Olorin groaned as he finally woke up and opened his eyes. Passing out from depleted mana was never good. The one good thing about it was it never lasted long. As soon as a mages mana levels were back up to normal levels, they would feel right as rain. As such, Olorin's groan was more embarrassment than pain.

"Ah so you are awake?" asked someone to his left. Looking over he saw it was Enchanter Helen, one of Wynne's former apprentices. Helen often took over duties of tower healer when Wynne was away. A few years older than Olorin, a lot of apprentices had had crushes on her, but while Olorin could appreciate she was a beautiful woman, he couldn't help but feel she was stuck up and had never liked her much.

"No I'm not. I'm actually dead and am a reanimated corpse."

"Very amusing. I will alert those waiting you are awake."

With that she bustled into the room to admit Greagoir, Irving and Duncan to the infirmary. Before they had chance to speak Olorin burst out with his main question.

"Did you catch the bastard?"

They were all taken aback slightly by his use of word, and it was Greagoir who answered.

"No I'm afraid we didn't. I thought the two of you were friends?"

"We were. Until he lied to me saying he wasn't a blood mage. I had just thought it was just an escape attempt so he could be with the Chantry initate. Now he's nothing to me."

Greagoir looked satisfied at this. He had always been wary of Olorin, but at the same time always gave him a chance to explain himself.

"I must wonder young one, how you managed to use up so much mana that you collapsed? I thought with three of you the defences would have been quite easy."

"Perhaps they would have been Irving if I had competent help. Lily was a Chantry initiate with barely any skill with a knife. We both know Jowan had little power and was better suited to theoretical work."

"True. Then I must ask how you dealt with the final guardian on your own? It is quite remarkable considering your age, and we can't seem to find it."

Olorin allowed himself a smirk at this. "You won't. I melted him."

Greagoir nearly did a spit take of the water he was drinking.

"You what!? How did you manage that?"

"Simple. I put as much power as I could into a cone of flame for as long as I could."

Irving looked proud at this. "Very impressive young one. Very few could do that. I believe this should be proof enough for you Duncan?"

"Yes it is." Answered Duncan, leaving Olorin confused.

"Proof of what, may I ask?"

"I hereby offer you a place in the Grey Wardens."

Olorin was stunned. So stunned he had his mouth hanging open in fact. Indeed it took Irving waving his hand in front of Olorin's face to break him out of it.

"You want me to be a Grey Warden? But why?" was his first sentence.

"Irving has told me of your talent for battle magic and I have seen it myself."

"What about my ability? It makes me more susceptible to possession."

It was Greagoir who answered this.

"I also had major concerns about this. But there has never been one single report of a Grey Warden mage being turned into an abomination. It is believed to be impossible."

Olorin was so happy it was unbelievable. He knew some Enchanters could leave the circle with permission from the First Enchanter and Knight-Commander. He never believed he would be given that permission, due being more likely to be possessed. But this was his chance to leave and do good in the world, without that risk. With a huge smile he turned to Duncan.

"I would be honoured."

o-0-o

It only took two hours for Olorin to be ready to leave his home for most part of his life. He had never really been that close to any of the other apprentices, the exception being Alim Surana. Alim was a talented and powerful mage. But where Olorin struggled in creationism and healing, those were the areas Alim excelled in. He said goodbye to a few of the apprentices before moving onto the people he was closer to. The goodbye to Senior Enchanter Sweeny did not take long. The old man was losing his memory and all knew he was not long left for this world.

The ones he reserved the most time for was Irving and Alim, his mentor and effectively father and his best friend. The goodbyes to both of them were very emotional, with Irving weeping tears of pride at how far his young apprentice had come, and Alim holding back tears and losing his best friend. Olorin struggled to hold back tears in both cases.

And so it was that Olorin sailed across Lake Calenhad for the first time since he was brought to the tower as a seven year old. Hopping off the boat he walked up the small hill past the tavern as Duncan spoke to him.

"My stay at the circle tower was not as long as I was expecting. As such we have time for one more stop. We will journey north to Highever. There is a knight there, a Ser Gilmore, who has been recommended to me. If we make good time in the three hours of daylight we have left, we should be able to get there the day after tomorrow."

They carried on talking as they walked, just little small talk. That was until Olorin asked a question which surprised Duncan.

"Would you teach me how to wield a sword?"

