Trapped in the Fade

The Warden

I clear my head with a shake and blink my eyes. Faint images of another existence flit about in my head before they begin to fade. I try to hold onto them – a tower of mages, grotesque creatures, a sultry demoness holding a Templar in thrall. I wipe crusty flecks from my eyes and realize that it's just a bad dream. Now, I am awake.

A man with a familiar smile leans over me and extends a helping hand. "We have him cornered, little sister. He cannot escape this time."

I stop for a moment as I focus on Fergus' face. At first, I have no memory of how I got here or even where I am. Then, visions of my rescuing my brother from the Wilds and our pursuit of Teyrn Loghain coalesce and I remember that we are in Denerim and that Leliana found us a secret entrance into the palace so that we might have our vengeance upon him. "I have waited so long for this."

Fergus pulls me up onto my feet and clenches his teeth in a grimace. "And he will face the same fate that we visited upon Arl Howe. You were wise to send that bastard to the gallows and deny him the death of a noble through the headsman's axe."

Raw energy surges through my body as if I had just taken a drink from a font of strength and willpower. I feel renewed and full of purpose. I have lived for nothing but seeing the men behind my family's destruction, themselves destroyed. "And Loghain will be no different. I have kept a hangman's noose in my pack just for such an occasion." I can still see Rendon Howe dancing at the end of my rope, his eyes bulging and his tongue swelling. Somehow though, the vision seems forced. I can't quite understand why. I recall putting the noose around the traitor's neck as surely as I can see Fergus standing here before me. No matter, we are here now and the end is at hand. Not even the Archdemon can deny me my vengeance.

Fergus hands me my cuirass and helps me to strap on the numerous pieces of armor that define my harness. With every metal plate that goes on my body I grow in power and resolution as if my very life force feeds some entity beyond my understanding. Whatever it may be, it can devour my very soul if it means that Loghain will not live out the day. I pull on my silverite covered gauntlets as my brother straps our family sword to my hip. He places his hand on my shoulder and grips gently. "Fear not, little sister, we will see justice." Like me now, his easy-going manner is gone, replaced by a fierce and unyielding fire that would consume all of Ferelden if left unchecked.

I nod and adjust the bevor protecting my throat. I pick up my polished silver helmet and ask, "Where is Leliana? We should get going."

Leli enters with my Mabari hound and she waves us over to the door. There is something odd about my Orlesian companion though. I stop to observe her and her hair is longer than I remember and she has a harder edge to her. I try to compare her to the image that I have in my mind, but it's fuzzy. Last I seem to recall, we were in a tower somewhere and she's glad I decided not to kill the mages. But, was that the dream I was having?

With Cyrano leading the way, we journey through a cellar and into the Royal Palace where Loghain has usurped the Crown. Like Howe, he will have no one to blame but himself for setting in motion a series of events that will lead to his doom. We come to the cellar door which Leliana easily picks open and we make our way stealthily through the kitchens, which oddly seem empty.

We near the entryway into the throne room and I can hear his booming voice, full of bombastic rhetoric about saving Ferelden…rubbish. It is he that would destroy us all. I can feel every muscle in my body tense with quiet rage and anticipation now. This is all that I have wished for and, be it Maker or demon that brought me here, my blessings upon him. I move ahead of Fergus and crouch down to get a view into the room. I can see him now, the fiend, still droning on about his service and experience. I feel a spark in my gut that quickly grows into a flame in my heart. The intensity of my hate is so fierce that my vision grows dim for a moment and I see a ghostly image before me, a strange caricature of a man, with pulpy, scaly flesh that makes my skin crawl. I gasp and blink and the image vanishes. The creature is now gone, but I swear, it was feeding off of me…my anger and my rage, fueling its being.

Now is not the time to ponder on strange magics though and I survey the room to ensure that we are not walking into a trap. Leliana nods, telling me that the way is free from any pits or snares. There are several guards present, including his precious Ser Cauthrien. Perhaps I may be merciful enough to let her pay the headsman rather than swing from the gallows. Like Morrigan has announced, I am not a heartless shrew. Seeing no one else in the throne room, the opportunity is perfect now as if someone had set all of this up. Something screams a warning in the back of my head, but I am driven to this fate. I cannot turn back.

