Clarissa stood, unmoving. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Bethany stood, looking straight through Clarissa, not a hint of emotion betrayed by her unflinching, violet eyes. They twinkled with demonic brilliance, as if daring Clarissa not to believe, to come forth and embrace that which could still be her own sister, her own lover, and to pay dearly for holding out hope.
Slowly, the arched doors behind the statue opened, sliding open without any sound whatsoever. The candlelight contained within burst forth, illuminating the courtyard with a slanted, unnatural glow. Despite the blinding light, Clarissa could not bring herself to avert her gaze, to tear her wide eyes from the woman not fifty meters away from her.
What have they done to you?
A slanted shadow, in the appearance of a man, hooded and cloaked, emerged from amongst the candlelight. From such a distance, it was all but impossible for Clarissa to make out who or what he was. But then again, with the monolithic statue towering above Bethany, she recognized him all too well.
"Isn't she beautiful?" The hooded mage said. A perverted sense of pride was evident in his tone, his gait, and everything else about him. In reality, he was not nearly as tall as the statue would have him be, merely a few inches taller than Bethany, who was in turn a few inches shorter than her older sister. As the two mages met at the base of the statue, Clarissa noticed the matching sets of clothing they wore, save for the gilded sigil of a Warden Commander on Madred's chest.
"What have you done to her?" Clarissa hissed, tone a hard-fought balance between outright disbelief and indignant hatred. She wanted to dive forward, to drive her blade clean through the treacherous Warden Commander's gleaming chest, to look him right in his blue eyes and watch his life ebb away.
But then, her gaze shifted towards Bethany once more, and her resolve melted as ice would in fire. Despite everything, she wouldn't, couldn't, lay a hand on her sister, even if it meant a blood-curdling, well-deserved revenge. And from the look in her sister's eyes, she doubted little that she would leap to her Commander's defense. She was under his spell, completely and utterly.
And if I hadn't lied, she wouldn't be.
Tears flooded her eyes as she struggled to accept the predicament before her, thrust upon her again and again. Her gaze shifted towards the ground, blinking hard, not letting that bastard of a Warden Commander savour his victory by showing him that she had been broken.
He actually helped her when he laughed, fueling her rage and turning shame into anger. "Why, I merely saved her from a life of wasted potential! And I was gentle about it too. I… 're-introduced' her to an old friend. One that has been sorely missing her. Isn't that right, Seryna?"
Her eyes furrowed at those last words.
Old friend? What-
The answer came to her by way of a telltale flash in Bethany's eyes, and a familiar voice slithering into her mind through the link she refused to relinquish.
Surely you remember us, Mortal. The voice cooed, serpent-like in its quality and filled with melodic emotion tailored to arouse and incite. It was a voice she never thought she would hear again.
A miniscule movement caught her eye. A woman had appeared behind Bethany, seemingly materializing out of nowhere. Her blood froze over as slender, purple hands slithered onto Bethany's shoulders, moving back and forth. Violet eyes of startling brilliance flared to life as the woman set her gaze upon Clarissa, a twisted smile lighting up her sculpted features.
Horror and fury coalesced in a dizzying torrent of emotions in Clarissa's mind. Here she was, frozen in place by fear and confusion, as a creature preying upon the desires of men and women alike plied her craft on her younger sister.
And she could do nothing. Nothing but watch as her sister stood motionless, taking the ministrations of the demon, the bane of her kind, in stride.
Sensing the turmoil within her, the Desire Demon's lips curled ever upwards, purple eyes twinkling with bestial, carnal delight.
You cannot escape that which plagues all of your kind, Mortal. I am merely the embodiment of that affliction and, seeing how your lovely sibling is enjoying the sensations I bestow upon her, is it such a bad thing? The Desire Demon, Seryna, cooed, nuzzling her head in the nook between Bethany's shoulders and neck, rubbing at the bare skin with a tender slowness that made Clarissa blanch, and her blood to burn anew with rampant anger.
Bethany, for her part, simply stole a glance at the purple flames tickling her skin. She smiled, almost imperceptibly, but Clarissa caught it nevertheless.
Rage, unbridled and uncontained, ran her through like a lance shot from the ground up.
Trickster! Liar! Her mind screamed at the sight of the creature laying her hands upon that which belonged to her, and her alone.
She turned to the man beside her and, seeing another demon at his side, it came together for her in an instant.
"It was you." Clarissa said, utterly devoid of doubt. The encounter in the Fade; the two particular Desire Demons and not of any other aspect; the simultaneous distraction in its realm while it seduced her sister. It all made sense.
There was not only one, but two, and they were sent with a specific purpose.
For them.
"You have no right." Clarissa said, her voice sounding low and dangerous even to herself. She drew her sword with excessive strength, the resultant ring from the blade leaving its sheath echoing across the hollow courtyard like a tolling bell. She felt the fire in her body burn brighter than ever before, and she embraced it. She wanted it to fill her, to change her, to make her unstoppable, be it demon or blood mage standing in her way.
"I have every right! By the Right of Conscription, Bethany Hawke belongs to the Grey Wardens. This is merely my way of ensuring absolute obedience. They may spurn it at first, but once they have a taste of it," Madred said, turning to the demon at his side and cupping its face with his free hand, "they find that it's not all that bad."
