Title: Forged In Fire

Rating: M (for violence and language)

Warnings: none

Summary: Elissa Cousland teased Loghain for being ridiculously sentimental when he gave her a diamond ring engraved with the words 'You Brought Me Back to Life'. Now, four months later, he is trying to kill her and she is raising an army against him.

Disclaimer + Notes: Bioware owns everything you recognise. Everything you don't (including the poetry) is mine. Thanks ever so much to my beta-readers lilpumpkingirl and analect for their help with spelling, style, ideas and all manner of things. They have been life savers! As always, any remaining errors are mine. Thoughts, comments and opinions (negative, positive and anything in between) are always welcome, and I do respond to each review individually.

A/N: Apologies for the very long delay in posting. Hopefully I'll be a bit better at posting, now that my academic year is over.

Chapter 16 – Vanity and Hope

Like the garland that crowns Midsummer's queen

In the depths of a drought,

Or the man who stands in the north and hoping for

A glimpse of midwinter sun

What is love but a faded dream,

Of fool girls too wealthy to be wise

Nothing but…a fool's hope.

¬ 'Fool's Hope' from Despair of Love by Jean-Jacque Deman

"This is madness. You're in no condition to go up there. None of us are," Wynne grumbled as they climbed back up the slope towards the windmill.

Elissa sighed. "If we wait, we'll just have to fight those monsters off tonight. And we'll be in the same position tomorrow."

Or worse, more likely. Two knights and five more villagers had died in the attack.

Regardless, she knew what Wynne meant. They would probably have to fight their way through the castle, but all of them were exhausted. Wynne's eyes weren't quite glowing yet, but it wouldn't take much more. Even Morrigan's eyes looked a little brighter than normal. Elissa herself was only upright because of an unnamed herb that Morrigan had given her, which had woken her right up but resulted in a strange buzzing sound in her ears.

"All right." Wynne pursed her lips. "But this is against my better judgement."

"Noted," Elissa said flatly, nodding politely to the knights they passed.

Bann Teagan cleared his throat as they all came to a stop beside the windmill. "The passage is through there."

Elissa looked dubiously at the structure, and then at the castle on the other side of the lake. "That's a very long walk."

Teagan shrugged. "It's the only way in, other than the front gates."

"And going there would be asking for trouble," Alistair said gloomily.

Teagan's gaze slid past her. "Maker's breath."

Elissa spun, her hand instinctively going to her sword hilt. She felt more than saw her companions tense.

A woman was running down the slope leading away from the castle entrance towards them. Not quite running, Elissa corrected herself as she watched the woman try not to fall off her impossibly high heels, more like toddling. As the woman neared, Elissa's jaw nearly dropped. Arlessa Isolde. Only, an Arlessa Isolde who looked nothing like her normally carefully coiffed self. Elissa's eyebrows rose at the sight of the roughly bunned brown hair. What had happened to the elaborate Orlesian hairstyles that the arlessa favoured? She gestured quickly to her companions, signalling for them to relax.

"Teagan!"

Elissa winced. That screech of hers hadn't changed, at least.

Duke growled, and bared his teeth.

Isolde was clearly out of shape as she ground to a halt beside Teagan, panting heavily. "Thank the Maker you yet live."

He stared down at her as though he didn't know what to do. "Isolde?"

"I do not have much time to explain." Isolde clutched at her brother-in-law's arm. "I slipped away from the castle as soon as I saw the battle was done, but I must return quickly. And…I need you to come with me, Teagan. Alone."

Oh no, she didn't. Elissa stepped forward sharply. "I think we will need more of an explanation than that, my lady." Possibly a little too heavy on the sarcasm there, but this was Isolde.

Isolde glanced at her, and her nose twitched. "What? I…who is this woman, Teagan?"

If she said his name one more time in that awful tone, Elissa was going to slap her. Or scream. Why was it that this woman could always drive her to forget all the manners her parents had ever taught her?

Alistair cleared his throat. "You remember me, Lady Isolde, don't you?"

Isolde stared at him for a moment, and then comprehension dawned in her eyes. It was quickly followed by fury and disgust. "Alistair! Of all th— What are you doing here? I told you-"

Elissa's anger flared and her voice cracked like a whip. "Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?"

"And who do you think you are?" Isolde whirled on her. "Some strumpet following this bastard around?"

Elissa's smile was like honeyed ice. "I'm hurt to think you've forgotten me so quickly. After all those lovely afternoons in the palace together." They had been torture. Elissa would almost have preferred to have been water-boarded.

Isolde looked confused, but slightly wary.

Teagan sighed. "Surely you recognise Lady Elissa?"

"Wh-" Isolde almost visibly scrambled to regain her wits and dropped into a curtsey. "-Lady Elissa." Despite her polite words, the arlessa's gaze was scathing as it swept over Elissa's armour and dark red hair.

Elissa took great delight in inclining her head the bare minimum that courtesy required from a teyrna to an arlessa, and wondered if she'd object. "Lady Isolde."

Isolde's back stiffened but she smiled politely. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were going to be…visiting us."

Apparently she wouldn't. "It was a last minute decision. I thought I'd come and see where Alistair grew up." Elissa smiled sweetly. Then her eyes flashed. "We will be having a long conversation about the way-"

"Perhaps now is not the time for this?" Wynne eyed them both disapprovingly.

Elissa felt her cheeks warm. Damn it. She'd gotten distracted. "Yes, of course."

Alistair hurried on before anyone else could say anything. "Please, Lady Isolde. We had no idea anyone was even alive inside the castle. We must have some answers."

