away quickly as she grabbed up the robes that the Architect left for her and put them on. She couldn't help but notice how much they looked like his own robes. She smiled a bit as a small string and note fell to the ground. She picked them up as she pulled on the skirt part of her new robes and read the note.
'I'm curious to see your hair pulled up.'
She chuckled a bit as she did as the note said and pulled her hair to the top of her head and wound the string around it tightly. 'I can't remember the last time that I had my hair pulled back before. I was always so ashamed of my ears. I hated hearing the human children call others of my kind 'knife ears'. It always made me so mad that I always put my hair down and tried to hide my ears within,' she thought then realized that she and the Architect have a similarity between the two of them. She grinned happily as she hoisted the top on and zipped up the back of the bustier. She then grabbed her staff and walked towards the ever vigilant Seranni. "Let us be off," Selene said as she passed by Seranni who took a moment to look at the newly dressed Selene. She ran to catch up to Selene as Selene rushed ahead, determined to face Armand and finish him off the way he deserved.
"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT? EH? DARKSPAWN CURS!" Armand yelled out as he sent a flurry of Darkspawn across the room from him. With a 'thud' they hit the walls as the Architect and Utha made their way to a balcony over looking the battle below. "LOOK ARMAND! AN EMISSARY HAS APPEARED! LETS TAKE HIM OUT TOO!" Terra yelled out as she sliced through a Hurlock without a problem. "YES! LETS DO IT! HE WAS PROBABLY THE ONE WHO TOOK MY BELOVED SELENE AWAY FROM ME!" Armand yelled back as he froze a Genlock Alpha and used the end tip of his staff to pierce through it. "Your 'beloved' Selene came to me of her own accord human," The Architect said simply, as Utha braced herself in case the fight was brought up to them next. "WHAT? MY WIFE WOULD NEVER DO THAT! WHY WOULD SHE SIDE WITH YOU DARKSPAWN?" Armand exclaimed back at the Architect as he sent a bolt of lightning up to the Architect. At the last minute, another bolt of lightning came out of no where and deflected the first before it hit the Architect in the face. A cold and maniacal laughter filled the air as the fighting below came to an abrupt halt.
"Heheheheh…oh Armand, Armand, Armand…how is it that I am your 'beloved' after you twisted me so?" Selene said as she took up a spot next to Utha. The Architect looked at Selene and could not believe his weary eyes as he gazed at her true beauty. Even Utha herself stared in awe at Selene's sudden transformation. "Selene? Is that you?" Terra asked uncertainly. "What have you done to my love emissary?" Armand asked as Selene glared at him. "He did nothing but show me how wrong I was with helping you on your ridiculous quest," Selene replied as she began walking down the nearby stone steps towards Armand and Terra. Utha reached forward to grab Selene's hand but Selene merely looked at Utha and smiled sweetly.
Terra backed away slowly as Selene approached them, the tip of her staff glowed with every step she took. A look of terror etched itself across Terra's face as she noticed the true nature of Selene's previous statement to Armand upon arriving at the scene of the battle. "What the sodding hell happened to you? You look…dead…like a ghoul or worse…a Darkspawn," Terra said as Selene stopped mid-way and leaned against the stone railing, arms crossed and eyes glaring at Armand intently. "Why don't you ask him? Hmm? Go on Armand, your new 'play thing' is waiting to hear what you have to say," Selene said as all eyes fixed on Armand.
"'Play thing'? What does she mean by that Armand?" Terra asked turning to Armand for guidance. Armand said nothing as he kept his head bowed low, hiding his face from the on lookers. "Oh what a baby! Fine I'll tell you everything you wish to hear Terra. But I can assure you, you will not like it," Selene said as she looked back up to the Architect then turned her attention back down to Terra. She then sat on top of the stone railing, swung her legs around the railing then slid down with ease. "The reason why I look this way is because Armand has a terrible secret. He is a blood mage. One capable to have been able to accelerate the taint in my blood from our Joining to this point," Selene said as she settled herself at the end of the railing, using her staff to steady herself properly.
"What? He's a…a…blood mage? But why would he accelerate the taint in your blood?" Terra asked as Selene crossed her legs and placed her head in her right hand with a tired expression on her face. "The reason is because he wishes to bring about another Blight by sacrificing himself and my own body to an Old God. To create the most powerful Archdemon the world above has never seen before," Selene said as she wiped the tired expression from her face and jumped down from the end of the railing. "But now that I've left, he's decided to go with 'plan b'. That being you of course," Selene finished as the Architect used his magic to join them below. Selene walked over to the Architect and stood beside him, holding her staff close to her body as she crossed her arms defiantly.
"So, you've left me for a Darkspawn then?" Armand managed to say as Terra stared in horror at Selene, unable to speak. "In a way, yes I have. But for your knowledge, I never loved you. I thought I did when I was younger and more naïve but now I see that I was wrong and that I should've listened to my other mentors in the Tower," Selene said glaring at him. "And what did they say? That I am but a blathering pervert and I should have known better than to lead you on?" Armand asked, anger building up within him. "No, well those in the Chantry within the Tower were saying that yes. But our fellow mages said that you are a strange man and that I should watch my steps around you. Even the First Enchanter feared for my life but I did not know why he would. I know now why though, and you are not using me for your plans. And you are not using Terra either, I will see to that myself," Selene replied as she held her staff up, ready to fight Armand by any means necessary. The Architect readied himself too as he placed a hand on her left shoulder affectionately. "GET YOUR HAND OFF OF HER!" Armand yelled as he sent another bolt of lightning at the Architect and this time it connected. Selene turned around to see the Architect double over in pain. He then shook it off and wearily stood up, holding his head painfully. A piece of his mask fell to the floor and soon after the other half covering the twisted side of his face fell too. Selene wanted so badly to rush over to his side but fought it off then turned defiantly towards Armand. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" she yelled at him as he sent a ball of fire at her chest, sending her towards the Architect, hitting him and knocking him back down to the ground. "Oh my dear, I'm afraid you will pay for your insolence this time," Armand said as he turned his attention to Utha as she ran down the stairs, sword unsheathed and ready for battle.