"And why would you want to learn how to use a sword?"

"Everybody knows if you want to kill a mage, you get close to him. I bet the Darkspawn are the same. And I can only kill so many with magic. Yes I can defend myself with a staff, but it's not the same."

Duncan thought for a second before nodding.

"Very well. After we have eaten and before sleep we will spend an hour working on your swordsmanship. Though I cannot guarantee quick progress and it may take a while to find you a sword suitable for your use."

Olorin was very happy at this and even happier when Duncan followed through on his promise. They spent an hour before sleep where Olorin had Duncan's sword in his right hand and staff in his left. They walked through basic sword motions. At first Duncan had just wanted him to focus on the sword, but Olorin had pointed out as a mage he also had a staff. Why not make use of it? So they worked on combining the two together into one style.

The next day was spent walking towards Highever before setting up camp and more training. Olorin had never been so tired in his life. Despite being a tower with lots of stairs, the circle wasn't that big in the grand scheme of things. Thus he was not used to all this walking. But he knew if he was to be a Grey Warden he would have to get used to it. Beside, Duncan said they should get to Highever for just after lunch the next day.

And indeed they did arrive in Highever at the time Duncan had said. Duncan had clearly been here before and led them through the town up to the large castle. Each street of the town was causing memories for Olorin and he kept an eye out for his parents, though he didn't see anybody he recognised. Eventually they reached the gates of the castle where Duncan announced them to the guard.

It did not take long until they were summoned into a hall with three men talking in the middle of it. Two of them were older gentlemen, one quite small and skinny and the other tall and muscular. However his height had nothing on that of the younger man who would be introduced as Lord William Cousland, the youngest son of Teryn Bryce Cousland.

Olorin estimated his height at over six foot five and he had a powerful build. His short black hair offered a contrast to Olorin's long blonde hair. He also carried a sword and shield on his back and moved with the grace of a warrior. Olorin had seen a few Templars move like that but they never lasted long in the circle before being sent for more dangerous pastors.

The important men talked for a while and Olorin slightly zoned out. As such, it was a surprised to find he was being addressed by the Teryn.

"I gather you are a mage, Olorin?"

"Yes I am Your Grace."

"Where do your talents lie? Healing or combat?"

"In combat Your Grace. I'm afraid I could never quite grasp healing."

"Very well. I'm sure you will do the Wardens credit."

"You are too kind Your Grace."

William was soon dismissed when Duncan had started enquiring about the possibility of recruiting him into the Grey Wardens. The rest of the day was spent with the three men talking strategy. Though Olorin was in the room, he wasn't involved in the conversation and it made for quite a boring afternoon.

Once the evening came the three men retired to various places with Olorin following Duncan. They had their normal evening routine but spent two hours practicing the sword instead of the normal one in the training yard that Teryn Cousland had leant them for the use. Duncan walked with Olorin to the guest rooms they had been assigned. They were next to the family's suite and opposite the rooms of a visiting noble. Duncan went to join Teryn Cousland and Arl Howe for a drink as Olorin settled down for the night.

o-0-o

Olorin wandered the fade as he always did when asleep. However he soon became aware of something following him. He knew it could only be one of three things. Another dreamer, which was extremely unlikely, or a demon or spirit. Olorin got ready to defend himself should it be a demon before he called out.

"Stop hiding in the shadows and show yourself!"

And the thing following him did reveal itself. It was a humanoid shape and dressed in plate armour. However it appeared as if it was not quite truly there, marking it out as a spirit or demon. Olorin would be on guard until he could establish what it was.

"Who are you?"

There was a pause before the being answered.

"I am a spirit of Valour."

Olorin relaxed. Spirits were harmless to humans as they had no desire to possess them. He knew spirits and demons would always identify themselves if directly asked and he also knew as long as he didn't start to think of the spirit as a demon, it would not become one.

"How are you doing Valour?"

"I am doing well mortal. I have watched you for some time."

"Is there any particular reason for that?"

"You have shown great promise in combat mortal, as well as a love for it. That will always attract us spirits of Valour."

"Have you ever watched any other mortals?"

"You are the first I've been able to interact with. But I have seen others. Two of whom you may recognise as Loghain Mac Tir and Calenhad."

Conversation passed between them for a while before Valour stiffened up and spoke.