Isolde turned towards him, relaxing slightly as she made her way back onto socially steadier ground. "I know you need more of an explanation but I…don't know what is safe to tell." She pawed at Teagan's arm again. "Teagan, there is a terrible evil in the castle. The dead waken and hunt the living. The mage responsible was caught, but still it continues…and I think Connor is going mad." Her bottom lip trembled, as though she was about to cry. "We have survived, but he won't flee the castle. He has seen so much death. You must help him, Teagan. You're his uncle. You can reason with him. I do not know what else to do!"

Almost despite herself, Elissa felt a twinge of sympathy for the woman. Her husband ill, her arling in chaos and now some form of evil in the castle itself. It would take a stronger woman than Arlessa Isolde to be undaunted. Nonetheless... "Why must Teagan go alone?"

"For Connor's sake, I promised I would return quickly, and only with Teagan." She glanced nervously up at the castle.

Teagan frowned. "Promised? Whom did you promise?"

"Something the mage unleashed. It…speaks through Connor, sometimes. So far it allows Eamon, Connor and myself to live." Her bottom lip trembled again. "The others…were not so fortunate. It's killed so many and turned their bodies into walking nightmares." She shuddered. "Once it was done with the castle, it struck the village! It wants us to live, but I do not know why. It allowed me to come for you Teagan, because I begged, because I said Connor needed help."

Elissa broke in again. "Tell me about this mage you mentioned." It seemed like magic was at the root of all their problems lately.

The other woman's expression darkened. "He is an…infiltrator, I think – one of the castle staff. We discovered he was poisoning my husband. That's why Eamon fell ill."

Poison? That had been what that elf had been hired to watch for then. To update Howe, maybe even Loghain, on how the 'illness' was progressing.

"Eamon was poisoned?" Teagan croaked, looking as though he'd been punched in the stomach.

"He claims an agent of Teyrn Loghain hired him. But he might be lying. I do not know."

"If a mage was responsible," Morrigan drawled, "then no doubt tis a demon behind all this."

The question remained however, whether Loghain had ordered this done as well? Had he fallen so far as to blindly order the wholesale slaughter of Redcliffe?

Isolde's eyes widened. "Oh Maker's mercy! Could it really be a demon?" She tugged desperately on Teagan's arm. "I can't let it hurt my Connor. Please come back with me Teagan. Please!"

He nodded slowly. "The king is dead, and we need my brother now more than ever. I will return to the castle with you, Isolde."

Isolde slumped in relief. "Oh, thank the Maker. Bless you, Teagan. Bless you!"

Elissa reached out and caught his sleeve. "This is a mistake. You're going to get yourself killed."

His smile was sad. "I cannot let Isolde return alone. Perhaps I can help Eamon or Connor. Perhaps this is really a trap, but this is my family. I must try." He took a breath. "I have no illusions of dealing with this evil alone. You, on the other hand, have proven quite formidable." He glanced at his sister-in-law. "Isolde, can you excuse us for a moment? We need to confer in private before I return to the castle with you."

"All right. I will be waiting by the bridge. Please hurry."

The arlessa shot Elissa a dirty look before hurrying off.

"Here's what I propose: I go in with Isolde, and you enter the castle through the secret passage." Teagan tugged a heavy gold ring off his right hand and held it out to her. "My signet ring unlocks the door. Perhaps I will…distract whatever is inside, and give you a better chance at getting in undetected."

"I can't let you do this," Elissa insisted. "This is insane. You're going to go in alone to a castle controlled by some sort of demon with enough power to raise hundreds of corpses? We won't even have time to get through that tunnel before you'll be dead."

"What choice do either of us have? If your business with Eamon is important, you're going to have to go inside to find him."

Alistair cleared his throat. "He's right. Without Arl Eamon, we'll never get the support we need."

"And then we're going into this same castle, over-run with undead, and trying to clear them out?" Elissa shook her head, already knowing she was going to agree.

"Just like the Circle of Magi," Alistair quipped.

"Perfect." She sighed. She took the ring from his hand and stared down at it grimly, thinking of the two signet rings already hanging around her neck.

"Ser Perth and his men will watch for danger at the castle gate," Teagan promised, glancing past her towards the knight. "If you can open the gate from within, they can come in and help you. Right?"

"Yes, my lord," the knight agreed.

Teagan turned back towards Elissa. "Whatever you do, Eamon is the priority here. If you have to, just get him out of there. Isolde, me, and anyone else, we're expendable."

Elissa nodded. "Of course. But I'll do my best to get everyone out."

Teagan smiled. "The Maker smiled on me indeed when he sent you to Redcliffe." His expression sobered. "But I can delay no longer. I must depart. Allow me to bid you farewell…and good luck." He clapped Alistair on the back, nodded to the others and then offered her a brief bow. "My lady."

Elissa watched as the two disappeared up the hill, and then glanced at the sun. It was several hours after dawn by now, they would need to get a move on if they hoped to deal with this today. "Right, let's go."

She led the way to the windmill door. It opened easily enough, although with a creak. The inside was kept tidily, and it didn't take Leliana very long to spot the trapdoor leading down. A few moments later they were descending into a pitch-black tunnel. The musty smell of stale air swept up past them and into the windmill itself. Somewhere in the distance, Elissa could hear the drip of water against stone.

A moment later a soft purple-lit glow spread out around them, lighting up the tunnel ahead.

Elissa glanced back. "Thanks, Morrigan."

The witch sneered audibly. "It's a damp tunnel. There might be frogs. I didn't want to put up with Alistair's shrieks if he fell over one…again."

Elissa smothered a grin.

It took Alistair a moment. "Hey! That wasn't very nice."

"And your point is?" Morrigan asked mockingly.

As their conversation degenerated further, Zevran slipped up beside Elissa. "I take it you don't like the arlessa very much."

Elissa laughed dryly. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"I'm a very observant person." He winked.

Leilana stepped between them. "It's more than just the way she treated Alistair though, isn't it?"

