Sweat dripped down Linn's brow as she ran from the giant demon chasing her down. She prayed that it didn't charge her as she quickly transformed back into a golem and threw a large rock at the demon. The rock slammed into it, causing the creature to sway back and forth as it tried to regain its balance. Linn took the chance to transform back into her form and use her magic to drain some of its vitality. The ogre roared at her and bent its head. Linn quickly jumped out of the way as it stampeded past her and into the wall.

Linn blasted the creature with a fireball before running back the other way. As soon as she had put enough distance between herself and the ogre, she turned back into the golem and once again threw a boulder at the demon. The ogre fell to the ground and collapsed. Linn changed back into her human form and threw another fireball. The ogre didn't move.

A flash of light caught her attention, and she turned to see that the way to the next section of this hellhole was clear. Linn quickly ran to the pedestal. Now she had everything she needed to get to Alistair. The Fade shifted around her, and Alistair slowly came into view. There was a woman with him. Linn clutched her staff and approached, keeping her eye on the stranger.

"Hey! It's great to see you again!" Alistair said cheerfully. "I was just thinking about you. Isn't it a marvelous coincidence? This is my sister Goldanna. These are her children, and there's more about somewhere. We're one big happy family, at long last!"

"Alistair, think about where we were last. Please," Linn begged him, reaching out to touch his arm.

"You're acting really strangely," Alistair replied, but Linn looked at him pleadingly. "All right, if it makes you happy. I… It's a little fuzzy. That's strange…"

"Alistair, come and have some tea," the woman said with a gentle tone.

Alistair continued, "No, wait… I remember a… tower. The Circle. It was under attack… there were demons. That's all I really remember."

"Exactly," Linn spoke up, putting herself between Alistair and the demon pretending to be his sister. "We were sent into the Fade. This is all a dream."

"A dream? But… it feels so real…"

"Of course it's real-" the demon started, but Linn's patience finally snapped.

Linn unleashed flames directly at the demon's face, and it screamed with rage as its body contorted.

"NO! HE IS OURS! I'D RATHER SEE HIM DEAD THAN FREE!" the demon screeched, but Alistair drew his sword and plunged it into the demon.

The demon shrieked one last time before it disappeared, and Alistair stared into the distance as though trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

"I can't believe it. How did I not see this earlier?"

Linn touched his shoulder gently and reassured him, "It looked into your heart to see what you wanted most. It's not your fault."

"Yes… uh, well. Try not to tell everyone how easily fooled I was. Especially Morrigan," Alistair asked quickly. "So, are we going now? Wait, where are you going? What's happening to me?"

Alistair quickly vanished, and Linn ran back to the pedestal to head to the one last island. She had already found Sten and Wynne. Now she just needed to defeat the Sloth Demon at the center. As the Fade once again shifted around her, she prepared herself.

Alistair, Wynne, and Sten appeared in front of her as well as the sloth demon. It began to drone on and on about them fighting its influence. Unfortunately for the demon, Linn's patience was at an all time low, and her rage was at an all time high. She mumbled Enochian under her breath and sent a bolt of lightning directly at the creature. It let out a screech and transformed into an ogre.

"I AM SO TIRED! OF! YOUR! SHIT!" Linn yelled as she hurled blast after blast of fire at the demon. "I JUMPED THROUGH ALL OF YOUR HOOPS! AND FOR WHAT?! ANOTHER STUPID SPEECH ABOUT THE FUTILITY OF MY ACTIONS! You want a piece of me, motherfucker?! GET IN LINE!"

The ogre charged at her, but Linn put up a barrier as Alistair and Sten readied themselves. The demon tried several more shapes as they fought it, but Linn used her rage to propel her through, blocking the demon's attacks and attacking when the demon was focused on Alistair or Sten. Wynne kept everyone healed until the Sloth Demon collapsed on the ground. As Linn approached the demon, it watched her carefully before it focused on her shoulder. Before it could say another word, Linn reached into her magic and muttered an incantation. Green fire burst from the demon as its essence fed the flames. The mark emitted an odd satisfaction at the demon's demise.