He looked at her then, with a gaze so chilling and piercing it made Clarissa's heart stop despite the fire in her veins. "Soon, Clarissa Hawke, you will experience what it is like to have the power of the Fade at your side, and you will grow to love it, as she did."
Clarissa ground her teeth in defiance. "Never! She will not surrender to this, this trickery without a fight."
She then redirected her words to her sister, hoping against hope that she would listen.
"The Bethany I know will not surrender to this. Not like this. Come back, my love, I beg of you." Clarissa pleaded, with mind and with voice, lowering her sword and letting the anguish colour her tone once more. The anger within her ebbed, but not entirely. She saw the demon's eyes flicker, a longing gaze penetrating its façade for a brief moment, then disappearing as the demon smiled again.
Lies, my dear Bethany, all lies. She heard the demon whisper to her, beckoning for her to stay. To defy my master would be folly, and will only end in death. Stay strong, little one. Your lover will soon see the light.
Its perverse smile, coupled with the conniving words, drove Clarissa over the edge.
"Face me, Warden Commander Aloysius Madred. Or are you too much of a coward to resort to hiding behind a helpless woman's skirts?" Clarissa challenged, seeing nothing but the indignant anger that flashed across Madred's face.
Men and their hubris. Clarissa remarked drily.
"So be it. It will be that much easier to force your submission when you're broken, beaten and exhausted." Madred said, an undercurrent of smugness catching Clarissa by surprise.
"But it will not be my doing." Madred said, sharing in the adjacent demon's delight as it snaked a hand round his waist, pulling him backwards.
Clarissa felt Mana drained from the courtyard into her sister's body, and saw it come to life as an azure fire in her hand.
Her eyes widened; her grip on her sword slackened; her anger fizzled out. Dread filled her as Bethany began to advance, the demon behind her disappearing into thin air once more.
She could not fight her.
She would not fight her.
She could not bring herself to harm her.
But she, on the other hand, could, for she was not herself.
"Hold her off. I'll take care of Madred." She heard a voice say fleetingly. She paid it no heed.
She took a step back, and another, then another as her sister continued her relentless advance. She was pit against an opponent she could not touch, could not harm, and certainly could not bear to kill. Her eyes left Bethany as she backpedalled and searched for a solution, vying for time.
Bethany did not give her that time.
A halo of fire coalesced around her, the immaterial heat only inches away from burning her, kept at bay by a flimsy barrier erected in haste. But even so, the heat was nigh on unbearable. It was cooking her alive.
It disappeared as quickly as it had come into being, winking out of existence as Clarissa's head reeled, the turn of events too quick for her to handle.
She barely brought her sword up in time to block a cleaving slash from Bethany's stave that, if connected, would crush both her helmet and her skull. Her sword arm buckled under the intense weight thrown behind the blow, and her mind spun in disbelief.
"Don't give your enemies a chance to react. Strike hard, fast, and take them by surprise before they even know they're being surprised."
She remembered these words all too well as she shoved Bethany's blade off with sheer strength. It had come from a retired guardsman back home in Lothering, when he had tutored her in the art of combat, both armed and unarmed. After every lesson, she would confer what she had learnt to Bethany, spending many an hour transmuting what were postures and styles meant for swords into moves and blows designed for staff-blades and staves.
Now, her training was being turned against her, as Bethany assaulted her with searing flames, giving her no chance to predict her movements by enveloping her in an impenetrable, fiery prison. She then closed the distance with frightening speed and rained blow after blow on Clarissa, adhering to the doctrine they had both drilled under for countless days and nights to the letter.
She had taught her well, but she didn't teach her everything she knew, such as the methods of dealing with more unconventional tactics.
With a flourish, she disengaged. Bethany charged after her, staff barred horizontally, not letting her gain distance. It was a move she had taught her, to fend against any surprise attacks made the fleeing opponent from above or below while gaining a choke-hold on the neck should he or she be backed up against a wall.
Clarissa lunged forward without warning, making Bethany step backwards, evading what seemed to be a curving slash from the ground up. Except that was only part of what Clarissa meant to do.
Halting, she looped the sword through the circular emptiness that hung between Bethany's chest and her stave, grabbing hold of the staff with her bracer hand. Had she bore a shield, the size of it would have prevented her from securing a tight hold on the staff, which was exactly what Bethany had been taught.
She allowed herself a small, triumphant grin as she pulled Bethany towards her, charging in head-first. The two combatants met halfway. Clarissa, with the advantage of momentum, took the opportunity to inflict a disorienting, but temporary injury by headbutting Bethany viciously.
At once, she saw the opening she had.
Bethany was dazed, utterly confused from the force of the blow. Her head spun, without sense of direction or stability. Had Clarissa been facing off against a regular opponent, she would have taken the initiative then and there, stabbed her sword clean through her gut and lopped her head off for good measure. Caught in the wanton rage of battle and with unnatural strength surging through her veins, she almost did just that.
But then she saw her eyes, flickering between the honey-brown she so longed after, and the symbolic hold of demonic purple taking control once more. She was fighting back. She could feel it. She could not bring herself to kill her either way.
"Don't let it win." She said simply, before disengaging and stepping back out of harm's way. She watched Bethany's downcast face closely for any sign that hinted towards Bethany regaining control.
But then, she heard a growl, low, menacing and animalistic, and she knew the fight was far from over.