"We've never gotten along," Elissa said flatly. "She…disagreed with my father teaching me to fight."

"Perhaps it was not a bad thing, that she couldn't fight." Leilana tapped her lip with her index finger. "I dare say a demon would be less willing to let her live if she was a threat."

Elissa shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that she's shallow, arrogant, and hates me because I never had the time for her and won't play along with her inane conversations." She paused. "And she's obsessed with clothes."

"Hey!" Leliana protested.

"No, I'm serious. Today was the first time I've seen her without her hair perfectly coiffed and at least fifty golds worth of jewellery. And she never ever wears trousers. Says it's not right for a noblewoman."

"And that's why you hate her?" Alistair joined the conversation.

Elissa scowled. "No. I like dresses and jewellery as much as the next girl. I hate her because she tried to convince my parents I shouldn't be allowed to wear trousers ever."

Wynne cleared her throat. "Hate is a very strong word to use, my dear."

"I'm feeling in a very strong mood," Elissa muttered.

Zevran grinned. "You really don't like her, do you? If she survives this, I could…get rid of her…" he trailed off.

Elissa shot him a glare. "Thank you, but no. I'm not into assassinating people."

"It is such a neat way of disposing of loose ends though." Zevran laughed. "Perhaps I will have changed your mind by the time all this is done, no?"

Elissa just shook her head with a sigh.

It felt like they were walking forever but Elissa had no idea how much time had passed when they finally arrived at a set of stone-hewn stairs leading to a wooden door at the end of the tunnel. After a quick glance around, Elissa shoved the door open and sprang through, ready for an attack.

There was no-one in sight, alive or dead. She let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. A long line of cells was carved into the rock on either side of the corridor, with heavy metal bars at the entrance to each. The dim light from two torches danced shadows into the cells, and for a moment Elissa thought she saw gleaming eyes peering out of the nearest one. A moment later the light moved, and the cell was empty.

"Oh." Wynne sighed. "I hate these places. At least this one doesn't look very much used."

"We don't make habit of imprisoning people for the fun of it," Elissa said indignantly.

"You might not, but others do." Zevran grinned. "At any rate, escape tunnels make such very handy entrance tunnels, don't you think?"

"Only for people who have to break in," Alistair retorted.

"Shush," Elissa ordered.

There were a few moments of silence, and then Alistair peered into one of the cells. "I locked myself in a cage once, when I was a child. For an entire day. Ah. Good times."

Wynne looked horrified. "And no-one noticed?"

"Well, no." He shrugged half-heartedly. "I didn't have any lessons that day."

Elissa gritted her teeth.

"Ooh." Zevran was up ahead. "Look what we have here. A mage."

Elissa quickened her steps to catch up with him where he stood by the final cell. A man in torn mage robes was crumpled in the corner, his skin marked by blood, bruises and dirt. He had been tortured.

"Oh, you poor thing," Leilana breathed.

Slowly, the man's head lifted revealing brown eyes that couldn't quite focus. "No...Please...don't. Please...I don't know anything," he rasped, staring over Elissa's right shoulder.

Wynne gasped. "Jowan?"

The mage squinted slightly, although his eyes remained out of focus. "Wynne? Is that you?" He shuffled forward slightly, revealing distended hands that looked like every joint was broken.

"Who did this to you?" Alistair demanded.

"Wh-The guards." Jowan shuffled a little closer. "Y-you don't look like the arlessa's guards."

Elissa felt sick. She knew torture was often used as an interrogation tool, but her father had rarely used it and she hadn't thought to find it in Arl Eamon's castle. "No. I'm not," she said gently. "I'm from outside the castle. I came to see what was happening here in Redcliffe."

"Let me heal him," Wynne said abruptly.

"Wasn't it you who said we are all too tired for this little trip? And now you want to waste your strength?" Morrigan sneered.

Wynne gave her a disgusted look. Then she turned back to Elissa. "Please?"

Elissa nodded silently. "Using magic won't alert the demon, right?"

"I can shield from it." Wynne was already moving, her hands glowing a soft blue. It was several long and tense moments before she sat back on her heels. "There, I've done what I can."

"Thank you." Jowan gingerly pushed himself up right. "I, uh, know that I don't deserve your kindness." The bruises were still there, but he was moving more easily and his hands were straight again.

Wynne pressed her lips together. "Blood mage or not, I could hardly leave you like that."

A blood mage? Elissa stiffened, and silently reinforced the walls in her mind.

Morrigan snorted. "You? A blood mage? I would never have guessed."

"How did you end up here?" Wynne demanded. "I thought you…dead. Hunted down by the Templars."

Jowan looked rueful. "I guess you might have been told that. I was in hiding when the Templars caught me."

"The Templars put you in here?" Elissa eyed him incredulously. The penalty for blood magic was death, wasn't it? Not imprisonment and torture!

"No. When I was caught, I was taken to Denerim to await execution. But Teyrn Loghain came to see me. I was told Arl Eamon was a threat to Fereldan, that if I dealt with them, Loghain would settle things with the Circle. He sent me to teach her son, Connor." Jowan looked at them pleadingly. "He said I could make up for my crime. He said I would be helping my country."

"You were the one who poisoned the arl?" Elissa scowled. "And summoned the undead?"

"No!" he exclaimed. "I mean, I did poison the arl. But I was already locked up by the time the creatures came to life and all the killing started. At first, Lady Isolde came down here with her men to demand I undo what I did. I thought she was talking about poisoning the Arl. That was the first I heard about the walking corpses. She thought I'd summoned a demon to torment and destroy her family and Redcliffe.

"And yet she seemed so surprised when we suggested it might be a demon," Morrigan muttered.

"Yes, well, Isolde isn't exactly known for her intelligence," Elissa said dryly.

