Dragon Age: Revengeance

ACT II

Chapter 15

"Whaaaaat?!" Solona jabbed Morrigan in the back with her finger. "I thought your son was carrying Urthemiel?"

"He was," said Morrigan, "Until my mother found him and removed the Old God from within him."

The Warden clenched her hands at her sides and glared at her imposter maid servant. "What's the big idea then, pretending to be a desire demon?"

Urthemiel gestured helplessly. "It's what you wanted."

"What I wanted? What does that have to do with anything?"

Urthemiel approached them both with his hands clasped together as if in prayer. "It was not my intention to trick either of you, or cause you harm. In fact I am forever in your debt."

Solona and Morrigan exchanged bewildered expressions. "Come again?" said the former.

"Together, the two of you chose to perform an ancient ritual before slaying me in battle," Urthemiel explained. "In doing so, you saved not only my life but my very soul. You could have destroyed me utterly. Instead, you sought to preserve my existence, and so purged me of the darkspawn taint that had taken hold of me." He stopped before them both, his expression painfully earnest. "I really don't know how to thank you enough for all that you did for me. I spent some time as your son," he said to Morrigan, "Because having an Old God child was what you wanted. When Mythal separated me from Keiran, I sought out the Warden who had struck me down, and tried to give you what you wanted."

Morrigan looked from Urthemiel to Solona, her lips curling into a barely contained sneer. "Truly? A demonic cat girl?"

"Hey!" Solona took offence at her reaction. "What's wrong with that?" She fidgeted awkwardly for a moment and crossed her arms. "I mean ... he does make a very cute cat girl. This is ... a little unsettling. You could have just told me who you were instead of lying to me, y'know?"

Urthemiel nodded gravely. "I am sorry for the deception. I only wished to make you happy. If it were within my power to do so, I would cure you of the Blight as you did for me. Regrettably the method Mythal used to cure Andruil is the same ritual that you used upon me. As such, it will not work upon a mortal like yourself."

Solona unfolded her arms and absently rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I figured as much. I just have to hope that Avernus can turn something up by studying Fiona."

Morrigan frowned at the Old God. "What will you do now?"

Urthemiel turned to regard the tear in the Veil, the green light reflecting in his wide eyes. "Your discovery of this Tevinter time portal presents us with a unique opportunity, and not in the way you might think. If possible, I would like to use it to reveal to you the darkest secret in all of Thedas."

Before he could tell them what that was, Leonie dashed frantically down the stairs, and had to stop for a second to catch her breath.

"You better come see this," she said, gesturing over her shoulder, "We have a big problem on our hands."

Funalis was a small, ruined fort, situated at the bottom of an enormous dry canyon, with the canyon walls stretching up either side of it so high that the sky was just a small blue sliver far above. As they all followed Leonie onto the battlements, it very quickly became apparent just what the problem was.

There was an army camped outside.

'Camped' was a generous word for it. A more accurate description would be 'dug in', for the army at their door was ready to lay siege to the crumbling Tevinter outpost. They had ballistae, archers, crossbowmen, mages, golems, and more, all in defensive formations throughout the canyon. As the small group gaped in dismay at the forces arrayed before them, a figure on horseback approached the fort and called out to them.

"Hear me! I am Florianne de Chalons, Empress of Orlais! I know that you have the Witch of the Wilds known as Morrigan among you. Surrender her to me, and the rest of you can go free."

Solona gave a weak chuckle. "I bet you really regret drinking from that Well of Sorrows now, huh?"

Morrigan stepped back from the edge, her expression growing dark. "You have no idea..."

Leonie was more than a little apprehensive. "I get that we can't turn her over to them, but what are we going to do? They have us outnumbered a thousand to one."

"Well we cannot allow them to find the time portal," said Revka, "It would be disastrous for all of Thedas if they gained control of it."

"I will take care of it," Urthemiel announced. "I can close the tear, rendering the entire thing worthless, but it will take me some time."

"Then we just need to buy you some," said Solona. She turned to Morrigan with a wicked grin. "You know, I heard you have a new trick up your sleeve. What do you say we go out there and give them a warm reception they won't soon forget?"

Morrigan returned the grin. "'Tis a splendid suggestion."

Solona turned back and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Okay, she's coming out!"

Morrigan leapt from the battlements, transforming into a high dragon in mid-fall. She spread her wings and swooped over the assembled army, unleashing a jet of searing fire upon a cluster of cavalry. If Revka was astonished by this, it was nothing as to how she felt upon seeing her daughter transform into a griffon before her very eyes. Leonie climbed onto Solona's back, and together they soared into battle, joining Morrigan on the offensive.