I signal Leliana to nock and arrow and take out the guard nearest to Loghain. She fires and the gull-feathered shaft flies true and into the throat of the soldier. His hands immediately come to his neck as he gurgles blood and sinks to his knees. I snap my fingers and Cyrano darts into the room, his fangs bared. He leaps onto another guard, knocking the man to the ground. I charge in to the sound of snarls and tearing flesh.

Fergus moves to take Cauthrien while I drive straight in for the foul heart of this treachery, Teyrn Loghain. Emerging from behind my shield, I swing the Cousland sword in a downward arc at his naked head, but Loghain is fast for a man his age and size. He dodges under my cut and grabs the handle of his big sword. I know he has to draw to defend himself and Master Aedan taught me how to deal with such moves. The draw must come from his left side so I shift to his right, just outside of the strength of his oncoming cut. As his sword clears the scabbard, I am ready and I deflect it downward with my own blade. The ring of steel pierces the room and I redirect my weapon to cut at his groin.

Loghain is an experience swordsman and he does not fall for such a beginner's attack. He scoops his arms upward, sweeping my cut over his shoulder and wheels around in a circle, gathering momentum for his riposte. I barely have time to bring my shield up before I feel the jarring impact of his blow shivering through the wood and up my arm. My training drives me forward and I lower my head to rush into him, hurling him back with the force of my charge. We both grunt with the effort, but I realize that I've made a mistake. I feel the pommel of his sword crash down onto my helmet and my head reels in pain. I'm forced to stagger back and throw a weak cut out to distract him. But, that is another mistake.

Loghain shifts his sword again and deflects my attack into the ground. Before I can react, he steps on the flat of my blade and it snaps in the middle. A cold sense of horror shoots through my veins as I pull back the jagged shards of silverite that spring from the handle of my weapon. The Teyrn smirks, fueling my rage and hate. He makes his move to finish me.

I see his sword cock backwards for a moment before sweeping down at me. It's all moving in slow motion now and my body acts on pure instinct, sliding me out of the way as I shove the shield right in his face. Another impact jars the wood, but one is good. I hear a pained grunt and I emerge from behind the shield again to rake the jagged metal edge of my broken blade across his cheek and nose. Loghain staggers, holding his face and I toss my sword aside to seize the armored gorget around his neck. I swivel my hips and sit, pulling him down over my head to crash into the ground at my feet. In a flash, my poignard is in my hand and at his eye. I cry out in anger, baring my teeth as Cyrano would. My vengeance is at hand.

As my rage surges through my blood, my vision blurs again and I see the demon before me…He was from the Tower. I think I recall now. His sleepy eye bids me to finish this act, to play out my vengeance and be done. I can see tendrils of energy flowing from my wrathful heart towards his face to be inhaled into his preternatural lungs. I realized that I am…his food.

Loghain wheezes beneath the point of my dagger. "You foolish bitch…," he says, spitting blood. "I should have killed you when I had the chance. I would have fed you to the hounds."

A fire wells up into my breast and my hand twitches, ready to send sharp steel into his brain, but this is not Loghain…the Teyrn is smart…calculating. This…this simulacrum is merely trying to provoke me.

"Kill him!" I hear Fergus shout.

"Kill him!" Leliana cries.

It all makes sense now. The demon is in my head. Yes, a Sloth Demon…I remember now. He barred the way through the Tower as we were attempting to save the Circle. Somehow, he knows my very fears and desires and he feeds on my energy as my body lies in slumber. But, today, he will have to find new food. I will kill Loghain one day, but not for the pleasure of this creature of the Fade. I laugh and step away from my fallen foe. "I will find you, demon."

The images of Loghain and my companions shimmer for a moment before dispersing into shadow. I hear a deep, throaty chuckle before the halls of the Royal Palace shift into a bizarre, impossible landscape of mist and floating islands. I see a man, dressed as a Circle mage, sitting forlornly in front of a stone pedestal. He looks familiar. Ah yes, the man lying at the feet of the demon.

He gazes up at me and shows no enthusiasm whatsoever. How strange. I thought he might be more excited at the prospect of rescue. "Oh, welcome, my name is Niall."