"She…had me tortured." Jowan glanced down. "There was nothing I could do or say that would appease her. So they…left me to rot."

"When did Loghain send you here?"

"Two months ago."

Before Cailan died then. Maybe even before Castle Cousland was attacked. Had Loghain and Howe been planning this all from the start? Had Loghain arranged for her parents deaths as well? She'd thought he'd simply acted after the fact in making Howe Teyrn, but now…

Alistair frowned. "But why did the arlessa need a mage to tutor her son?"

"Connor had started showing…signs." Jowan explained. "Lady Isolde was terrified the Circle would take him away for training."

"Connor? A mage?" Alistair shook his head. "I can hardly believe it."

"She sought an apostate to teach her son in secret so he could learn to hide his magic. The arl never knew what she did."

Elissa pressed her lips together. So much for the pious, perfect Isolde.

Wynne's eyes narrowed. "How much magic did you teach Connor? Enough for him to summon a demon?"

"No," Jowan protested. "He's still a child, he can barely cast a minor spell, let alone something powerful. But he could have done something accidentally."

Wynne sighed. "And with the Veil to the Fade torn, spirits and demons could come through. Powerful ones could kill and create those walking corpses."

Leliana leaned forward. "You said the arl had no idea?"

"No. She was adamant he never find out. If he did, she said he would do the right thing, even if it meant losing their son. And that infuriated her. I-I never meant for it to end like this. I swear. Let me help you fix this."

Elissa raised her eyebrows, glancing at his injuries. Even with Wynne's healing, he would be a liability.

"Well, I say this boy could be of some use to us." Morrigan tilted her head.

Wynne cleared her throat. "He is dangerous, my dear. If not to others, then surely to himself."

"And does it not suit our purposes for him to be dangerous to others?" Morrigan demanded with a glare. "And you betray your own kind with such words, old woman!"

Wynne's lips thinned. "Humanity is my kind. To play with forces beyond one's control is to invite disaster, no matter one's intentions."

Leilana stepped forward. "He wishes to redeem himself…doesn't everyone deserve that chance?"

Morrigan sneered. "Like yourself, you mean?"

"Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves in the Maker's eyes." Leliana gestured. "This man no less than any."

"Jowan has good intentions," Wynne said slowly. "But…a blood mage? I-I find it difficult to trust his words."

Elissa held up a hand to stop the debate. "I'm sorry, Jowan. I can't. We will have to fight our way through the castle, and you would only slow us down. " And you are a blood mage, she didn't say out loud. I can't trust you. Even if you don't look like you could ever be a threat to anyone.

"I understand," he said quietly.

"Then let him go," Morrigan urged. "Why keep him prisoner here?"

"Hey, hey!" Alistair objected. "Let's not forget he's a blood mage. You can't just let him go free."

Morrigan's eyes narrowed. "Better to slay him? To punish him for his choices? Is this Alistair who speaks? Or the Templar?"

"I'd say it is common sense," he retorted. "We don't even know the whole story yet."

Elissa shook her head slowly, her sense of duty warring with her conscience. "I'm sorry. It isn't my place to release you from an imprisonment ordered by the Arlessa."

"You condone this torture?" Wynne's expression was one of utter outrage.

"No. But on his land, Arl Eamon is the ultimate authority. And in his absence, Isolde. I can't interfere with that."

Leliana frowned, as though trying to figure out a puzzle. "You didn't mind stepping on the Chantry's toes at the Tower."

"We had to defeat the Blight. It was our duty-" Elissa began.

Morrigan threw her hands up. "Duty. Duty. It's always about duty with you, isn't it?"

Elissa had had enough. "I'm a Cousland. Of course it's about duty. It's how I was brought up." She turned back to the prisoner. "I'm sorry, Jowan." But she would talk to Isolde about the torture. Her lip twisted. Who was she fooling? It would not be nearly so polite as a 'talk'. Teagan would never let this continue, and he seemed to have some influence with his sister-in-law.

"I understand, my lady." Jowan swallowed. He backed away from the grating to sit against the back wall.

"Let's move," she ordered.

Wynne tossed her a dirty look as she stormed past, Leliana talking very quickly beside her. Morrigan was equally pissed, although for largely different reasons. Alistair looked torn, but then followed them. Elissa hesitated, and then closed her hand around the dagger at her waist. She tossed it through the bars. "If they come for you…"

Without waiting for his response she hurried on.

Zevran paced besides her. "What precisely do you intend for him to do with that?"

"Good question," she muttered. Had she given it for him to commit suicide? To fight them off? What she even been thinking? Giving him any sort of weapon was breaching all sorts of rules governing the authority of an arl, or teyrn, on their land, never mind the fact he was a blood mage. If Eamon, or even Isolde found out, there would be hell to pay. She didn't even have the power of Highever behind her anymore. Maker damn it. Yet, torture? There were other ways, weren't there? Particularly since this Jowan appeared willing enough to talk…

There were several minutes of muffled silence, and then a startled shriek up ahead drew Elissa's attention. Four dead corpses had just lurched around the corner. Thankful she'd not put away either her shield or sword, Elissa broke into a sprint. Alistair beat her to them and began hacking away as the first burst of ice exploded from Morrigan's hands. Four monsters posed little threat to the six of them however, so it was only a matter of time before it was over.

"Right, so now we know for sure the monsters are still lurking in the castle," Elissa said grimly.

Duke growled softly.

Alistair scowled at the floor. "Oh goody."

Elissa glanced around the corner and at the door at the end of the long stone corridor. "That goes upstairs, I assume?" The ache at the back of her mind that she was slowly getting used to had started again. The First Enchanter had said that she was feeling magic being cast, like a mage did. That when the blood mages had opened up her mind as a child, they'd somehow made her more sensitive to knowing when magic in general was being used, not just blood magic. That meant the demon, or Connor, was working magic somewhere in the castle.

