Dragon Age: Revengeance

ACT II

Chapter 20

It was worryingly easy for Andraste to enter Fort Drakon, despite it being garrisoned by the finest Grey Wardens in all of Ferelden. The reason for this was that they were all dead. Every single Grey Warden was lying in a pool of their own blood. There were no signs of injuries on their bodies, but blood had seeped from their eyes, ears, and noses with distressing excess. She had never seen anything like it before.

The first and seemingly only sign of life in the fortress was in a courtyard near the entrance. Razikale sat beside an old, dead tree, staring off into the distance. The Blade of Mercy lay upon the ground beside her. Andraste approached cautiously, not wanting to provoke her. The Old God scarcely seemed to notice her.

"What happened here?" Andraste asked, glancing about at the Grey Warden corpses strewn about. "Did you do this?"

She blinked and cast her gaze over at one of the bodies, then shook her head.

"No. That was Dumat's doing. Blood magic. Some manner of death spell, linked to the Joining. It's quite possible that it has killed every Grey Warden in existence."

Andraste's eyes widened in alarm. "Why would he do that?"

Razikale chortled weakly. "He thinks he has no further need of them. The Grey Wardens were his weapon against my brothers and I. But since I acquired June's sword and completed it, there now exists a far more efficient weapon capable of killing gods."

Andraste eyed the Blade of Mercy on the ground, somewhat confused. "Does Dumat have the weapon?"

She sighed, a faraway look in her eyes. "He thinks he does, but he's wrong." She turned her head and fixed Andraste with an intense expression. "I decided to test him, after what Urthemiel told me. I gave Dumat a forgery; a replica of the Blade of Mercy that I had enchanted to fool him. An impressive magical weapon, but no god killer. He turned it on me the instant my back was to him."

"I'm ... sorry. I know he's your eldest brother."

Razikale stood abruptly, the real Blade of Mercy in her hands. Andraste tensed as she approached, but she simply presented the weapon, grip first.

"You spoke the truth. Both of you. He's made fools of us all. Take it."

She hesitated, then accepted the sword. It was a magnificent elven blade, perfectly balanced, the black metal polished to a mirror-like sheen. Andraste could sense the power within it, and Urthemiel was quietly amazed. She heard him whispering in the back of her mind about it, murmuring something about spellbinding.

"Aren't you afraid I might use it on you?"

"No. Your quarrel is with Dumat, not me. In that regard we share a mutual enemy. And a mutual ally." She shifted her focus, and Andraste felt as if she was looking inside of her. "Urthemiel; Lusacan's prison is directly below this fortress, inside the Deep Roads. He is the last of the Old Gods still slumbering, and the last of us still singing. His song is the only thing holding the gates of the Black City shut. If Dumat silences him, it will bring destruction down upon all of Thedas." She raised her hand and uncurled her fist. A small green wisp of light drifted up from her palm and hovered in the air between them. "This will show you the way to the prison. Stop Dumat. Save our brother."

Andraste frowned and raised Mercy, though she kept the blade pointed towards the ground. "Why? Without this he cannot kill Lusacan. Surely it would be a mistake to take the only weapon that can kill him to the prison where he sleeps."

"You underestimate Dumat. Remember, he created the darkspawn. Blight magic is his invention. When he realises that I have given him a forgery, Dumat will instead infect Lusacan with the Taint, transforming him into an Archdemon. That will unleash a new Blight upon Ferelden, and open the gates of the Black City at the same time." She shook her head. "We have no choice. Dumat must be stopped, and that sword is the only thing that can do it."

Andraste sheathed Mercy on her back. "Very well then, come with us. After he tried to kill you, I can only imagine you want him dead as much as I do."

Razikale smiled and gave a gesture. "Tempting, but there is something equally important that requires my attention."

"What?"

"Now that I know Dumat's intentions, it is long past time I took steps to create a cure to the darkspawn Taint. It is his most dangerous instrument, and it will continue to cause problems even if he is slain."