Once again, Bethany pressed a relentless attack, driving herself against her defenses with unnatural tenacity. Clarissa did not remember Bethany being so keen on close combat, not when she could hammer her down with magic from afar. Something was amiss.
And she soon found out what it was.
Rather than vying for killing blows to her center mass, Bethany kept hammering at her extremities, diving from side to side in an attempt to uncover a chink in her defenses. The speed at which she moved and the endurance she exhibited frightened Clarissa to a point where she simply retreated further and further backwards, not wanting to hurt Bethany should one of her counterblows be amiss.
She didn't notice the cold, unmoving statue at her back until it was too late.
Her back hit the statue with startling force, forcing air out of her lungs. Bethany took advantage of her temporary imbalance and charged forward, staff gathering momentum behind her for a killing, or at least maiming, blow.
Clarissa raised her bracer hand, hoping that the hardened steel would hold against the anticipated force of the attack. She shut her eyes and ground her teeth, preparing for the jarring impact and the potentially numbing pain.
What she felt, however, was far less than that.
For some reason, the stave was not brought against her steel bracer, nor did it bypass it and strike at her directly. Instead, it carved a shallow line along her outstretched arm, piercing the mail and lightly drawing a blood-red line across her arm. For a brief moment, she wondered at the blow, at the stark contrast between her sister's earlier ferocity and the comparatively strange wound she dealt her.
Not a moment was wasted as Bethany grabbed onto her arm, bare skin meeting skin.
Almost immediately, she felt the bond between them flare to life again, punctuated by a flash of dark violet in her sister's eyes.
Then, with startling speed, she felt her very essence drain from her.
Her eyes went wide, but her body froze. It could do nothing, move nothing, as Bethany took from her her strength, her warmth, even her very will to fight.
"Father, why do you wear gloves?" Clarissa asked, dainty hands fidgeting with the tan leather wrapped securely around Malcolm Hawke's right hand as they strolled down the country path on the way to the village. She did not miss the sudden tenseness that shot through her father.
Kneeling low, under the cover of the wheat fields, Malcolm Hawke cupped a hand under Clarissa's chin, eyes softly but insistently demanding attention.
"Now, Clare Bear, I'm going to tell you a secret. Promise me you won't tell anyone else, alright?" Malcolm whispered, sparkling blue eyes smiling at his little daughter as she fervently nodded, eager to learn about even more secrets.
"Do you remember the secret I told you a few nights ago, after Mother gave birth to Bethany and Carver?"
She nodded.
"And you remember me telling you about the… gift that we have?" Malcolm asked, eyeing his surrounding to watch for eavesdroppers.
She nodded with wide eyes and a finger pressed vertically across her lips, shushing herself.
"That's right," chuckled Malcolm. "When people like us hold hands, or give hugs to each other, that power gets connected." He joined his fingers in demonstration.
"Some bad people can use that, and take that power from other people like them. That's why I wear gloves." Malcolm said, casting his eyes back towards the farmhouse, where Leandra, his Leandra, nursed their newborn twins.
"Bethany doesn't know how to control herself yet. She might take my power by accident."
"But Bethy wouldn't do that! She's so little… and cute, and all squishy!" Clarissa yelped, protecting her baby sister.
But she could and, in the wrong state of mind, she would as well.
Clarissa felt her eyelids droop, felt her strength drop precariously and her grip on her sword grow loose.
"Bethany… stop…" She half-whisper, half-wheezed, finding it increasingly hard to draw breath. If she persisted for a few more moments, she would most probably die. She looked into her eyes, searching for the sister she once knew, and loved with all her heart.
All she saw was the same, wicked smile, coupled with shimmering purple eyes that soundlessly laughed at her. Was all of it for nothing? Had she come too late? Was she still saving Bethany, or was it someone else entirely?
How could she do this?
She drew blades against the Grey Wardens, the most feared warriors and mages to have ever walked Thedas to get her back, and in return, she rewarded her with this… treachery?
Fear and anger clouded her judgment and for a brief moment, all she saw was a demon in disguise, sapping her of her will to live.
Rage surged through her, breaking through her miasma.
She has no right.
Her bracer flared as magic, dredged from the deepest, darkest corners of her being, formed up around her balled fist, a mere faint shimmering of air betraying its presence to Bethany, whose eyes widened.
As well they should.
Clarissa pushed her away with sheer, raw, magical might, making her stumble backwards. Her stave was all but blown outwards from the force of the blow, making her arms fly open and her chest completely susceptible to Clarissa's attacks.
With a feral roar, Clarissa strode over to the dazed Bethany, still upright despite the massive, frontal blast she took. Eyes wide but seeing nothing but burning, white-hot rage, Clarissa's bracer hand latched around Bethany's throat, lifting her off the ground with inhuman strength. Her sword whipped up in a flash, the keen edge pressed against Bethany's windpipe with enough strained force to draw blood.
And there they froze, with Clarissa glaring into her sister's eyes and Bethany writhing and kicking, struggling to draw breath.
Then, she saw it.
Bethany returned her gaze, honey-brown eyes pleading, asking her to stop.
Brown eyes.
Clarissa froze. Was she back? Had what she had done been enough to help Bethany wrestle back control of herself?
She lowered her blade hesitantly. She couldn't take the chance. She could not bear the consequences should she be wrong.