He nodded.

Elissa pursed her lips. "Right. Let's go hunt a demon then."

"Did you really have to say that?" Alistair gasped out as he cast his fifth Holy Strike in ten minutes.

"I didn't mean these demons," Elissa retorted. She whipped around to parry a strike, and then jammed her elbow back into the face of a shade that had crept up behind her. Their passage through the ground floor of the castle to the main courtyard had not only unearthed dozens, if not hundreds, of corpses, but a large smattering of demons. Even here, out in the open, the air was heavy with the stench of decay and blood, both human and otherwise.

Alistair's heavy breathing rasped through his helmet. "Yes. Well. When we get a chance, I'm teaching you some Templar tricks. We're running into demons way too often."

Elissa spun and shoved her sword into the nearest corpse, trying desperately to ignore the sweat trickling down the back of her neck and the burn of the muscles in her arms and legs. Her stomach muscles weren't faring much better either. "Good idea."

Alistair's gaze went over her shoulder and he swore. "A revenant."

Elissa whipped around to see the heavily armoured corpse heading towards them, and felt like swearing herself. "Any suggestions?"

He nodded towards the gate. "The lever there will lift the portcullis. The bann said Ser Perth would wait for us outside."

"Right. Leliana!"

The woman spun. "I heard."

"Duke, keep the other corpses and demons off my back. Alistair, use that crossbow." It was time for her to play bait. Ignoring her companion's protests, Elissa broke into a run. Her boots clanged against the stone as she moved, intentionally making enough noise to draw the demon's attention, and hopefully hold it. As long as it was chasing her, it wouldn't be attacking the others. Distantly she heard the slow creak of the portcullis, the blast of a horn and then the shouts of knights.

"For the arl!" someone cried.

An arrow skidded off her armour, and then Zevran darted up the stairs to deal with the archers. A streak of stone rushed past her, and the revenant stumbled back a step. Elissa closed the distance between them quickly, hoping to take advantage of its momentary weakness. Despite her speed, it had recovered by the time she reached it, and she could almost feel her energy being drained from her as it used its own magic. Gritting her teeth, she raised her blade and swung in. The drain halted as the corpse was forced to dodge. Duke leaped past her with a roar, and on the far side a knight appeared, hacking away at the creature.

When at last the courtyard was clear, Alistair looked up at her. "Or we could simply not get ourselves into situations where we find them?"

It took her a moment to place the conversation, and then she snorted. "Somehow, I don't think that is going to happen."

"Neither do I." He sighed.

"Is everyone all right?" Elissa glanced around at her companions. Both mages' eyes were still glowing that eerie blue that made Elissa uncomfortable, but no-one had any obvious injuries. Considering that Wynne had been healing them constantly, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. But even magical healing could do only so much, and her entire body was aching. At least she had not died, unlike the two knights who lay dead near the revenant, victims of its life-draining magic.

Ser Perth cleared his throat. "Shall we enter the Main Hall together, my lady? It must be held if we are to regain control of the castle."

Elissa looked up at the heavy doors. "I suppose so. But you should let us go first. In case there are demons."

"Of course, my lady."

They climbed the stone stairs, and then two of the knights pushed open the doors. The back of her head tingled. Magic was being worked.

The hall was just as she recalled from all those years ago, with intricate carvings clearly chosen to Orlesian tastes. The only change was who stood up on the dais at the far end. A cringing Isolde stood beside a young boy Elissa didn't know, but could guess was her son. Several guards stood impassively nearby, and all were watching Teagan doing backflips in front of the dais.

Elissa cringed. The bann was clearly being controlled by something. The demon, most likely, although she couldn't see it anywhere. Somewhere deep in her mind, a corner she quickly crushed, a voice noted that Teagan was in very good shape for a man of his age whose main duties involved sitting down.

Still, she couldn't let this go on. They were wasting time.

"Enough." Elissa tightened her grip on her sword and strode forward.

The boy looked up, his face twisting. "So these are our visitors?" The voice issuing from his mouth didn't sound like a child's voice. There was something…more to it. "The ones you told me about, mother?"

So it was Connor. It had been four years since she last saw him, and there was a big difference between a four-year-old and an eight-year-old.

"Y-yes, Connor." Isolde's shoulders seemed to slump even further. She looked like a broken woman, and Elissa couldn't help the twinge of pity of her heart.

"And this is the one who killed my soldiers. The ones I sent to reclaim my village?"

Elissa stilled. Connor was responsible for all this? He'd raised the corpses deliberately? So much for him not knowing very much magic!

"And now it's staring at me," he complained. "What is it, Mother? I can't see it well enough."

Elissa blinked. She was standing maybe five feet away from him, and he couldn't see her? That didn't make sense.

Isolde winced. "This…this is a woman, Connor. J-just as I am."

"You lie!" Connor snapped. "This woman is nothing at all like you. Why, just look at you. Half your age and pretty as well. I'm surprised you don't order her executed in a fit of jealousy."

It was Elissa's turn to cringe. Isolde would not take that well.

To her surprise, Isolde didn't grow angry. "Please Connor. I beg you. Don't hurt anyone!"

There was a shift in the boy's face, a sudden innocence and youth where there had been hard edges and anger. "M-mother? What's happening? Where am I?" His voice was child-like now, the voice she would have expected him to have.

"Oh, thank the Maker!" The relief on Isolde's face was almost painful as she dropped to her knees. "Connor! Connor, can you hear me?"

Connor's face twisted again, and he shoved her backwards. "Get away from me, fool woman! You are beginning to bore me."

Elissa caught her breath sharply.