"You must wake. There is combat near you. Your host has been betrayed. You must wake."

Olorin quickly thanked him for the warning before dragging himself into the waking world and was immediately thankful he had. He could hear people kicking on his door trying to gain entry. Not even having chance to put his robes on, he readied his staff, pointing it at the door. Almost as soon as he decided what spell to use the door got kicked in. Not giving time for his assailant to rush in Olorin launched a lightening spell at the door and set up a barrier that would take some time for them to cross. He got changed into his robes and pulled his pack onto his back.

He thanked the maker that the first barrier spell that had come to his head formed a transparent barrier as he could see an archer and five armed men waiting in the hallway. He knew he stood little chance against those odds, but he had no choice. He could only hold the barrier for so long so escape was his best chance. Readying himself for combat, he chose his method.

As soon as he collapsed the barrier he formed a wall of ice that blocked the arrow the archer had launched at him. He followed this up by launching a spell of frost at the archer which instantly froze his heart inside his chest. Next he launched a ball of lightening that shattered the wall of ice turning it into sharp shards and then launched a strong wind into the room that sent the shards flying into the armed men. Three managed to raise their shields in time to block them, but one was impaled through the throat and another in the eye, both dropping dead.

Olorin had time to launch a stonefist at one of the armed men before they were upon him and he was forced to defend himself. Olorin thanked Duncan in his mind for the weapon training as it meant he had practice blocking sword attacks. If not for that, he had no doubt he would be dead within thirty seconds. As it was he was still in trouble.

In trouble, until one of his opponents suddenly had an arrow sticking out his neck. The other one turned in time to see a mabari hound bearing down on him. Distracted by the hound, he did not notice as William Cousland swung his blade and took his head off his shoulders.

"Thank the maker you arrived when you did. I couldn't have held them off much longer."

William answered him quickly.

"I'm surprised you got as many as you did. I thought mages were supposed to be weak up close."

"We can be, but Duncan has been training me and I took out most of them before they could close in on me."

"Duncan? Do you know if he has anything to do with this?"

"I have not known him long but he seems an honourable man. I would doubt it. I suggest we find him and your father."

The woman spoke up then, and Olorin presumed she was William's mother.

"He will have gone to the servants passage near the kitchen. It is the family escape route. We must head there."

"We should also save as many people as we can." William said. He took his duty as a noble seriously.

They out of the suite of rooms they were in and headed down a slope. Once they reached the bottom of the slope a citizen ran into view talking about how the castle had fallen and he was going to run. William allowed him to run, knowing he was no soldier and would be of little help to them. They looked around to see a group of Highever soldiers fighting to their left, and a group of Arl Howe's troops arriving from the right in reinforcement. William and Eleanor went off to help the Highever soldiers. William had ordered his mabari, Ardal, to help Olorin with the reinforcements.

Ardal charged towards the two warriors and started biting and pouncing on them, fighting them in the way that mabari hounds do. Olorin was left to deal with the two archers. The two arches who were just about to release arrows in his direction.

Olorin tried the same tactic that he had used last time and created a wall of ice in between himself and the archers. He then ducked and turned away in case he wasn't quick enough. And it was a good job he did. Though one arrow clattered into the ice, the other had been shot a fraction of a second earlier. If Olorin hadn't have ducked, the arrow that grazed his cheek would have landed in between his mouth and nose.

Olorin recovered quickly. Before either archer could nook another arrow he sent a fireball flying towards them which sent them both flaming. To make sure he finished them off before they could put the flames out he cast a shield around Ardal to protect him. He could see the dog, while fighting well was struggling to finish his opponents off. He the summoned up his magic and concentrated on what he wanted it to do. Holding his staff in the air he then banged it onto the ground. A bright bolt of lighting shot out of the top of his staff and straight into the chest of one of the warriors Ardal was fighting. Rather than stopping like it normally would, the lightening jumped to the next warrior, then to one of the archers before moving to the final archer.

Knowing that all the opponents would now be dead Olorin pointed the head of his staff at the lightening which was still jumping around their dead bodies. Focusing he called the lightening back to him, through the head of his staff and dissipated it. He could have just dissipated it there, but this was an ancient elven technique he had read about in a book in the circle library. This allowed him to absorb some of the power of his spell and recharge his mana a bit. It didn't recharge by a significant amount, but in combat every little helped.

