Author's Note: Thanks to everyone reviewing and following! It makes so happy to hear you guys are enjoying the story and my portrayal of the characters.
Chapter 33 - The Broken Circle
Serena had been expecting a tower flooded with demons, much like Redcliffe Castle had been, but the inside of the Apprentice Chambers looked relatively untouched. Bunk beds were pushed over in some of the rooms, lockers knocked to the side as if a great gush of wind had whooshed through the hall, but the area was quiet, and clearly devoid of demons.
"I... thought when we came in here, there would be... I didn't think it would be empty." Leliana peeked inside another room, shaking her head. "Do you think everyone is dead?"
"I see no bodies," Zevran replied, checking another room for occupants. "Unless they are all... what did that man call them? Abominations?"
"We fought demons back at Redcliffe," Alistair said. "They tend to make themselves known pretty quickly."
"Well, just be ready with your fancy templar anti-magic spells, okay? If there's demons here, they didn't just wander into the Circle of Magi by accident." Serena pushed through a door and they were immediately assaulted with the sound of shrill screaming.
A giant fiery demon pushed through a glowing barrier, wailing and waving what had to be its arms. An older woman stood between Serena and her companions and the demon, raising her staff high. With a rapid swing, ice flew out of the end, covering the demon head to toe as it slowly dissolved before them.
The woman turned, her eyes narrowing in recognition. "It's you! No... come no further. Grey Warden or no, I will strike you down where you stand!" Behind her, two younger women and a few small children stood, all looking terrified.
"W-Wynne? What are you doing here?" Serena held up her hands, as if to display she was unarmed. "I... didn't expect to see you here..."
"You're the woman who healed Serena... back in Ostagar!" Alistair had come to stand beside her. "Please, dear lady, we mean no harm."
"Why are you here? The templars would not let just anyone by."
"We... we came here seeking the aid of the mages. The Blight looms, and there is a child..." Serena paused, not wanting to burden the woman with everything all at once. "I'm sorry, the knight-commander told us-"
"You were told the Circle was in no shape to help you, I suppose," Wynne replied. "So why did the templars let you in? Do they plan to attack the tower now?"
"Knight-Commander Greagoir has sent for the Right of Annulment," Alistair said, taking the lead. "But it hasn't arrived yet."
"They sent for it, then..." Wynne exchanged glances with the red haired mage beside her. "I feared they might have. What else could they do?" She shook her head, sighing heavily. "So Greagoir thinks the Circle is beyond hope. He probably assumes we are all dead. They abandoned us to our fate, but even trapped as we are, we have survived." The woman paced the floor, her expression a mixture of sadness and defiance. "If they invoke the Right, however, we will not be able to stand against them."
Serena glanced at the mages; glad she had chosen to come inside. Did the templars know there were children in here? Defenseless? She turned to Wynne. "We can help you, just... what happened here? Greagoir said the tower was crawling with abominations and demons, but we've only seen that one."
"Let it suffice to say that we had something of a revolt on our hands, led by a mage named Uldred," Wynne explained. Serena could tell by the way she said the name of the man that he wasn't a friend. "When he returned from the battle at Ostagar, he tried to take over the Circle. As you can see, it didn't work out as he had planned. I don't know what became of Uldred, but I am certain all this is his doing." She stomped her foot angrily. "I will not lose the Circle to one man's pride and stupidity!"
"So... what do you intend to do?"
"I erected a barrier over the door leading to the rest of the tower, so nothing from inside could attack the children. You will not be able to enter the tower as long as the barrier holds, but I will dispel it if you join with me to save this Circle."
"Absolutely," Serena said, nodding fervently. "If you all have survived, surely there are others within the tower. Mages, templars... we have to help them if we can."
"Once Greagor sees that we have made the tower safe, I trust he will tell his men to back down," Wynne said, beginning some complicated hand gestures near the barrier. "He is not unreasonable, he is simply scared."
"He should try being on this side of the doors," the red haired mage cried.
"Greagoir also mentioned the first enchanter," Leliana added. "He will only allow us out if that man says its safe."
"Then our path is laid out before us. We must save Irving." Behind her, the glowing barrier dropped.
"You want us to assist this preachy schoolmistress? To rescue these pathetic excuses for mages?" Morrigan's voice was absolutely incredulous. "They allow themselves to be corralled like cattle, mindless! Now their masters have chosen death for them, and I say, let them have it."
"Morrigan, you easily could have ended up in the Circle, if things were different." Serena stared into the witch's eyes, willing her to understand. "Outside the Wilds, and without us, you would only escape the templars for so long. People leave you alone now because they believe you are a Grey Warden as well."