"Maker's breath!" Ser Perth blurted out. "What has happened here?"

"Tis rather obvious, is it not?" Morrigan drawled. "The boy has become an abomination. He is the source of all your problems."

Elissa wanted to groan. This was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She flexed her gauntleted hand around her sword hilt, resisting the urge to simply attack the demon. If she killed the demon now, it wasn't a faceless mage who would die too, but Connor, the heir of Redcliffe.

"No! Don't say that!" Isolde whirled. "Grey Warden…Lady Elissa…please don't hurt my son! Connor didn't mean to do this. It was that mage, the one who poisoned Eamon – he started all this! He summoned this demon. Connor was just trying to help his father!"

"And made a deal with the demon to do so." Morrigan snorted. "Foolish child!"

"It was a fair deal," Connor retorted. "Father is alive, just as I wanted. Now it is my turn to sit on the throne and send out armies to conquer the world. Nobody tells me what to do anymore!"

"Is that Connor talking? Or the demon?" Elissa demanded, ignoring Teagan's cackling. He spoke of 'Father', not 'his father', and yet, she remembered a tiny boy-child, shy and quiet as he half-hid in his mother's skirts. Not a young boy who dreamed of taking over the world!

Connor threw back his head and laughed. "What difference does it make?" His eyes flashed as he turned to the side. "Quiet uncle! I warned you what would happen if you kept shouting, didn't I?" His hand clenched and Teagan screamed.

Elissa started, barely refraining from charging forward.

Connor's smile was cruel. "Yes, I did. But let's keep things civil. This woman will have the audience she came here for." He turned. "Tell us woman – what have you come here for?"

Elissa took a deep breath. Until they knew more, she would need to step carefully. "I came to see Arl Eamon."

"A concerned well-wisher, then?" Connor raised an eyebrow. The expression didn't fit on the youthful face, and Elissa suppressed a shudder. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? All this killing and fighting is so unnecessary. But Father is so very ill. We shouldn't disturb him. Right, Mother?"

Isolde gulped. "I-I…don't think…"

"Of course you don't." Connor snarled. "Ever since you sent the knights away, you've done nothing but spoil my fun. Frankly, it's getting rather dull. I crave excitement. And action!" He gestured viciously. "This woman spoiled my sport by saving that stupid village, and now she'll repay me!"

Elissa barely had time to register the shout before the guards around the room were moving. Duke lunged past her, barrelling into the chest of the nearest guard. As the pair hit the ground in a clatter of metal against stone, Elissa brought her sword up to block a downward strike from a second guard. Another's mace whipped towards her and she leaped to avoid it. Alistair was suddenly there beside her, his long-sword forcing back the mace-wielding giant.

Her own opponent's blade whistled through the air in a wide sweep. She parried, and stepped back lightly. He was well trained, and it was as though they were dancing, only with a far more lethal outcome than any dance she'd perform in court. Her muscles screamed as he brought his heavier weight to bear. There was a flare of magic just behind her, and his muscles weakened for a moment, as though he were dazed. Taking advantage of his distraction, she darted under his guard and slid her blade up through flesh and bone.

She pulled away and spun to look for her next target. Her eyes widened as she spotted Bann Teagan, his blade slashing at an already bleeding Duke. With a cry, she threw herself into the battle. Even as she met each blow, quickly pulling away to strike in again, her thoughts were whirling. This was one opponent who had to survive their battle. If he didn't, who knew what their chances of winning Redcliffe's support would be?

She stepped to the side and whipped her blade around, aiming for Teagan's wrist. If she could bring enough force to bear, maybe she could snap his wrist and put him out of the fight without actually killing him. But he shifted, and her swing missed. She pulled back hurriedly, steadying herself and studying her opponent. He swung wide, and she saw her opportunity. Moving in close, she rammed her shield into his face and brought her blade down heavily on his helmeted head. He reeled for a moment, and then crumpled to the floor. His sword hit the ground with a loud clang, and she kicked it away.

As she stepped back, her breathing was loud but it was the only sound in the hall. Her upper arm throbbed and she could feel liquid dripping against her skin. A quick look around told her that the guards were all dead, or at least defeated. The smell of foul demon and corruption lingered, despite the fact that Connor was nowhere to be seen. Isolde cringed in a corner.

The now familiar hum of Wynne's healing magic filled the air again. Elissa glanced at her companions, wincing as she saw the deep cut on Leliana's arm and the heavy blood matting Duke's fur. Her own ankle felt strange, but it held when she put her weight onto it.

There was a groan at her feet. Elissa tensed, waiting to see if the bann would try to fight her again.

Isolde rushed past her. "Teagan! Teagan! Are you all right?"

Another groan escaped the man's lips, and then his eyes slowly opened. They were clear, and he made no move to grasp his sword.

Elissa smothered a sigh of relief and let her muscles relax. "How are you feeling, my lord?"

"Like someone hit me over the head," he said dryly.

Elissa's smile felt half-hearted. "Forgive me, my lord."

He was about to respond, when Isolde interrupted him. "Blessed Andraste! I would never have forgiven myself if you died after I brought you here. What a fool I am."

Elissa felt her anger flare. "Yes. Considering you brought his lordship here without even warning him what he might face!" Her eyes narrowed as Isolde's face went white. "Tell me, did you-" She swallowed the rest of her words to keep her from continuing the statement. Then she took a breath. "Why didn't you tell us about Connor? About all of this?"

She hung her head. "I didn't tell you because I believed we could save him. I still do."

"You thought we could save him if we didn't know what was wrong with him?" Elissa demanded. Then she shook her head. There were more important things to think about. "Where is Connor now? Why did he run?"

"I think I saw him run upstairs," Teagan said. "Towards the family quarters."

