Wooo Two updates tonight?! lol last chapter was very short so thought i'd post another tonight, sadly we're not seeing more of Dylan as we're back with in Redcliffe, took some liberties in this chapter with magic theory but i don't think I've went completely off script. Enjoy!
"The main hall must be held if we are to regain control of the castle." Ser Perth said as the injured were being see to, health potions where passed to those who needed it now they're healer had passed out.
"We should rest first, we do not know what we will face in the castle and our healer is… incapacitated for the time being." Elissa suggested before she took her own drink of the healing potion.
"We cannot wait much longer than an hour, the sun will set soon." Lyna added, she had yet to drink a healing potion and stood with cuts and scrapes covering her arms and legs.
"Neria should wake up soon; she wasn't close enough to get the full blast of it." Alistair commented as he sat down on the stone steps of the castle.
"That was rather impressive, but what did you do?" Elissa asked, as Ser Perth went to check on his men and Lyna turned towards Neria.
"It- ah- it was a Templar trick; it drains and weakens any magic around the caster." Alistair explained as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking towards the ground as his cheeks began to pink.
"You are a Templar as well as a Grey Warden?" Elissa questioned a hint of awe and confusion in her voice.
"Oh no, erm, I was never a Templar, I was going through my training when I was recruited, thank the maker."
"You did not wish to finish your training?"
"No, not really. I enjoyed the training… Just not the job." Alistair said sheepishly as he rested his elbows on his knees.
Elissa frowned slightly confused but decided it was not the time to question any further. They sat in silence for a moment before Neria voice called out through the courtyard.
"Alistair!" Neria stood up on shaky legs before she walked over to the steps when they both sat.
"Ah, Neria, good to see you're awake! How are you feeling?" Alistair asked a sheepish grin on his face.
"You can swipe that smirk off you face before I start freezing vital body parts" she threatened narrowing her eye, "Next time you decide to wipe all the magic away warn me! Shout a code word or something, because that!" she exclaimed "That was not pleasant."
"I know I'm sorry, I though you would have been out of range and I didn't have much time to think about it." Alistair apologised.
Neria sigh and rubbed her temples with her thumb and index finger. "I know, but next time shout 'apples' or something."
"Apples?" he quizzed.
"Yes, like a code word."
"Ser Perth seems to have fleas in his undergarments, he's eager to enter the castle." Kallian said as she motioned her head towards the knight that appeared to be bouncing from one foot to the other.
"Let's put him out of his misery shall we?" Elissa stated as she stood and walked over to speak to the knight.
After the men had gathered their weapons and supplies they made their way in to the castle. The entrance hall was quiet and abandon, and seemly untouched. As they walked further in to the castle it became more apparent that the area had been completely unaffected by what had happened it the castle, the rooms where clean and in order, no traps or creature laid in wait for the.
As they approached the main hall, they could hear the sound of clapping and what seemed like a child cheerful laugh carrying up through the hallway. They each looked at one another before they continued. The sight that greeted them when they entered the main hall was bizarre. The guards stood vigil behind the Arl's throne, while Isolde stood with a boy with auburn hair, Connor most likely, and watched as Bann Teagan performed tricks and acrobatics for Connor's amusement.
Teagan's display came to a stop as they walked closer to the group standing in front of the Arl's throne. He jumped up and ran quickly to sit beside the small boy who had stopped his clapping and cheering to direct a powerful glare at the group of people that had entered. Lyna stepped forward, her head tilted slight to the side as she studied the small child.
"So these are our visitors. The ones you told me about, Mother." Although the boy's lips seemed to be speaking it was not his voice that sounded the words. It was unnaturally deep and seemed to resonate through the hall knocking and echoing against the stone of the walls, making it sound as though the voice was surrounding them, becoming deep and more grated with each echo.
"Y-yes, Connor." Isolde voice was quiet and sad as she replied, her gaze fixed firmly on the ground.
"And these are the ones that defeating my soldiers, the ones I sent to reclaim my village." The voice was sharper now, as the boy's face screwed up in annoyance.
"Yes."
"And now they are here! And that one, it's staring at me! What is it, Mother? I can't see it well enough." The voice exclaimed directing it's glare towards Lyna, who stood at the front of the group and was still staring intently at the boy with her head tilted.
"This is an Elf, Connor. You've seen Elves, before. We have them here in the Castle" Isolde explained as she looked at her son warily.
"Oh, I remember! I had their ears cut off and fed to the dogs! The dogs chewed for hours! Shall I send it to the kennels, Mother?" he laughed out manically.
Lyna's face was clouded with rage as Isolde once again spoke to her son, "Connor, I beg you, don't hurt anyone!" she sobbed.
Connor clutched his head as he squeezed his eyes shut; his body seemed to shudder before his eyes opened again and he spoke with his own voice. ""M-mother? What… what's happening? Where am I?" his voice was thick with confusion and fear as he spoke.
"Oh, thank the Maker! Connor! Connor can you hear me?" Isolde exclaimed as she reached for her son, only to be pushed back and on to the floor as once again the demon took control.
"Get away from me, fool woman! You are beginning to bore me."
"Maker's breath! What has happened here?" Ser Perth asked completely taken aback by everything that was happening.
"Please don't hurt my son. He's not responsible for what he does." She pleaded as she knelt on the floor and looked up to the group of people.
"What has he done to Bann Teagan?" Alistair asked with a look of horror on his face as he looked at the man in question.
"Here I am! Here am I!" Teagan exclaimed with a loud laugh.