"You defeated the demon," a voice said with amazement. A young mage that Linn had talked to earlier emerged from the Fade. "I never thought… I never expected you to free yourself, to free us both. When you return… take the Litany of Adralla from my… body. It will protect you from the worst of the blood magic."

"Wait… your body?" Linn asked in disbelief as confusion slowly pushed her rage to the side. "You can just go back with us."

The mage shook his head and replied, "I cannot go with you. I have been here far too long. For you, it will have been an afternoon nap. Your body won't have wasted away in the real world while your spirit lay in the hands of a demon."

"But… it can't have been that long. We can try-"

"Every minute I was here, the sloth demon was feeding off of me, using my life force to fuel the nightmares of this realm. There is so little of me left… I was never meant to save the Circle, or… survive its troubles. I am dying. It is as simple as that."

"Is there… Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Thank you, but it is too late for me. I do not fear what may come. They say we return to the Maker in death, and that isn't such a terrible thing. My only regret is that I could not save the Circle. But you… you can. Do not forget to take the Litany! It is important. I'm not… a hero. Perhaps trying to be one was foolish."

"You did more than most," Linn reassured him. "I will save the Circle. Thanks to you."

"Dark times, greater acts of heroism, eh?" the mage joked with a nervous smile. "You may be right. Before I was taken to the Circle, my mother said I was meant for greatness, that I would be more than my ancestors could have ever dreamed. I hope I haven't disappointed her."

"You didn't, Niall. I'll finish what you started."

Niall looked embarrassed as she said his name. "It is time for us to be on our way. Remember the Litany of Adralla. The Circle is all that matters now. Thank you and goodbye… friend."

The Fade slowly disappeared around them, and Linn woke up on the stone, hard floor with a wince. She jerked up and looked over to see Niall. His breathing became rough and ragged. She crawled over to him and held his hand as his breathing slowly stopped. After checking to make sure that the others had awakened, she went through his pockets and pulled out some papers. Linn quickly looked them over. She'd likely need to memorize what was written on them to use them.

After looking at Niall's body one last time, she silently promised him that she would finish his work. Linn stood up and led the others further into the tower and up another flight of stairs. There were more demons and abominations and even dragonlings as they went, but the feeling of the papers in her hand gave Linn a second wind as she quickly tore through her enemies. Perhaps her time in the Fade had been beneficial in some way. She had felt oddly good after getting out. It was almost as though her very reflexes had improved.

The group approached a door when two rage demons appeared to stop them, but Alistair and Sten quickly charged at them with Linn shocking them with lightning. As the demons faded out of existence, Linn approached the door.

"Hey, Linn. Wait…" Alistair said as he struggled to catch his breath. "Maybe we should take a moment…"

"We need Irving alive to save the Circle, Alistair. We need to hurry."

"Yeah… You're right," Alistair said as readied himself. "Let's go."

Linn opened the door to see an odd light surrounding a templar. It was some kind of barrier. Was it protecting the templar or trapping him?

"They spared one," Sten muttered. "Curious."

"Cullen?" Linn whispered as she finally focused on the person trapped inside.
Cullen winced as she said his name and retorted bitterly, "This trick again? I know what you are. It won't work. I will stay strong…"

"Cullen? Are you all right?" Linn asked as Cullen fell to his knees.

Wynne looked at the templar with sympathy and said, "The boy is exhausted. And this cage… I've never seen anything like it. Rest easy… help is here."

"Enough visions," Cullen said as he refused to look at them. "If anything in you is human… kill me now and stop this game. You broke the others, but I will stay strong, for my sake… for theirs… Sifting through my thoughts… tempting me with the one thing I wanted but could never have… Using my shame against me… my ill-advised infatuation with her… a mage, of all things. I am so tired of these cruel jokes… these tricks… these…"

"It's really me. We're here to help," Linn said gently.