"He's…scared of violence." Isolde twisted her hands together. "I know it sounds strange. He may have run up to his room, or…"

"Or he is waiting in ambush," Zevran drawled.

Isolde looked pained. "I don't know. The fighting may have…scared Connor into coming out again, and so he ran. He is not always the demon you saw." Isolde turned begging eyes on Elissa. "Connor is still inside him, and sometimes, he breaks through. Please, I just want to protect him."

Teagan climbed to his feet and glared at his sister-in-law. "Isn't that what started this whole thing? You hired a mage to teach Connor in secret…to protect him."

Isolde flinched. "If they discovered Connor had magic, they'd take him away. I thought if he learnt just enough magic to hide it…"

"Better taken away than possessed…or dead," Teagan said harshly.

"Do you realise what you've done?" Elissa snapped. "You're responsible for the deaths of dozens of your people. Their blood is on your hands because you weren't willing-"

"Enough." Teagan raised a hand. "This gets us nowhere, Lady Elissa."

Elissa gritted her teeth, struggling to rein her anger back in.

He took a deep breath, visibly bracing himself. "If Connor has come out, he may be vulnerable now?"

Isolde's eyes filled with tears. "I…perhaps…Is there no other way?" she asked desperately. "Last time, Connor was himself again for a day. We have time to look for another solution, don't we?"

"Wait," Alistair said suddenly. "You're saying he's up in the family quarters? Is that where Arl Eamon is?"

"Yes." Isolde nodded. "He's upstairs, in his room. I think the demon is keeping him alive."

Horror washed over Teagan's face. "So you're saying, if we destroy the demon, then…"

"My husband may perish, yes…" Her voice cracked.

Elissa's heart ached in sympathy almost despite herself. Resolutely, she pushed her anger and sympathy aside and turned to her companions. "Do we have other options to get rid of the demon? Beyond just killing Connor?" Her voice was tight.

"We can't kill a young boy, demon or no demon." Leliana's red braid whipped from side to side as she shook her head. "Please don't say we are considering that!"

Elissa glanced at Wynne. The two mages would be most likely to know of alternatives.

"I do not like the thought of slaying the young boy," Wynne admitted. "Demon or not. But I don't know any other way, unless you can convince the demon to abandon the child."

"Could we?" Hope filled Isolde's expression.

"Fool woman." Morrigan snorted. "Tis a pride demon, I suspect. It would never abandon its host. The only way to be rid of the demon is to kill the boy."

Isolde flinched.

"I wouldn't normally suggest slaying a child," Alistair said slowly. "But…he's an abomination. I'm not sure there is any choice."

Teagan nodded. "Connor is my nephew…but he is also possessed by a demon. Death would be…" He hesitated, and then pressed on. "…merciful."

"No!" Isolde exclaimed, looking between their grim faces. "What…what about the mage? He could know something of this demon. If he lives, we could still speak to him."

Elissa hesitated. "He's down in the dungeon, still alive." Maybe. If he hasn't run yet.

"We should bring the mage here, immediately. I…I do not know how much we can trust him, but we must find out what he knows." The arlessa turned to her brother-in-law. "Teagan, can you bring him here?"

An expression of distaste touched his features. "He poisoned my brother. But I…will try, though if he resists I will not hesitate to kill him. I will return shortly."

"You should not travel alone through the castle, my lord." Elissa glanced around. "Leliana, will you accompany him?"

The other woman nodded. "Of course."

"Duke, go with them as well." Elissa nudged her mabari.

The hound gazed at her with a pathetic expression for a long moment.

"You'll come right back to me afterwards," Elissa promised him.

He growled softly, but obediently bounded away to follow the two humans disappearing out the door.

Elissa turned back to her other companions. "Alistair and Morrigan, if you could go and watch the door leading up to the family apartments?" Between the Templar and the mage, they should be able to feel the demon's presence if it tried to come back downstairs. "And try not to fight."

Alistair looked vaguely guilty as he turned away to follow Morrigan into the adjoining room.

Wynne rose from the last of the guards wearily. "They will all survive, I think."

"You look like you're about to fall over," Elissa observed. All of them were tired after a night and a day of near constant fighting with only infrequent lulls and assorted potions to keep them on their feet, but Wynne looked terrible even by comparison.

The old mage smiled wanly. "Healing is one of the more complex magics. It is easier for me than for others, but even so, it is very tiring." She fumbled for a flask and drained it. The change was visible as she straightened her shoulders, the weariness disappearing. But the glow in her already shining eyes intensified.

"Is that safe?" Elissa demanded, recalling their conversation about addiction. The last thing they needed was a mage addicted to lyrium.

"I know my limits, young one," Wynne said tartly.

Elissa shot her a sidelong glance. "All right, then."

"And you, my mistress?" Zevran appeared by her shoulder.

She started. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are," he drawled. "Hence you are favouring your left leg. And your right arm."

Elissa winced. She'd almost managed to forget about that. "It's nothing."

Wynne made a tutting noise and crossed to her side. Blessed relief flooded the injured ankle, and the pain faded away. More coolness touched Elissa's arm, and the throbbing died down there.

"Warrior you may be, but it does none of us any good if you get yourself killed because you won't look for help. The wound on your arm is deep. I can do little until you remove your armour. I know you better than to think you'll allow me to see it now, so I'll look for you tonight." Her tone was warning.

"That's not-" Elissa began a protest, and then sighed. "Thank you, Wynne."

There was a small commotion near the main doors. Leliana entered, supporting a stumbling Jowan beside her. The knife Elissa had given him was nowhere in sight. Teagan was next, keeping a wary eye on the mage but with a thunderous expression. Duke brought up the rear, growling disapprovingly.

"You're lucky to be alive Jowan, after all you've done." Isolde spat.

Elissa's eyes flashed as all her previous anger flared up. "No thanks to you."