A sudden pain, ice-cold and piercing, lanced through her stomach, making her gasp in surprise. Fear and realization crept through her like an infectious chill as she saw the violet light in Bethany's eyes resurface, and a seductive, treacherous smile split her lips, as she twisted the dagger in her stomach, burying it to the hilt. She saw her eyes, cold and unwavering, lock onto her own as she felt the link between them become saturated with alien presences.
At once, she felt a multitude of voices, each distinctly different, besiege her exposed consciousness, seeking to subdue her and make her submit.
A deep voice, gruff and hollow with the overshadowing of smouldering embers, beckoned to her.
"Feel the anger, Clarissa. Why did you hesitate? Give in to your rage, and slaughter all those who stand in your way!" It bellowed, a calling to the feral, uncontrollable side of her.
"No." She answered simply, feebly, brushing the demon's jeers and taunts away with what meager strength she could muster.
A mellow voice, slow, slurred and mired in sloth, enveloped her next, its very words sapping her will to survive and resist.
"Why do you fight our master, Clarissa? He wants only for the Grey Wardens to be respected again, for the scattered nation of Thedas to come together once more."
Soft, cradling hands embraced her in the numbing void of her subconscious mind, willing her to give in, "As your sister did."
"No." Clarissa answered, summoning the last of her strength to push it away. She didn't have much left.
"Why?" The demon asked, voice taking on infinite disappointment, "I only want what is best for you, Clarissa, just like her." At its word, Clarissa's mind exploded with a dizzying eruption of sight, smell and touch.
Honey-brown eyes gazing longingly into her own, enrapturing her with the intensity of unspoken emotion;
Soft, full lips grazing teasingly against her own, then pressing fully into her mouth with a frenzied passion she knew all too well;
Musky, heady scent of her sweat mixing with her own, then shifting and writhing as she bucked and tugged and wrapped her silken arms around her.
"Stop…" Clarissa begged, the visions too real to resist.
"Is that not what you want, Mortal?" The demon named Seryna teased, and she felt its hot, sultry breaths alight upon her skin, reminiscent of memories she could not afford to dote upon.
"I can give you all that you've ever wanted, Mortal. You know full well that such things are in my power. Lay down your arms and join us in our revelry." Seryna cooed, wearing down Clarissa's resistance with intimate words. It would not take long. It was only a matter of time before she caved in, and it knew it.
"You turned me down once before. Surely you wouldn't subject poor, little old me to such heartbreak again…" Seryna sidled close to Clarissa, running tantalizing touches along her enclosed form. It felt the animosity in her fading away, the hostility that once kept it at bay worn down by betrayal after betrayal.
"I tire of my liege, Clarissa. I tire of this worthless excuse of a mage, ordering me and my sister about with his vaunted authority of blood. He hides behind his little foot soldiers, fooling my brethren of the Fade into possessing them, making them slaves to his will." Seryna murmured. Clarissa took it all in. She no longer knew how to tell truth from lies.
"Help me, like your sister promised to help me. Free me from his blood. Spill it all with the might I've seen in the both of you. You'll be together again, you, me and Bethany." She saw Clarissa stir. It was working. Seryna pressed the attack.
"There was a reason why I chose you, Clarissa," Seryna said, "not because of the power within you, but because of the power keeping the two of you together."
Clarissa blinked.
"All these things, I can recreate, incomplete and imperfect. I saw with Bethany's eyes, felt with Bethany's skin, what the two of you shared that night. It was everything I could have hoped for. Kingdoms and nations, I can create; Wealth and riches, I can conjure. But this… emotion between one mortal and another…" Seryna paused, at a loss for words.
"That is what I want." Seryna affirmed, speaking to herself more than anyone else. "That is what I desire."
Seryna gasped when Clarissa's hands closed around her shoulders, her violet-blue eyes staring straight into her own.
"There's more to it than that night, Seryna." Clarissa started, slowly and unintentionally turning the tide.
"Look inside my mind, and inside your captive's mind. Tell me what you see."
With that, Clarissa funneled memories into the demon's alien thoughts. She let her see, made her feel what in her mind love was truly like.
Looking into Bethany's childlike, innocent eyes, rounded with freckles, as she gazed with unbridled adoration into her own, arms wrapped around the hand-woven, frilled dress she bought her. It had cost her a year's savings, but she didn't care. She loved her little sister, and she still did;
Holding Bethany tight as the ship rocked gently in the embrace of the open sea, feeling her tears stain her shoulder as she mourned the loss of her younger brother and the destruction of her childhood home. It had taken her incredible resiliency to resist tears of her own, but she held on. She loved her little sister, and she dared not show weakness;
Hefting Bethany's limp body over her shoulder as she nudged at the lifeless body of the man who had tried to have his way with her, feeling the weight of her body press against her own. It had taken every ounce of her restraint to not hold her upright and kiss her then and there, but she held fast. She loved her little sister, and her little sister deserved better than her;
Cradling Bethany in her arms as she lay dying within, as helplessness ran her through and guilt racked her every breath. It had taken her little more than a moment's hesitation before she dove into the Fade to get her back. She loved her little sister, and nothing in this world and the next could stop her;
Folding into Bethany's embrace as she heard herself mirrored in her words, feeling them console her, soothe her, and kindle an emotion that she had long tried to bury within herself. She reveled in the sensations as their lips met without doubt or pause and rejoiced when love, her one and only love, came to her.