"I like him better this way. No more yelling; now he amuses me!" The demon said through its own laughter.
"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!" Isolde all but shouted as her words began to run together in desperation.
"That is what I was afraid of." Neria spoke quietly.
"It was a fair deal!" The demon stated "Father is alive, just as I wanted. Now it's my turn to sit on the throne and send out armies to conquer the world! Nobody tells me what to do anymore!"
"But let's keep things civil, these people will have the audience they seek. Tell us, what have you come here for?"
"We came here to stop all this." Alistair snapped out.
"I'm not finished playing! You can't make me stop! I think they're trying to spoil my fun, Mother!" Connor cried out.
"I... I don't think..." Isolde began to say before being cut off by her son.
"Of course you don't. Ever since you sent the knights away, you do nothing but deprive me of my fun. Frankly, it's getting dull. I crave excitement! And action! These people spoiled my sport by saving that stupid village, and now they'll repay me!" Connor shouted as the guards began to move towards them weapons draw. Teagan also stood grabbing a sword from behind the throne and charging at them.
"Don't kill them! They're not in their right mind!" Ser Perth called out as they reached for their weapons.
"We might not have much choice in the matter!" Ruari called as he parried a blow from a guard's sword.
"Try and knock them out!" Alistair shouted as Teagan began to strike at him, he dodged and blocked until he saw an opening, Teagan raised his sword with both hands above his head and Alistair raised his shield to block, gripping the hilt of his blade, he whispered "Sorry uncle" with a grimace before he punched him hard in the face, knocking the man unconscious on to his back.
He saw as a small blur ran out of the room, looking around to see that it had been Connor fleeing the room while the last two guards were knocked out.
"Teagan! Teagan, are you all right?" Isolde voice brought his gaze back to the man he had knocked out, a steady stream of blood was spouting from his nose as Isolde help him to sit up.
"I am... better now, I think..." he groaned as he held his hand up to his jaw and flexed the muscle "My mind is my own again."
"Sorry about that Teagan" Alistair spoke sheepishly.
"It does not matter Alistair, it was an impressive hit, and it helped more than hurt." Teagan said with a small smirk.
"Blessed Andraste! I would never have forgiven myself had you died, not after I brought you here. What a fool I am! Please! Connor's not responsible for this! There must be a way we can save him" Isolde rushed out as she helped the man to his feet.
"We cannot kill a child." Elissa stated, the memories and thoughts of her nephew and what end he must have met before he died tore through her.
"He is not always the Demon you saw. Connor is still inside him, and sometimes he breaks through. Please, I just want to protect him." Isolde explained.
"Isn't that what started this? You hired the mage to teach Connor in secret... to protect him." Teagan bit out.
"They would have taken him away! I thought if he learned to hide it, then..."
"This is not helping." Neria shouted out as she stepped to the front of the group, sighing she continued. "This does not seem like any possession that I have heard of, if he can still break the demons hold then his lack of magic must mean it doesn't have as strong of a foot hold in this world."
"What does that mean?" Isolde asked hope and desperation think in her voice.
"It means we may be able to help him, but" she sighed heavily again before she spoke "I need to speak to Jowan."
"Who?" Teagan asked the same time as Alistair said "Why?"
"He is the mage you have locked up in the dungeons." Neria explained to Teagan before answering Alistair, "And because, although he did not excel in the practice, he knows the theory better than a Chanter knows the Chant of Light."
Teagan left with a two of the knights to bring Jowan from the dungeons, "Do you really think you will be able to save him?" Elissa questioned.
"As I said, it might be an option, but I need Jowan to help confirm it will work." Neria clarified.
"You are lucky to be a live Jowan!" Isolde hissed out at the mage as he entered the main hall.
"He's no more to blame than you are." Neria retorted.
"How dare you! If this man hadn't poisoned my husband, none of this would have happened! He should be executed" Isolde shouted in fury at the Elf.
"And if you had not hidden your son's magic and lied to you husbanded he wouldn't have been here in the first place!" Neria shouted back matching her anger.
"Both of you stop!" Lyna voice rang out loud and clear, silencing them both. "lethal'lan speak with Jowan about what can be done, Ma serannas."
"Jowan, you said you hadn't taught Connor much magic, and that he had only begun to show signs, do you think because his lack of magic might have made the demons connection from him to the fade weak?" she asked him.
"It is possible, how weak is the connection?" he questioned, looking towards Isolde.
"He- he can still is himself sometimes; it is why he has run off violence scares him." Isolde voice was quiet and hopeful.
"If the connect is so weak we might be able to fight the demon in the fade." Jowan supplied.
"What do you mean? Is the demon not within Connor?" Teagan asked.
"Normally that's how a possession would work, but because Connor is so young and inexperienced with magic his connect to the fade is weaker. The demon probably approached him in the Fade while he dreamt, and controls him from there. We can use the connection between them to find the demon and kill it in the fade." Neria said.
"But it usually requires a lot of lyrium and mages to enter the fade." Jowan added.
"None of which we have at the moment." Teagan pointed out.
"There- there is another way.." Jowan said sheepishly, Neria turned to him with narrowing eyes as she studied him, silently asking him to continue, "Blood magic."
I always thought it was weird that Connor wasn't like the other abomination that you seen throughout the game so I decided to try an explain it and give a round about reason why i think that is, specially as it's never explained or mentioned in the game. hopefully it made sense and i haven't just confused you all lol what way do you think it's gonna go? blood magic? or no blood magic? what do you usually choose in the game?