Florianne had clearly anticipated this turn of events, and had planned accordingly. Once the battle began, she rode back to her troops and called out instructions. Not for nothing were the bulk of her forces ranged combatants. Archers and crossbowmen loosed their munitions against their two flying opponents, filling the air with explosive shots and shrapnel. Solona dodged these flak bursts and positioned herself so that Leonie was able to drop a cluster of grenades down upon the enemy. Since the enemy in question was also using explosives, her attack triggered secondary detonations, taking a good number of them out of the picture.

"Binders!" Florianne shouted, signalling in the direction of Morrigan. "Fire!"

The ballistae she had brought along all targeted the dragon and fired harpoons attached to stout ropes. Several of them found their mark, anchoring Morrigan in place and slowing her considerably. At least until Solona swooped in and severed the ropes with her claws. Leonie dropped another grenade and managed to destroy one of the ballistae with it. Meanwhile Morrigan dived towards a formation of archers and spat a fireball in their direction. It exploded harmlessly against an elemental shield conjured by a Venatori mage however.

In retaliation, mages cast Haste upon the archers to increase their rate of fire, whilst others enchanted the arrows with magical frost in order to try and slow their aerial foes. Solona had to execute a barrel roll to avoid a volley of the icy projectiles.

"Commander!" Leonie tugged at her feathers and pointed down below. "Get me close to Florianne and I'll see if I can take her out!"

She did as suggested, first gaining some altitude, then pitching into a steep dive aimed directly at the Orlesian Empress. Leonie prepared a powerful firebomb, and was about to hurl it when an unseen force yanked her directly from Solona's back. She came to a stop half a dozen feet above the ground, held in place by the telekinetic powers of a fearsome armoured foe.

"Naughty..." said the figure, a towering warrior with a gauntlet wreathed in glowing lyrium veins. He drew his greatsword, Certainty, and began to pull Leonie towards the blade. A forcefield suddenly enveloped her, cancelling the telekinetic hold over her and releasing a shockwave that sent the warrior sliding backwards. Solona – back in human form once more – caught Leonie as she floated to the ground.

"You okay?" she asked, setting the alchemist down. Leonie nodded.

"I'm fine, thanks."

"I'll handle this guy, find some cover." Solona drew Vigilance and squared off against the warrior. "Hey! Big guy! Come and get it!" she taunted. He stabbed his greatsword into the ground and removed his helmet.

"With pleasure," said Inquisitor Trevelyan, tossing the helmet away and pulling his sword from the ground.

Back at the outpost, Urthemiel hurried to the control dais and began to activate the time portal. He had very little time – ironically – to do what needed to be done. The rift had to be closed to prevent the portal from falling into Venatori hands, but first it was vital he carry out one thing before doing so.

"What's happening?" asked Revka, who could see the tear fluctuating wildly. "What are you doing?"

His hands a blur as he input a staggeringly complex sequence of glyphs, Urthemiel focused intently upon the portal to ensure he was manipulating the timestream correctly.

"Before I close it, there is something I must do," he replied. "An opportunity such as this might never present itself again."

Revka turned to him, her features clouded with confusion. "I don't understand."

"You will. Whether you believe is another matter entirely."

After completing the last sequence, Urthemiel pressed the amulet embedded in the centre of the dais. The tear in the Veil flared a brilliant, blinding green-white, forcing both him and Revka to shield their eyes from the intense glare. Then it subsided as quickly as it had begun, except that now the rift was gone. The tear in the Veil had been closed, the time portal was no more. In its place lay the body of woman with long red hair. Her clothes were tattered and burned, and she had an open wound in her breast. Revka dropped to her knees and checked for a pulse.

"She's dead." She glanced over at Urthemiel, still unable to comprehend what was happening. "What did you do? Who is this woman?"

The Old God joined Revka in kneeling beside the body. "You don't recognise her? There are statues dedicated to her all over Thedas."

For a moment Revka still did not understand. Then it hit her, and she gasped in astonishment, springing to her feet and backing away in horror. "That's not possible! You couldn't have!"

"Why not? You know what this place is, what it was intended for. She died over a thousand years ago, but the rift was over a thousand years old. She was not beyond its reach."

Revka placed a hand over her own heart and shook her head in denial. "Why would you do such a thing?! It's-"

"Blasphemy?"

"Unthinkable!"

Urthemiel took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what was to come next. "Perhaps, but it is the only way anyone will believe."

"Believe what?"

"The truth about the Maker."

Revka watched in further amazement as the Old God Urthemiel transformed into a glowing silhouette of energy, and then surged into the body of the woman, who floated up from the ground. A halo of light enveloped her, causing her wounds to close and armour to materialise over her tattered clothing; a form fitting battledress of white steel and dragon leather, with a round shield attached to one of the bracers. The light faded and the woman landed gently on her feet, her scarlet hair blown by an ethereal breeze.

Andraste opened her eyes.