"I love Bethany, and I always will." Clarissa finished.
Seryna gasped for breath, purple eyes widening.
"Lies! All of it! There's so much more than what he told me." She whirled round, to a pair of distant, twinkling stars, two minds on the horizon that was Madred and Seryna's twin.
"Liar!" Screamed Seryna, and Clarissa saw a flash of purple close the distance between them, a singular light travelling across the void, faster than the eye could follow.
Clarissa gasped as reality returned to her with a sharp agony lancing through her stomach and the feel of cold stone against her back.
Bethany stood above her with her hand on her head, shaking herself as if shrugging off an unseen illness. Her hand fell back, and she saw her.
Clarissa groaned in pain as her sister pulled the dagger from her flesh, then writhed uncontrollably as a nimbus of green magic washed over her. She barely had time to breathe before Bethany held her upright, and kissed her forcibly on her lips. Arms closed around her, locking her in a passionate embrace as Bethany kissed her.
"I love you." Bethany cried softly, holding her tight once their lips separated. The wound in her stomach twinged in protest as Bethany's oppressive embrace brushed across it, but she paid it no heed. Her eyes saw nothing but Bethany, drinking in the sight of honey-brown eyes looking into her own with an affection she knew to be true; Her ears heard nothing but the warm, familiar voice that warmed her on the coldest of nights and set her aflame with words reserved for the two of them; Her body felt nothing, not the chill of the night air, not the telltale vibrations of fighting, only the curve of Bethany's body as she pressed herself ever closer to her.
"I've missed you." Clarissa murmured into her shoulder, returning the embrace with her own ferocity. She felt her tremble against her as she nodded.
A feral snarl caught their attention. They broke apart just in time to see a feminine figure wreathed in flickering violet light spread her arms wide. The very air seemed to obey her, lifting her a clear two feet into empty space as magic, raw and immensely powerful, poured into her. The stone directly below her was hidden from view as geysers of fire, borne of a hatred demonic in origin, erupted around her. Indistinct shapes took form within the inferno, all of them sleek and streamlined to the casual eye. They were heralded by echoing, reverberating roars of smouldering embers and raging fires, giving voice to creatures for whom rage was their only knowledge, their sole emotion and their singular purpose in the world.
Seryna, what are you doing? Clarissa wondered. As she followed Seryna's terrifying glare, she found the answer.
A horde of dozens of demons rallied at her feet as she twisted in the air, an outstretched arm extending a single, taloned digit that signified the wrath of Desire, brought to bear on one man.
The horde surged forward.
"Liar!" Seryna screamed, her hollow voice echoing across the courtyard.
Madred tore himself away from the dark-skinned woman he was dueling with and Clarissa saw his face grow deathly white. Then she saw something else, something that seemed to click within the Warden Commander. He touched his shoulder, slick with blood from a decisive blow Katja dealt him, and there it was again, the slight shift in his posture, the signs of a man resigning to his fate.
But he was not going down without a fight.
Quick as lightning, he drew a dagger from his belt, raising it high above his head. Katja blanched. She knew what he wanted to do, and for all her skills in combat, she couldn't stop him from hurting one person.
Himself.
Clarissa watched in horror as Aloysius Madred, Warden Commander of the Free Marches, plunged his own dagger into his own stomach. From such a distance, it was hard to see his exact expression, but of two things she was certain.
She saw blood. Unnatural amounts of crimson, boiling blood for the size of the wound, pouring out of his abdomen as if forced out by an unseen force.
She saw him look down at the blood pooling at his feet. And she saw him smile.
Then the tides of blood began to rise, obscuring Clarissa's vision of the blood mage entirely. A circular wall of blood rose up ten feet into the air, forming a living, breathing curtain of red. Despite its liquidity, the encroaching demons could not penetrate it to get to the man within, and all the while Clarissa felt the world around her pulse, reality clashing against dimensions not of this realm. She heard, within her mind and with her ears, the screams of thousands in agony. She saw, out of the corner of her eye, men and women shuffling out of the barracks to her left, clutching at their heads and writhing in pain.
Amidst the furor, Clarissa spotted Katja, pushed away from the desperate Grey Warden by the full blast of raw, unnatural magic. She saw her struggle, saw the pain etched on her face as she resisted the overwhelming tendrils of blood magic seeping into her mind.
She saw her eyes roll up, into her head as she passed out.
Almost at once, she felt it – A raging fire engulfing the Fade in crippling agony, battering aside any that stood in its way. Reaching for Bethany, she twined their hands and let their minds join, pooling their efforts in resistance. She heard Bethany chanting, reciting a low mantra in a throaty, hushed voice, and she felt her mind clear momentarily.
Seryna didn't stop.
Blinding light lanced from her taloned hand, striking the barrier of blood squarely. The barrier rippled as it fought against Seryna's magic, the former a forbidden art that guaranteed enormous power, the latter fueled by the all-encompassing, feral rage of a scorned demon, which was a sight to behold.
Retrieving her sword from where she dropped it, Clarissa took a step forward, towards the contest of magic that threatened to knock her off her feet should she relinquish even a second of secure footing.