The fight being finished he turned around to see William and Eleanor finishing off their opponents and they made their way further into the castle, destroying pockets of resistance as they did so. On their way through they stopped into the treasury and William picked up his ancestral sword and shield to use.. At this point they decided to move into the main hall where they could hear lots of fighting. William kicked open the door and Olorin followed him inside and swore. They had an apostate with them. And from the glow in his mage sight, quite a powerful one.

Olorin informed William that he would deal with the mage and cast a bolt of lightning in her direction. The enemy mage absorbed it with a shield and sent a stone fist back at Olorin which he dodged. The two enemies traded blows back and forth for a while before Olorin managed to slip a spell of ice through her shield. Though she managed to absorb some of it, she was still sent stumbling as her clothes frosted over. Olorin immediately launched a spell of petrifaction at her which she just managed to block. However her focus on blocking meant she did not see Olorin running towards her. Once he reached her he swung his staff round and hit her directly in the temple knocking her out cold before freezing her heart in her chest.

Seeing the fight was still going on he killed two soldiers attacking William, firing lightening at one putting the other into a crushing prison.

William and Eleanor spent some time talking to a red headed knight. While they were doing this William searched through the dead mages pockets and found two lyrium potions still intact so took them for his own. He didn't need lyrium yet, but it was better safe than sorry. They left through a side door to the other side of the castle and carried on making their way through it.

The enemies they faced here weren't overly difficult to deal with mostly as they were clearly levied troops, rather than the standing troops they had been fighting previously. The only one to present any challenge was someone whose armour marked him out to be a knight. Eleanor couldn't find any holes in his armour and didn't have enough time or space to get a full draw to punch through the armour. Eventually one of Olorin's ice spells slowed the knight down enough that William was able to force his sword through the mail on the knights arm pit and through into his heart, though not before William gained a nasty cut to his cheek.

"Can you heal this?" William asked motioning to the wound on his cheek.

"I can try, though I am a poor healer. I am better suited to combat."

William motioned for him to try so Olorin moved towards him. He focused on the magical power within him and brought it forth, trying to shape it to heal Williams cut. A rush of power left Olorin and rushed towards the cut. The bleeding slowed slightly, but the cut was still there. William tried again, this time using his hand to cover the wound, however he had even less success on this attempt.

"I'm afraid this is the best I can do."

William shrugged.

"At least its stopped bleeding, that's something. Now lets move."

Moving through the castle they saw more signs of the sack. Rooms that had doors kicked in and contents looted, bodies of dead servants and troops and the smell of burning from all the fire. Eventually they reached the kitchens where they saw Bryce Cousland laying in a large puddle of his own blood.

"There you both are." Bryce said rather weakly.

"Bryce!" Eleanor cried, "What have they done to you?"

"Howe, betrayed us. His men nearly did me in right there."

"I'll kill them." William muttered before turning to Olorin. "Can you heal him."

"I can try." Olorin said moving over to Bryce and casting spells. While the others were talking he noticed Duncan slip into the room and join the conversation. Eventually he turned to face Eleanor and William.

"I am sorry, there is nothing I can do. Even if I was a master healer, the damage is too extensive to do any more then extend his life by a few hours. The most I can do with my healing skills is cast a few pain numbing spells."

With Bryce's nod he cast the pain numbing spells, about the only healing spells he could cast effectively. While doing this an argument broke out amongst William, Duncan and Eleanor. Apparently Duncan wanted William to join the Grey Wardens, which Eleanor, wanting to stay with her dying husband was agreeable to. William was not so agreeable. Eventually Bryce managed to convince William by appealing to his sense of duty as a Cousland.

"There is one more thing I can do for the two of you. I can place a rune of explosion on the floor near you. When one of Howe's troops steps on it, it will cause a large explosion. It will save you being captured and tortured as well as taking out Howe's men."

After looking at each other Eleanor and Bryce decided it was probably worth not being captured by Howe and allowed Olorin to cast the spell to place the rune as the Couslands said a tearful goodbye before William, Olorin and Duncan left through the servants entrance.

They ran through the long passage before coming out to the South of Highever and they kept running until they got the road leading away from Highever. They had just reached the road when a large explosion was heard and a new column of smoke joined those already meandering up to the sky from Highever castle.

William just dropped to his knees with a primal scream of pain as he let the tears flow from his eyes.