Armand said a few archaic words, as the corpses of the fallen Darkspawn from earlier rose and met Utha on the battlefield. As Utha sliced through the reanimated corpses, as Terra took her hand at slicing out her fair share of corpses too. Armand used a paralyzing glyph to stop Terra in her tracks then said, "Oh no you don't! You are my last chance at this moment. Granted that the next Archdemon won't be as powerful as I had hoped if I use you instead of Selene, but it won't matter once the world of Thedas sees the shear power of a second Archdemon at their doorstep!" "Y…you…are…mad!" Terra managed to grit out as the glyph faded away and a second glyph held her in place to be sacrificed. She screamed in pain as she felt Armand's blood magic take hold of her, ripping through her body under her skin.
"Selene! Wake up my dear!" the Architect said as she stroked her face lovingly. Selene opened her eyes and looked up at the Architect's twisted face and smiled sweetly at him. She reached up and touched his face as he smiled at her. Then before he knew it, he lowered down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. He was surprised by his sudden movement as he quickly pulled away from her. She stared up at him as he stood and held out his left hand to her, not looking at her face. She couldn't believe that he kissed her and felt her face redden as she grabbed his hand and stood too. He then reached down to pick up her staff and handed it to her, still not looking at her. "Thank you…Architect…I…" she began as he cut her off by saying, "Now is not the time for this. We will discuss this later."
"I saw that! And you will pay for leaving me!" Armand yelled from across the room as he sent many bolts of lightning towards the Architect and Selene. Selene felt a sudden anger build up as she twirled her staff around and deflected all of the lightning bolts away from them and she sprung forward into battle. As she landed on the ground in the midst of battle, an undead Hurlock corpse swung an axe at her to which she dodged, but just narrowly. With a few archaic words, a blizzard storm surrounded everyone in the cave. Terra screamed again as more pain surged throughout her body, and more undead Darkspawn rose back to life. "TERRA! DON'T WORRY I'M COMING!" Selene yelled out as she used her magic to kill each undead Darkspawn within her range.
"Damnit! I shouldn't have taught you so much! Now I'll have to put my plans on hold for you Terra, and deal with you Selene," Armand said as he placed another glyph of paralysis on her but this time with a longer endurance time. He then turned his attention to Selene and with his blood magic, made her spin around uncontrollably and grab up a fallen sword. He then sent her flying in the air and pinned her against a nearby wall. With his blood magic, he forced her to take the sword and hold it against her throat. "And here I thought you loved me! But now I know how much of a whore you are! Kissing a Darkspawn, while I stand here and watch you break my heart!" he said as the sword pressed harder against her throat.
"You know…gah…you know as well as I do that you never loved me!" she managed to choke out as she felt the sword begin to cut into her skin. "You were…were only using…me to further your…plans. But now…you will…pay most dearly," she continued as she felt her free will coming back to her in the hand she was being forced to use to hold the sword. Armand felt it too and tried even harder to make his magic work, but he knew that he was beginning to loose control over her. "It is you who will pay for what you have done!" Armand said as he continued to keep a hold on her for as long as he could.
"YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER ME ANYMORE!" Selene exclaimed as everyone in the cave watched the two mages intently after the blizzard storm passed. The spell that reanimated the Darkspawn corpses died away, as each corpse fell to the ground again. At that moment, Selene regained full control over the hand holding the sword and threw it back at Armand. He released his power over the rest of her body to dodge the sword that flew at his face. Selene crashed down to the ground as Seranni ran down the stone steps and crouched at Selene's side. Armand walked over to Terra and grabbed her by the throat to pin her down. Utha and the Architect advanced on him but at the last second he placed more paralysing glyphs on the ground to stop them in their tracks. He was amazed that a Darkspawn emissary walked into the trapped floor as he began to chant his finishing spell. Terra screamed in pain as she looked at Armand's face and saw his eyes begin to glow blood red. "SELENE!" Terra screamed out as she began to choke on her own blood.
"Find some place safe sister. This will not be pretty," Selene said to Seranni as she stood up and broke into a run. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran, picking up her staff in the process. She then came up behind Armand and used a notch in her twisted staff to grab him by the neck. With his spell disrupted, he gritted his teeth angrily. The paralysis glyphs subsided too as Utha grabbed Terra and pulled her away from the two mages. The Architect followed Utha into a retreat as well, he knew this is what Selene had to do. Seranni joined Utha and the Architect as they watched Selene fulfill her destiny.
"You will no longer hurt anyone or anything because of your power-driven ways. This is for Terra! For the Grey Wardens! For the Darkspawn! AND FOR ALL OF THEDAS!" Selene exclaimed as she held onto her staff tightly and the top of his head as she quickly twisted his neck. With a loud 'snap' and a 'thud' Armand's lifeless corpse, fell to the ground and a deadening silence fell in the cave.