Splinters began to appear in the barrier, fragments that glowed like the sun in brightness and radiated an intense heat that Clarissa felt from fifty feet away. An otherworldly cackle reached Clarissa's ears as Seryna laughed in triumph, drifting closer to the barrier to strike at the man within the second the barrier failed.
A large, scaly hand burst from within the barrier and closed round the Desire demon faster than she could dodge. Clarissa watched in newfound horror as she noticed the blood oozing from cuts and scratches on the giant fist, a motley grip of midnight black mixed with putrid crimson enclosed around the writhing demoness.
What manner of nameless monster has he summoned now?
The wall of blood, kept aloft by magic alone, dissolved before Clarissa's eyes, letting her see for herself what lay behind the blood-red curtain.
It was a creature almost three times her height, towering over the gathered Rage demons that clawed and snarled at their new quarry, snapping at that which would dare harm their mistress. With a start, Clarissa realized that she had seen this monster before.
An unbreakable suit of violet scales, as hard as tempered steel;
A hunchbacked figure, with a hint of reptilian agility offset by rippling, powerful muscles that struck with a force of an avalanche;
A pair of gleaming, intelligent yellow eyes, telling of centuries of experience and unrivalled intellect, burning as bright as the midday sun.
It was an embodiment of Pride, the highest among the hierarchy of demons, and certainly the most dangerous. But this one was different.
In the place of violet scales that caught firelight and enhanced its already foreboding appearance, the demon standing not ten meters away from her was clad in darkness, wreathed in midnight black and had a number of odd scars and blemishes in its glistening scales, all of them oozing fresh, red-hot blood.
Where the guardian of Corypheus's prison stood ten feet high, the demon summoned by the desperate Warden Commander was merely at shoulder height and, although there was no light to cast shadows by, the unveiling of the demon brought a slight darkness upon its surroundings, as if the oily, pitch-black scales consumed the light around it
And throughout the time Clarissa spent scrutinizing the unearthly creature, its crimson eyes, glowing with a brilliance that even surpassed demons.
The demon roared as it tightened its grip on Seryna, its maroon eyes looking squarely into hers. It cocked its head to one side and its lips curled in a savage smile, as if taunting her for her betrayal.
Then it hit Clarissa like thunder on a clear summer day.
Madred was gone.
Indeed, the hapless Warden Commander was nowhere to be found as the demon shifted in place, contemplating its options as it held its prey firmly in its grasp. Clarissa squeezed her eyes shut and turned sideways as Seryna screamed in agony, the hard, pointed edges of the demon's scales cutting into her skin. Madred had summoned a powerful resident of the Fade, possibly the most powerful Clarissa had ever seen, but not without cost.
He had paid the price with his own blood, merging his life with the demon in an unholy, sanctimonious pact that allowed it a physical manifestation in this world, a physical manifestation that was, to the immediate eye, unstoppable.
Clarissa shuddered inwardly as she imagined the demon loose, wreaking havoc on the villagers not a league away.
No. I will not have the blood of the innocent on my hands.
It must not be allowed to leave Falconsreach Hold.
It was here that the demon must die.
Clarissa took a deep breath, tightening her grip on her sword and on Bethany's entwined fingers, and kept up her advance.
A sudden roar of a different nature caught Clarissa's attention. It was an exclamation of surprise and pain, coming from the beast that towered over them. Looking closely, Clarissa saw arrows, fletched with grey feathers, protruding from the demon's backswept, deformed face, where its scales were at its weakest.
A peal of giddy laughter emanated from behind her, coming from high above.
"A few arrows adds character, wretch!" She heard someone shout at the top of their lungs, their tone teasing and cocksure even in the midst of battle. She cast her eyes to the alcove of the watchtower and found Isabela, the Pirate Queen, fitting yet more arrows to string and raining them down upon the confused abomination.
"I may have taken a liking to stabbing people, Hawke, but I still know how to use a bow!" She shouted at Clarissa's general direction before unleashing another barrage.
This time, it caught its attention.
The demon snarled in fury and tossed Seryna aside as a toddler would a plaything it no longer desired. It lumbered towards the watchtower, raising an arm to shield its face and another in preparation to pound the hardened stone to submission.
Isabela gave it no such time for preparation.
A split second before the demon's gargantuan fist connected with the Hold's walls, Clarissa spotted a dark shape launch itself from the alcove of the watchtower, coursing through the night air with effortless grace. Halfway in empty space, it became enveloped in a puff of smoke.
"Boo." Clarissa heard a voice behind her intone, followed by a snicker that sent relief coursing through Clarissa's veins.
"You had me worried there." Clarissa said as she heard Bethany approach Isabela, hugging her briefly and offering healing. She didn't dare take her eyes off the demon, who was fumbling at the cracking stone and the certain annoying human absent at the top of the watchtower.
"I've dealt with clumsy bastards before. This one's just bigger, and much more disgusting." Isabela scoffed.
She joined her in observing the demon's frustrated pounds, the magically reinforced stone weathering its blows. "It's not very smart, is it?" Isabela murmured, drawing her daggers with slick movements.
"Turning into abominations does seem to be detrimental to intelligence," Clarissa smirked, "not that he had much to begin with."
"That's Madred?" Isabela laughed softly. "He actually looks better than before."
It baffled Clarissa briefly how they were able to laugh to their hearts' content while a giant, grotesque demon twisted round in search of them. She felt the air ripple slightly as Seryna joined them, glaring at the abomination with no less measure of hatred.