"Silence… I'll not listen to anything you say. Now begone!" Cullen shouted as he tightly closed his eyes. After a moment, he looked up at her in disbelief. "Still here? But that's always worked before. I close my eyes, but you are still here when I open them."

Cullen looked at her with a mixture of bafflement and anger, but Linn simply gave him a reassuring smile in return.

"Cullen, I'm real, and I'm here to help you. Do you still have the charm I gave you?"

Cullen reached into his armor and pulled out the talisman. He looked at Linn with hope as he finally realized that she wasn't a trick.

"Don't blame me for being cautious. The voices… the images… so real…"

"I don't blame you. Not at all."

Cullen looked at her with confusion as he asked, "Why have you returned to the tower? How did you survive? When I heard what happened at Ostegar… I thought you were dead."

"A bit of a long story… Short version: Alistair and I survived just barely, and we've come to save you guys and kill Uldred."

Cullen glanced at Alistair when Linn said his name, and Alistair gave Cullen an awkward little wave. After hearing that Linn was going to kill the mage that started this mess, the fire had appeared back in Cullen's eyes.

"Good. Kill him. Kill them all for what they've done," Cullen said as his voice became tinged with anger and pain. "They caged us like animals… looked for ways to break us. I'm the only one left…"

Sten spoke up, "Be proud. You mastered yourself."

"Be proud?" Cullen replied with a glare at the Qunari. "What is there to be proud of? That I lived and they died?" As his gaze focused back on Linn, his tone became softer, "They turned some into monsters. And… there was nothing I could do."

"I... I'm going to make Uldred pay for what he's done, but I need to know… Where are Irving and the other mages?"

"What others? What are you talking about?"

Wynne spoke up, "Irving and the other mages who fought Uldred. Where are they?"

"They are in the Harrowing Chamber. The sounds coming out from there… oh, Maker… You can't save them. You don't know what they've become."

"I have to try. I'm a mage too, Cullen."

"But you haven't been up there. You haven't been under their influence. They've been surrounded b-by blood mages whose wicked fingers snake into your mind and corrupt your thoughts."

Alistair touched Linn's arm and whispered, "His hatred of mages is so intense… the memory of his friends' deaths is still fresh in his mind. Be careful with him."

"You have to end it now before it's too late," Cullen pleaded with her.

"I can't just… Cullen, I have to at least try to save them."

"Are you really saving anyone by taking this risk? To ensure this horror is ended… to guarantee that no abominations or blood mages live, you must kill everyone up there."

"I won't kill an innocent person on a 'maybe'."

"Do you not understand the danger-?"

Wynne quickly interjected, "I know full well the dangers of magic, but killing innocents because they might be maleficarum is not justice. I know you are angry-"

"You know nothing!" Cullen interrupted her angrily. "I am thinking about the future of the Circle. Of Fereldan."

"Saving people always comes first," Linn said, and Cullen looked at her with pleading eyes. "That's what my dad taught me. It's easier to track down a monster than bring back the dead."

"Not if you're dead because an 'innocent' killed you," Cullen argued.

"What he says makes sense," Sten interjected firmly. "Do not discard it out of hand… these mages are out of control."

Linn snapped back, "It's not that simple, Sten! The mages that they took captive were following the rules. They were trying to stop this! They shouldn't pay for the mistakes of others!"

"Perhaps," Sten murmured thoughtfully.

Cullen gave her one last pleading look before his face hardened. "I am just willing to see the painful truth, which you are content to ignore. But what can I do? As you can see, I'm in no position to directly influence your actions, though I would love to deal with the mages myself."

"I'll find a way to free you," Linn promised.

"Don't waste time on me… deal with Uldred, if that is what you plan to do. Once he is dead, I will be freed."

"Stay safe. I'll be back soon."

Cullen sighed and shook his head. "No one ever listens, not until it's far too late. Maker turn his gaze on you. I hope your compassion hasn't doomed us all."

Linn clenched her staff in frustration. She knew what kind of a state he was in. Cullen was scared and angry, and he had every right to be… But not at the expense of innocents. Linn turned away from him to follow Sten to the doorway.