"I could be here, had my mother not shielded me from the templars, so I am to show sympathy?" Morrigan laughed, and it was a disturbing sound. "My mother often said things are the way they are, because they could not have been any other way. I always questioned this..." Morrigan turned away, shrugging her shoulders. "Do what you wish. I care not."
"I don't believe that's true, Morrigan, but regardless, we don't have the time to argue it now." Serena followed Wynne and the others.
"We should leave immediately," Wynne said. She turned to the other two women with her. "Petra, Kinnon... look after the others. I will be back soon."
Zevran laughed, spinning a dagger idly in his hand. "Oh, I like her. She is feisty and optimistic!"
"Wynne... are you sure you're all right?" One of the women moved forward, lightly touching the older woman on the arm. "You were so badly hurt earlier. Maybe I should come along."
"The others need your protection more, Petra. I will be all right. Stay here, keep them safe and calm." Wynne turned back to Serena, motioning for her and her companions to follow her. "I am somewhat surprised I was able to hold this in place for so long." She gestured to the barrier, which was slowly dissolving much like the rage demon had just moments before.
"Well, sometimes we find strength within us that we didn't not know we had," Serena replied.
"Correct." The white haired mage smiled at her, and Serena couldn't help feeling like she'd just gotten an answer right in class. "Be prepared for anything. I fear that demon was just the beginning of what we might face."
"Then let us get on with it, shall we?" Morrigan pulled her staff and marched through the doorway, proud as a peacock.
Serena sighed heavily. "Don't mind her, she's... well... she can be sort of..."
"Imperious?" Alistair supplied.
"Ooohh... Such a big word for the templar-to-be," Morrigan called back to them. "Warden, you should see this."
"Is she talking to you or me?" Serena asked Alistair.
"Probably you," he replied. "I'm apparently templar-to-be, or occasionally, the big idiot." He shrugged and pulled his long sword, jogging into the hallway. Around the corner, they found Morrigan staring down at the body of a broken and bloody mage.
"This bodes well," Morrigan drawled. Serena pulled her bow and nocked an arrow into it. She saw Leliana pull her swords as Zevran slid his second dagger from its sheath.
"All right, let's keep our eyes open and-" Before Serena could finish; she was cut off by a long, low howling. Down the corner came a trio of monsters, bulging with red pus and burned tissue, they were the most horrible things Serena had ever seen. They looked like people who had been turned inside out, all blood and guts and veiny membrane.
"Mages!" Wynne called, beginning to cast.
"What?" Serena shot an arrow into one of them as Alistair crashed into another with his shield, his sword coming up to slice through its middle. "Those are mages?"
"They've been twisted by magic, made into abominations of their former selves!"
Wynne and Morrigan flung spells down the hall, blasting the monsters twisted forms back as Serena shot them again with her bow. Alistair swung his sword wide as the head of one of the monsters went flying off. Before it hit the ground, the head exploded in a small burst of flame and Alistair dove for one of the nearby tables just as the body of the thing burst apart behind him.
"Get down! Everyone get down, they explode!"
Serena felt herself move in slow motion as Zevran grabbed her and Leliana by the wrist and threw them to the ground behind him. She felt an intense cold go over the three of them and then a bright light as the heat of the exploding bodies packed the library and clashed with one of the mage's freezing spells.
"Is everyone okay? Leliana? Serena? You have all your pretty little fingers, yes?" Serena felt hands on her as she tried to roll to the side, her ribs aching. She opened her eyes and Zevran held out a hand to her as she nodded gratefully to him for his timely save.
"W-what happened?" Serena winced as the pain in her ribs throbbed. "These things can explode, too?"
"I was not expecting them to do that..." Wynne swung her staff in an arc and Serena felt her ribs twitch as they worked to mend themselves. "That should heal any minor wounds."
"Are you a healer, Wynne?" Leliana was touching her forehead where some blood had dried around a healed cut there. "We could certainly use one of those."
"I have spent many years here in the Circle, and my speciality is in spirit healing, yes." Wynne led them through the apprentice quarters where they found a few more dead mages, most of them near Serena's age or younger. "So much death... Uldred will be held accountable for this..." Serena watched as Wynne took in the havoc of each room. "To slaughter his brothers and sisters..." They moved up the next floor where they met a dark haired man in mage robes.
"Please, refrain from going into the stockroom. It is a mess and I have not been able to get it into a state fit to be seen." Serena recognized the man as one of the Tranquil, like the bizarre flat-toned man she had met near the mages tent in Ostagar. Although it couldn't have been more than two or three weeks ago, it felt like Ostagar had been... another lifetime, perhaps.
She stared down the man, the symbol of the Circle burned into his forehead. "What are you still doing here? You should get out."
"I tried to leave when things got quiet," the man continued in his dull tone, impervious to Serena's discomfort. "That was when I encountered the barrier. Finding no other way out, I returned to work."