"My sister is trapped within," she hissed, dark globules of magic assembling in her clenched hands.
"Then let us not waste any more time." Clarissa said, flourishing her sword, its tip whistling through the air.
Bethany?
Yes, my love?
The sound of her voice echoing through her mind gave her no small amount of reassurance.
Stay back and channel your magic through me. Keep watch on the others as well.
"Isabela."
"Present."
"Would you be so kind as to employ your wily, wily ways and take advantage of some of the demon's more… sensitive parts?"
Isabela, for her dashing, crafty part, laughed and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Seryna."
"No matter your words, Clarissa, I will fight by your side. I tire of cowering behind humans." Seryna said pointedly, flexing her hands. The violet flames at her forehead blazed with renewed intensity. "Madred will not hold my sister for a moment longer."
"On that, we can agree."
Clarissa squeezed Bethany's hand, feeling her respond in kind.
Is it time to fight, my love?
Clarissa smiled, feeling Bethany's magic, familiar and cool, wash over her senses.
It is.
The demon roared as Clarissa charged, speed imbued into her every movement as Bethany corralled time itself to their aid, accelerating Clarissa's reflexes to inhuman alacrity.
A shadow came over Clarissa as Madred raised a gigantic fist, wanting to pound her into the ground.
Clarissa rolled sideways as the ground shook with the force of impact, scattered fragments of stone grazing her armor. The demon, unaware of her whereabouts, ground its fist into the stone.
Clarissa leapt up, twisted in the air, and fell upon the demon's scaled hand, plunging her blade to the hilt.
The demon roared with pain and lifted its hand, taking Clarissa with it. Its crimson, wild eyes focused on Clarissa as she twisted the blade in its place, showering herself in hot, gushing blood.
The demon's other hand came in horizontally, seeking to knock Clarissa off the ledge she was on.
A blast of dark magic hit the demon square in the eyes, making its hands flail and the swipe to miss its mark. Clarissa pulled her blade from the demon's hand and stabbed it into its arm, using the golden sword as a handhold embedded securely within the demon's own flesh as she heard Seryna laugh, thwarting attack after attack.
Clarissa felt herself being pulled upwards as the demon raised its arm, bringing her in front of its face. It snarled at her with serrated fangs, crimson eyes glaring with hate. Clarissa held on tight to her blade as she was jostled on the demon's arm, unable to move. She saw its mouth open, a maw of cavernous black lined with yellow fangs descending upon her.
A sudden snick of silver-lined daggers plunging into flesh saved her, as the demon's head reared and roared in pain.
A feminine figure appeared close to Clarissa, using silver-lined daggers as two handholds, climbing sideways on the demon's jutting neck. Clarissa thought she saw the Pirate Queen wink at her before her muscles tensed and pulled her upwards into the air.
The world slowed as Isabela hovered in front of the demon's snarling face, twisting herself round in mid-air and bringing her daggers across the deformed flesh like a hot knife through butter.
Twin diagonal gashes appeared on the demon's face, cutting deep into its flesh as Isabela disappeared as quickly as she had appeared. The demon roared to the moon, baring its chest.
Clarissa, seeing her opportunity to end this once and for all, wasted no time in extricating her blade from the demon's arm and leaping down, impaling her sword securely in the center of the demon's chest.
The demon staggered shock evident in its demeanour. A tremor ran through it as Clarissa pushed the blade inward with a final grunt, the tip of the blade punching clean through the demon's body. Its red eyes flickered and looked downward at its heaving chest, every breath becoming a taxing exertion.
Clarissa, for her part, returned the demon's weakening glare with a glare of her own, baring her teeth in a savage display of victory.
The demon growled, its arms going slack. The air around it shifted slightly as the end drew near.
But it was not done. Not quite.
Brace yourself! Clarissa heard Bethany exclaim, as the two of them felt a surge of desperate, last-ditch magic from the dying creature.
Blood fountained from the demon's impaled chest with the force of a mountain slamming into Clarissa, casting her effortlessly into the air and onto the ground, pushing the air out of her lungs and making her head swim in stars. She watched, dazed, as the demon known as Madred shuffled forward, summoning the last of its magical might into a nimbus of green flame that coalesced in its gaping maw.
She felt Bethany's magic cast a shield around her, the air immediately surrounding her enveloping her in a protective sphere. Yet, as the globule of magical fire gathered strength in the creature's mouth, she doubted it would be enough. She felt strong arms drag her backwards but she shrugged them off, dimly aware of herself telling it to run.
She was aware of herself standing up, her reeling head making balance a monumental task. She raised her left hand, her bracer shielding her face. She saw the seal etched in the glistening steel and a part of her told herself that they could get through this, that she had survived for too long to die now. She wanted to believe in that part of her. She almost did.
But then, the fireball was released, heading straight for her, and her heart sank.
Someone came between the raging fireball and Clarissa, blocking off her vision of the incoming attack by entrancing her with her seductive gait, her noble poise and a blinding, enveloping cyclone of light.
Clarissa saw her glance backward as she spread her arms, the very air heeding her call and lifting her petite frame upwards as violet eyes, dark and intense, changed before Clarissa's own eyes.