Andraste gaped for a moment. "Oh..." She glanced around at the dead Grey Wardens and flinched. "Solona, Avernus, Leonie..." She turned back to Razikale. "In the harbor is a ship called the Astera. If they're still alive, there should be some former Grey Wardens aboard who are working towards that very goal. I have no doubt they would appreciate the assistance, particularly from a full-fledged Old God full of secret knowledge."

Razikale nodded. "No doubt they would at that." She hesitated, then leaned in and kissed Andraste on the cheek. "Good luck, Urthemiel," she whispered. Then she vanished. Andraste brushed her fingers over her cheek and stared at the empty space where Razikale had stood.

"That ... that was strange."

The wisp Razikale had left her began to move, gliding towards one of the passageways that led deeper into the fortress. Steeling herself for what lay ahead, Andraste set off after it.

Solona tugged irritably at the collar around her neck. The glyphs of neutralization etched onto it completely drained her mana, rendering her powerless. Without her magic there wasn't a whole lot she could do. She tried picking the lock, but with zero success.

"Damn. Okay, not happening."

This wasn't the first time she had been locked up in the cells of Fort Drakon. Back during the Fifth Blight she'd allowed herself to be imprisoned in order to let Anora escape safely. Back then she had broken free by blasting everyone and everything in sight with her magic. Apparently the Grey Wardens knew better than to just lock a mage up in a cell without their staff and expect that hinder them. Really, contraptions like the one she now had around her neck made the Templars thoroughly redundant.

Solona gripped the bars of her cell and pulled at them in frustration. "Ugh! Someone let me out of here! What is wrong with all of you?! The world is about to end!"

A small green wisp of light flew past her cell. Solona stared at it in silent amazement. A moment later Andraste appeared, following after the wisp.

"Ahhh!" Solona squealed. "My fabulous red-headed goddess! You have come to save me!"

Andraste hurried over to her, her expression one of relief. "You're alive, thank the spirits. Stand back."

Solona did so, and watched as her saviour drew an impressive sword from her back and used it to cleave through the lock with zero effort. Solona responded by throwing herself at Andraste, arms wrapped around her neck.

"Hah ha ha! I love you so much! Marry me!"

"Don't take this the wrong way," said Andraste, "But why aren't you dead?"

Solona released her and frowned. "Huh? What d'ya mean?"

She took a step back and pointed. Solona joined her and peered down the hallway. Her mouth hung open. Grey Wardens lay strewn about, blood trailing from every orifice. They were very definitely dead.

"It's the same all over the fort," Andraste explained. "Razikale said it was some kind of blood magic spell cast by Dumat, targeted against every Warden that had undergone the Joining. I was afraid you had suffered the same fate."

Stunned, Solona rubbed the back of her head and grimaced at the spectacle. "Wow. Okay. I take it you know about Dumat being the First Warden, then? Yeah, things are looking really bad right about now. I figure I'm probably still alive because Avernus has been doing all kinds of weird experiments on us, and he's messed around with our darkspawn Taint so much that we're not like the other Grey Wardens any more? I mean I guess." She tugged at the metal collar around her neck again and pointed towards it. "Any chance you could get this thing off me? It seriously chafes."

Gripping the collar with both hands, Andraste snapped the ugly accessory in two using brute force and tossed it away. Solona felt her magic return to her at once, the strength flowing through her limbs and putting a spring back in her step. Andraste then returned Vigilance to her, and began to fill her in on everything as the pair followed after Razikale's guiding light wisp.

In the lowest levels of the fort's dungeons they came upon a secret chamber that had presumably been discovered and left open by Dumat. Now it was a circular shaft that descended into the bowels of the earth. The wisp dived straight in, and the two of them watched as the light dwindled away in its descent.

"Ohhh, that's a long way down," said Solona, her words echoing down the shaft. Andraste grunted.

"Urthemiel says this was an elevator leading to Lusacan's prison. Dumat must have already used it. We don't have time to wait for it to return to the surface."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

Andraste gripped Solona and jumped. The Hero of Ferelden screamed.