"Owain, you should have said something!" Wynne came forward, touching the man lightly as if he were a wayward pet or something. "I would have opened the door for you."
Serena peered around, taking in the other's reactions to the strange man. Alistair watched the man, an expression of distaste on his face. Zevran simply raised an eyebrow in question, as if he considered the man politely insane.
"The stockroom is familiar, I prefer to be here." The man, Owain, sighed. "I would prefer not to die. I would prefer it if the tower returned to the way it was. Perhaps Niall will succeed and save us all."
Serena turned back to the Tranquil man. "Who is Niall? What is he trying to do?"
"I do not know, but he came here with several others, and took the Litany of Adralla."
"But that protects from mind domination." Wynne frowned. "Is blood magic at work here?"
"I do not know," Owain replied simply.
Alistair groaned. "Great... more blood mages. Why is it always blood mages? Why can't it ever be... blood-thirsty puppies or something?"
"I believe they call those werewolves, my friend," Zevran replied, smirking at the former templar.
"Niall was in the meeting. He would know." Wynne shook her head. "Blood magic... I was afraid of this."
Leliana sighed, her normally cheery face looked disturbed. "What does this mean, Wynne?"
"Blood magic could control us, too. Who knows what could happen then? Owain, you should go back to the barrier, Petra will be able to let you out." The older mage waved to the Tranquil and Serena watched as he walked calmly down the staircase and out the door. "We should find Niall. The Litany will give us a fighting chance against any blood mages we may encounter."
About to walk further, Zevran made a quick gesture, throwing out his arm to stop Serena from moving forward. His eyes glanced around and he touched his ear with one finger, signaling to her he was listening to something. Serena gestured to the others to be quiet and stay back as she kneeled down next to the assassin and they both moved nearer to where the voices were coming from.
"...We're making sure no one disrupts Uldred's plan. I thought that was quite clear." A man was speaking; his voice was intimidating and low, and Serena couldn't help the feeling of dread that settled in her stomach as she and Zevran crawled closer.
"But he's not Uldred anymore... I never wanted it to go this far..." The woman sounded stressed and emotional, like she'd been crying.
"Neither did I, but this is what we're faced with and-" Another woman's voice sounded petulant, like a child who had had a favorite toy taken away.
"Quiet! Both of you!" It was the man again. "I think I heard something. Keep your eyes open..."
"I believe that is our cue, Serena," Zevran said, picking himself up. "Hello, dear friends! Please do not shoot me with your blood magic."
"Oh yes, real subtle, Zevran." Serena rolled her eyes, following him around the corner, her hands on her daggers. "We will offer you all mercy in exchange for you promising to not harm anyone!"
The male mage sneered at them, pulling a dagger from his belt and running it across his wrist. "You haven't seen anything yet, elf!" His blood became a ribbon winding itself around his wrist as waves of power washed off him.
The sound of footsteps sprinting towards them filled the room as Alistair and the others joined them. He made the same complicated motion as he did at Redcliffe and the blood mage screamed, his magic collapsing onto himself.
"I can't cast! I can't- ahhhh!" The mage ran at Serena with his dagger, shouting curses, his bleeding arm raised and streaming everywhere. Serena dodged him and kicked, knocking him back into a group of bookcases. Zevran moved forward and slit the man's throat as his eyes rolled up and he fell to the ground, bleeding out on the rug. He turned to the two female mages, grinning savagely.
"I don't suppose either of you want to take a look at what we did to your male friend here and decide to come quietly?"
"Please, please don't kill me!" One of the women fell to her knees, her hands outstretched. Serena recognized her voice as the woman who had sounded like she'd been crying. "I'll do anything!"
"Danea, you fool! They're not templars! Kill them!" The dark haired woman began to her swing her staff wildly at Serena and Zevran as Danea slid under a table to get out of the incensed mages way.
Serena dodged as the woman pressed forward, her eyes completely mad, swinging the long staff like a club. Zevran rolled out of the way of the woman's throws, as Serena continued to try to dodge her flailing attacks, looking for an opening. She grabbed the mage's staff, wrestling with the mage as the woman pushed her back, the staff coming free of Serena's grip. In a matter of milliseconds, the wood staff connected with Serena's skull and she felt her head explode in agony as she slid to the ground, absolutely still.
The blood mage shrieked excitedly, bringing her staff around to slam it down again as Alistair moved, quick as lightning, grabbing the woman's staff and pressing her against the wall with it.
"I'm a templar," Alistair said dangerously. He snapped the staff in half over his armored leg and tossed it aside angrily. Rage poured off him in waves as he wrapped his gauntleted hand around the woman's throat and lifted her off her feet by the neck. "Don't even try to cast, or I'll squeeze your throat until it pops."