There was a split second when time stood still, when two wavering, magnificent rays of light burst from Seryna, sprouting from her back as an angel would when spreading her wings. Clarissa squinted, trying to make out Seryna's features. She blinked, and saw eyes of pure white, gazing into her own with gratitude and a silent reassurance that was nigh on overwhelming. She thought she saw her smile.
Finish it. For me. Clarissa heard a voice echo in her mind. It was not Bethany.
Then a halo of demonic green clashed with angelic white, smiting Seryna dead center.
There came a split second when the world shone bright white.
The demon chuckled drily as the smoke cleared, seeing nothing left of the woman it set out to kill, and the treacherous demoness that had tried to shield her. It fell onto its knees, utterly exhausted.
A woman materialized in front of it, a gauntlet of azure fire on her left hand, a blinding, scorching crucifix on her right.
An unstoppable force wrenched its head downwards, forcing it to kneel before the woman. It panted, disbelieving.
"How?" It managed, powerless to resist.
The woman chuckled, violet-blue eyes staring straight through the demon to the fragile, broken man entrapped inside.
"That is for me to know, and you to find out in the next life."
Clarissa jumped. High. Her blade encountered no resistance as it sank into the demon's skull, the momentum of her blow bringing it hard against the ground.
She heard Madred sigh before the maroon eyes winked out unceremoniously. She unsheathed her sword with a wet squelch, the dazzling fire casting a fine red mist as the blood on the blade evaporated.
She heard Bethany approach her and she turned round just in time to catch Bethany catapulting herself into her.
"Don't you ever push me away again." Bethany murmured into her shoulder. She felt Isabela snicker and beckon to Katja, who approached them with a slight limp.
"That demon… it…" Katja started, at a loss for words.
A pained groan, eerily echoing within itself, reached their ears. Clarissa whirled round and saw a woman lying on the ground, utterly spent. The twisted horns that represented her kind were all but gone, and she wore only a purple blouse to retain her vanity. Her glowing eyes flickered dangerously and Clarissa rushed to her side.
"Why?" Clarissa asked tentatively as she snaked her arm round Seryna in an effort to keep her awake.
"Why not?" Seryna answered simply, every syllable taking a bit more breath out of her. "I am forever in your debt, Clarissa. My life," she heaved and shuddered, "is all that I can repay you with."
"I don't deserve this." Clarissa said, feeling a peculiar sense of attachment to the demon she cradled in her arms. She studied Seryna, from the glorious white shining in her eyes to the fading aura of light that surrounded her. Was she still that, or had she become something else entirely?
"Yes, you do." Seryna said. "I've been wandering for millennia, Clarissa, forsaken by the Maker and feeding on men and women falling prey to my ways. For a creature dictated by desire, I didn't even know what the word truly meant."
A hand reached upwards, cupping Clarissa's cheek with an icy chill. Clarissa tried hard to keep tears from falling.
"But then I met Aloysius Madred and through him, you." Seryna said, "I was a slave to his promises and lies for decades, bringing an uncountable amount of my kin to force fealty from his Grey Wardens. He promised me that he would show me what it meant to love, to show that affection which I have never known to another, and have it grace me."
"Our paths crossed then, and I saw something within you that night, even as I almost succeeded in seducing you, just as my sister saw something in yours." Seryna said, somehow finding strength to relay her final words.
"I found the one thing that I had been searching for all my life, and it was right there, between two mortal souls pledged to each other."
"And then, you showed me what it was like to feel it, to experience love through you. You were the one who never gave up, Clarissa, who defied desire in its truest form and held fast to those who you loved." Seryna said, rolling the last word around on her tongue.
"You brought me home."
Clarissa couldn't stop it now. Rivulets of moisture ran down her face, running free and clear in tandem with her emotions.
"You gave me my life back. Why shouldn't I give you mine in return?"
Clarissa had no answer for that.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Bethany asked. Her tone seemed guarded.
Seryna smiled. "You've done enough. I am alive once more, because of you," she turned to address every single person gathered around her, "all of you."
Clarissa looked into Seryna's eyes as they widened, the light brightening once more and becoming fixed upon something distant, gazing into the waning stars. The sun was rising.
"Oh, how I have missed You, my Maker." Seryna whispered. To Clarissa, she expended her last efforts and leaned forward, pressing a gentle, thankful kiss onto her cheek.
"I love you. And thank you." Seryna whispered, just before her eyes closed and the light pervading her died out. The world suddenly seemed darker to Clarissa.
The open door leading to the barracks flung even wider as a short, stout figure emerged from the half-light. He held, in the cradle of his arms, a strange weapon that was nearly his height.
"Aha! This'll-"
His jaw dropped at the scene that greeted him.
"What the hell did I miss?" Varric asked.
/Turns out, I have the time. Yay for longest chapter ever?
The fight scene between the sisters was one of the most fun scenes I've written, although the hopelessly addicted part of me hates myself for putting them in that situation. A certain nocturnal grey matter would know.
I think I'll be returning to Act 2 after this. With my own embellishments, of course. The AU-ness shall stand strong.
Ml33t (or something like that) : I just took it to 8,000 words. *Nodding*
Spike: Tell me what you think! 50 words minimum?
Night: ARGGH! RANT! It took me a whole week! Eh, I have nothing more to rant about until you review meh.
And to all those out there: Thank you for sticking this long (or welcome to the party). /