It was a long, dark plummet into the Deep Roads. Long enough for Solona to calm down and figure out what Andraste had in mind. When the prophet created a Glyph of Repulsion at the bottom of the elevator shaft, Solona conjured a Repulsion Field around them both for added measure. The combined force of both spells slowed their descent sufficiently, so that they touched down as lightly as a leaf kissing the surface of a pond. Even so, Solona still swallowed and glanced back up at the darkness above them.

"Yeah, let's never do that again."

Lusacan's prison stretched out before them. It was immense, a vast spherical chamber as big as the entire interior of Fort Drakon. The air was filled with chunks of floating rock. Seven enormous glyphs decorated the walls of the prison, all of them dark save for one, which burned brightly enough to light up the entire room. Nevertheless it was not the only source of light. Hanging, suspended within the centre of the vault, was Lusacan; a huge High Dragon, wrapped in a crystalline cocoon of Green Lyrium. Although he slumbered in a deep, enchanted sleep, Lusacan still sang as he dreamed. The song, achingly beautiful to their ears, filled the chamber, resonating with absolute perfection.

"I wondered when you would arrive," said Dumat. He was standing on a walkway that floated directly in front of Lusacan's head. He turned to greet them both, and raised a sword that looked identical to the one Andraste carried. "Ah, I see you have brought me the real Blade of Mercy. How terribly thoughtful of you. I had hoped that you would."

Andraste drew her sword and advanced along the walkway.

"You want it? You can have it; right after I drive it into your black heart!"

Dumat smirked. "Urthemiel, is that any way to talk to your brother?"

She snarled and raised Mercy, pointing the tip of the sword towards him. "Don't waste your breath! Urthemiel has nothing to say to you! He knows that the only hope of saving Lusacan and Razikale is to destroy you."

"I see." He drove his replica sword into the stone in front of him and then extended his hands. "In that case, allow me to show you just how black my heart truly is..."

Flames engulfed Dumat, incinerating his robes and melting his flesh. Bones cracked and sinew popped as he transformed before their eyes, growing, twisting, reshaping his body. As the flames faded, Dumat stretched. He was now a seven foot tall draconic humanoid, head adorned with horns, back with wings, a tail curling between his clawed feet. His eyes burned like embers, and he reached out to grip his sword with a clawed hand that was easily large enough to engulf Solona's head. He levelled his sword at them and grinned with a mouth of fanged teeth.

"Thedas must be cleansed with fire and reborn as a paradise," he said, his voice now much deeper and stronger. "Come! Witness the birth of a new world!"

Andraste screamed and charged at him. The instant she swung for him he vanished, teleporting onto one of the floating rocks above them. He extended his free hand, telekinetically lifting Solona into the air. With a sharp gesture, he hurled her across the chamber. She slammed into the far wall, bounced, and began to slide. Despite having the breath knocked from her, she somehow managed to drive Vigilance into the wall, slowing and then halting her tumble. Hanging from her sword, Solona saw Dumat and Andraste exchanging a flurry of blows. She wheezed.

"All right, now I'm angry."

Transforming into a cloud of insects, Solona swarmed onto one of the floating platforms and returned to human form. She fired off a bolt of lightning towards Dumat. He caught it without missing a beat and sent it right back at her. She fade stepped away from the attack and used her momentum to fling herself at him, taking a swing with Vigilance just as Andraste did the same with Mercy. Dumat teleported away, causing Solona and Andraste's swords to clash.

"On your knees!" he called out to them from his perch on one of the rocks. He raised his hand and proceeded to rain flaming meteors down on them. Working together, Solona and Andraste conjured an anti-magical ward, shielding them from the fiery maelstrom.

"That all you got?!" Solona hollered once the attack had ceased. "We're still standing!"

Dumat gestured, and the entire platform they were standing on shifted as he pulled it up and into the rock he currently occupied. Now that they were within striking distance, he struck; conjuring a massive Fade-fist, he veilstruck Andraste, swatting her from the platform despite her efforts to block the attack. He then drove his sword down towards Solona's head. Enveloping herself in a cloak of Fade energy, she shifted through the attack and rematerialised inside of him, hoping to telefrag Dumat the same way she had Cullen. Dumat teleported away, leaving behind a Glyph of Paralysis as he went, which triggered the instant Solona decloaked.