It took a beat for the Orlesian to understand her. "I only did what I had to."

Teagan glanced at the still visible injuries. "But torture, Isolde?"

Jowan flinched.

Isolde stood her ground. "We needed information, Teagan. Eamon was ill, the knights were gone to search for a cure, you were in Denerim…there was no other way for me to find out what I needed to know!"

Leliana cleared her throat. "Perhaps we could discuss the moralities of torture another time? When we don't have a demon in the castle about to kill us?"

"The demon in Connor needs to be destroyed," Jowan said slowly. "Killing Connor is…the easiest way to that, certainly…But there is another way. A mage could confront the demon in the fade, without hurting Connor himself."

Out of the corner of her eye, Elissa saw Wynne frown.

"What do you mean?" Isolde demanded. "Is the demon not within Connor?"

Jowan shook his head. "Not physically. The demon approached Connor in the Fade while he dreamt, and controls him from there. We can use the connection between them to find the demon."

"That method has never been proven," Wynne said sharply. "It is only a theory."

"I found a document." Jowan twisted his hands together. "A record of it being done successfully."

Wynne frowned again.

Isolde's bottom lip trembled. "You can enter the Fade then? And kill the demon without hurting my boy?"

"No." Jowan swallowed and eyed Wynne warily. "But I can enable another mage to do so. It would normally take lyrium and several mages, but I have…blood magic."

Elissa stiffened, horror filling her. "No," she snapped. "Blood magic is forbidden. It is not an option."

"No, no. If there is a way, I must know it," Isolde begged. "Please, Jowan. Tell us what you mean."

"Normally, lyrium provides the power for the ritual. But I can take that power from someone's life energy. This ritual requires a lot of it, however. All of it, in fact." He looked away.

"So…someone must die? Someone must be sacrificed?" Teagan asked.

"Yes, and then we send another mage into the Fade." Jowan glanced at Morrigan and Wynne. "I can't enter because I'm doing the ritual." He hesitated. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything…it's not much of an option…"

"No, it's not an option at all," Elissa said flatly.

Jowan bowed his head. "I understand…I just-"

"I disagree," Isolde interrupted. "I think we should do it. Let it be my blood. I will be the sacrifice."

"What?" Teagan demanded. "Isolde, are you mad? Eamon would never allow it."

Isolde opened her hands. "Either someone kills my son to destroy that thing inside him, or I give my life so my son can live. To me, the answer is clear."

Alistair stepped forward. "Blood magic? How can more evil help? Two wrongs don't make a right!"

"I have not heard of a time when this ritual worked," Wynne murmured. "Can we trust Jowan to do as he says? Give him access to such power and who knows what he might do. I am uneasy…"

Morrigan cleared her throat. "It does seem like a sensible choice, with a willing participant." Her eyes gleamed.

Isolde looked pleadingly at Teagan. "Connor is blameless in this, Teagan. He should not have to pay the price."

The man looked at Elissa helplessly. "It…it's up to you, my lady. You know more about such things than I do, and it is your companion going into the Fade."

She shot him a suspicious glance. Did he…had he meant…

He continued on blithely. "The decision is yours."

Perhaps not. Maybe all he meant was we'd already been to the Tower. "No blood magic. There must be another way to enter the Fade."

"You can find lyrium and more mages at the Circle of Magi," Wynne said slowly. "Though, I am not sure that Irving will agree to do this. It has not been done before and the Circle does not have the resources they did before the...incident. We lost many of our mages, and most of our supplies." She grimaced.

Teagan tilted his head. "We saw smoke over the lake some weeks ago. Did something happen at the Circle?"

Wynne nodded tightly, clearly unwilling to elaborate.

Elissa pushed aside the mage's objections. "But for something like this, they would come, no?"

"It is only a day journey over the lake," Teagan suggested. "We can provide a boat to get you there. It would be a two or three day round trip."

"But what will happen here?" Isolde demanded. "Connor will not remain passive forever."

Elissa worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "Can we afford to wait that long, then?" She glanced at her companions.

Isolde stretched out her hand pleadingly. "Save my son, and you will be rewarded, that I promise. Gold, jewels, whatever you want. His life is worth more to me than anything, even my own."

Elissa's eyes widened. "How dare you?" she spluttered. "You think I want payment for trying to save Connor's life? The life you endangered?"

"She meant no offence or challenge to your honour, my lady," Teagan said quickly. "She is distraught and knows not what she says." He glared at his sister-in-law.

Isolde looked down, and then back up. "I beg your forgiveness, my lady."

Elissa clenched her jaw. "Accepted, Lady Isolde." She glanced at Teagan. "You will arrange for a boat?"

"Of course." He inclined his head. "The monsters didn't make it to destroying them."

"All right." Elissa turned to her friends. "Any volunteers to go?"

"You will need my influence there," Wynne said. "And if I go, it would be best for Alistair to accompany me. Just to be safe."

Elissa nodded. There were seven of them. So if three were to go and four to stay…"Of course. Leliana, will you go with them? Three of you should be enough." That would leave Zevran, Morrigan and Duke with her. Keeping Alistair would have been best, as he was the only one with Templar training, but Wynne was right. A mage travelling without a 'templar' would only attract attention if someone noticed it.

"Of course." Leliana smiled.

"Are you not coming?" Wynne looked surprised.

Elissa shook her head. "I must stay here."

Alistair frowned. "But the Circle owes you a debt, not the rest of us."

"They will listen to Wynne, I'm sure."

The mage nodded slowly. "Yes. Irving and Greagoir know I left with you."

"Then the best place for me is here." Elissa pressed her lips together stubbornly.

"I'll arrange for the boat." Teagan moved away briskly. "You can be away as soon as you are ready."