"Please, she doesn't mean any-" Danae began to cry from behind the table as Leliana and Zevran pulled Serena's body over to Wynne and Morrigan. Wynne touched Serena's forehead with her hands, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Alistair could hear their hushed whispering as they scrambled over Serena's body.
"For your sake, you better hope she gets back up." Alistair tightened his grip on the dark haired mage as she spat at him, kicking helplessly at his legs.
"We'll... kill... you... templar," the woman forced out each word, nearly choking on them. "She is... but the first of... many! Chantry puppets... Uldred will win... you'll see!" She twisted uselessly against him, her face getting redder and redder.
"May you find no rest at the Maker's side, malificar." Alistair scowled at the woman, his eyes dark and hard as stone. He jerked his hand atop her head and heard a crack as the woman's neck snapped. He shoved her broken body to the side and went to Wynne as Danae crawled to her friend's side, sobbing.
Alistair kneeled by Serena, touching her hand softly as Wynne continued to press her head with bright blue healing magic. "Serena... please wake up. I need you to be okay..." The others had backed up, standing awkwardly, waiting to see if their unofficial leader would be all right.
Unable to stand the tension, Zevran went to pick up the last mage from the ground and sat her down on a toppled bookcase. "I think you should probably be quiet for now," he said to the woman. "Unless you plan on attacking me like you all did my friend there?"
"No, no, never! I'm sorry!" The woman looked piteously into her hands, wringing them over and over. "I know I have no right to ask for mercy, but I didn't mean for this death and destruction. We were... we were just trying to free ourselves."
"I... uhhhnnn... " Serena sat up, her eyes slowly opening. "My head...?" She felt Alistair tug her to him and she let herself be pulled. "Alistair? What happened?"
"A woman hit you in the head with her staff, Serena," Leliana said quietly. "How do you feel?"
"Like I just fell off the apple cart... onto my face..." Serena touched Alistair's cheek softly, his concern felt like a blanket over her. "I'm fine, really. I think I'm okay." Serena stood up, a little wobbly, and walked over to where Zevran was sitting with the last woman.
"Hello," Serena said, staring down at the disheveled woman. "Please do not hit me with anything."
"I won't, I swear! I'm sorry for what Margot did!" The woman tried to stand and Zevran pulled her back down by the robes. "Uldred told us that the Circle would support Loghain, and Loghain would help us be free of the Chantry!"
"This Loghain seems to be a very busy man," Zevran quipped, watching the woman warily. "Hiring me to kill you, empowering these bloody mages to hit you with big sticks... I really think this Loghain wants you dead, Serena."
"Alas, it would certainly appear that way. Lucky for me he keeps failing." Serena touched her head where Zevran could see a bruise was starting to form. "So, let me take a wild stab at how things went down... this Uldred told you he could help you all escape the tower, right? I see that's worked out so well."
"You... you don't know what it was like here! The templars were watching, always watching..."
"What you've done here has hurt the mages' cause more than I think you realize," Serena said carefully. "People fear magic, fear demons and the power you all are capable of possessing... you should be teaching them tolerance... not proving the Chantry right by summoning demons! Maker, what is wrong with you?"
"Blood magic has never done anything good for anybody," said Alistair bitterly, standing next to Serena. "Your friends are dead, and countless other innocent people... and for what?"
"We thought... someone always has to take the first step... force a change, no matter the cost," Danae cried. "Andraste led nations against the Tevinter magisters..."
"Andraste fought to deliver her people and the elves from slavery," Leliana replied harshly, her bright eyes narrowed at the mage. "Not to summon demons and kill innocents."
"I did not know Uldred would go mad! And now we are scattered... doomed to die at the hands of those who seek to right out wrongs..."
"And yet all you do is wallow in self-pity. You take no pride in your gifts, or else you would use the Circle to teach magic to others who possess the power." Serena leaned towards the woman. "The one who repents, who had faith, Unshaken by the darkness of the world, She shall know true peace." Serena held out her hand to the woman. "I will spare you, but I hope that you see the destruction you wrought here and know that these second chances do not come often."
The mage clutched at Serena's hand, shaking it and bowing her head. "I know, thank you! The Maker will surely turn His eyes on you for your mercy!" Danae bowed again, awkwardly, and ran out of the room.
"Are you sure it was wise to allow her to leave, Warden?" Zevran stood up, his eyes on the woman's retreating back.
Serena glanced sidelong at the elf. "I offered you mercy and it has served me well so far. Besides, she won't get far past that barrier if she has ill intentions. I'll hunt her down myself." Serena shrugged, rubbing her head. "We should get going... I just hope we find more people that aren't hell-bent on summoning demons. Or hitting me in the head with those bloody staffs..."