"O-Okay ... t-this is ... getting ... exhausting," she managed to mumble, twitching on the spot as she fought against the paralysis. Dumat reappeared in front of her, grinning.

"You should have died along with the other Grey Wardens, halfbreed," he taunted. He swung his sword in an arc that would have separated her head from her shoulders, had Andraste not caught the attack on the edge of her own sword. The force of her parry sent Dumat's sword spinning away. As she moved to riposte however, Dumat narrowed his eyes and unleashed a kinetic mind blast, the shockwave propelling Andraste into Solona, who was knocked free of the paralysis glyph.

Good news for her, terrible news for Andraste. Now it was she who was lying on the glyph, unable to move. Worse still, the blast had caused her to drop Mercy at Dumat's feet. The sword flew into his hand with a casual wave, and he took a step towards Andraste, his eyes flashing triumphantly.

"I plunged this sword into your heart once before," he said, raising the weapon. "Back then, the blade was incomplete. Flawed. Now that it has been perfected, I promise you won't be bouncing back from it this time. Give my regards to oblivion, dear brother."

"No!" Solona screamed. Acting almost on instinct, she fade stepped, putting herself between Andraste and the Blade of Mercy, which sliced through her flesh instead. She staggered back and fell into Andraste's arms, the glyph of paralysis fading. Andraste summoned a forcefield around them both, preventing Dumat from striking her down as well.

"You idiot!" Andraste wailed, cradling Solona in her arms. Hot tears welled up in her eyes. "Why did you do that?!"

She tried to laugh, but blood bubbled from her mouth instead.

"S-Sorry, but you know me ... always gotta be the big damn hero."

"Shut up! I have to heal you!"

Andraste focused her magic, but even with the powers of an Old God aiding her, it was no use, and they both knew it. The Blade of Mercy was designed to slay immortals. Any wounds inflicted by it were well beyond healing. Solona gripped Andraste's arm and managed to smile.

"It's o-kay, y'know. I ... I guess this is just fate catching up with me. I was ... spared from making the ultimate sacrifice once before. And I ... I couldn't let him kill either of you. You're both ... too important, r-right?"

Andraste ground her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. Her tears splashed onto Solona's cheeks. Solona reached up and rubbed a thumb under Andraste's eye, leaving a smear of blood behind in the process.

"Hey now, no need to cry. You've got this, don't you?"

Andraste nodded miserably. "Yeah, Solona, I got this."

Solona coughed and glanced down at herself.

"Is that all my blood? I think it is. I need a little rest. Just gonna ... close my eyes. Wake me when we've won, m'kay?"

A strange light flashed behind her eyes, and Solona Amell, Warden Commander and Hero of Ferelden, ceased to exist.

As the forcefield surrounding them faded, Andraste carefully laid her down, picked up Vigilance, and stood. Rage pounded inside her head, trembled through her limbs, twitched at the corners of her mouth. She wanted to scream. Smash. Burn. Most of all though, she wanted to kill Dumat.

He wasn't there, though. Andraste scowled, searching about for some sign of him.

And then the song stopped.

It had been so continuous that it had sort of faded into the background, but now that it was gone the sudden abrupt silence struck her like a warhammer. Horrified, Andraste turned towards Lusacan. Dumat pulled the Blade of Mercy free from the dragon's skull and stood back.

On the walls of the prison, the last of the seven glowing glyphs flickered for a moment, and then went dark.

The skies above Denerim blackened. Upon the deck of the Astera, Leonie, Avernus, Fiona, and Razikale all gazed up at where the sun had been. In its place was an ominous, dark citadel, so great and terrible that it blotted out the light. An icy chill settled on the city like the first frost of winter, snatching away their breath.

Slowly, ponderously, the great gates at the front of the Black City swung open. And from them poured forth a tide of swirling, impenetrable darkness, which spread out and engulfed the lands below.

The long night had come at last, and silence descended upon all of Thedas.