The world of the Fade shifted around Linn as she quickly tried to regain her bearings. When the mages had arrived at Redcliffe Castle, Linn had volunteered to enter the Fade to save Connor, but now that she was looking around at the shifting landscape she couldn't help but feel like that may have been a mistake.

A man's voice rang out in the distance, calling for Connor. Linn started to walk towards the sound when Connor's voice came from all around her, desperately pleading for his father. Concentrating on the man's voice, Linn followed it to a clearing. An older man in fine attire called out for Connor. As the man noticed her presence, he took a step back in wariness.

Arl Eamon seemed to decide that she wasn't a threat as he called out to her, "You there! Have you seen my son? I can hear him but I cannot find him. This blasted fog has me turning in circles."

Linn took a deep breath before she decided to make this quick, "A demon has trapped you here, Arl Eamon. This is the Fade."

Arl Eamon looked at her with irritation and asked, "What? I don't understand. Is Connor here or not?"

"Connor's a mage. He tried to help you, and a demon took advantage of his desperation. The demon trapping you here has possessed him."

"What? Possessed? Then we must help him! Is that why you're here?"

Linn relaxed a little at the Arl's look of determination, "Yes, I can save him… I will save him. Alistair is waiting for us."

The Arl's eyes widened at Alistair's name before he closed his eyes in pain and regret. "Is he… Is he alright?"

"For now… he's worried but okay. Now… do you trust me?"

Arl Eamon looked into her eyes for a moment before he replied hesitantly, "I do trust you. We must help my son, but I can never find him in this fog. You must find Connor. Please, I beg you."

"I'll do what I can. Stay here for now. If you both are running around, you'll never find each other. Please stay here while I take a look."

"Very well," the Arl replied as he looked into the shadows. "Be careful."

Linn gave him a nod before setting off deeper into the Fade. A glimmer in the distance caught Linn's attention, and she warily crept closer to find a port. As she neared the portal, the voices of the Arl and Connor were all around her. Spectral versions of them tried to find each other through the Fade's twisting stone pathways.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the demonic energy from the castle. Small dark fumes radiated from the portal. The demon was likely further in, but she was on its trail. Gripping her staff, she entered the portal. More twisting pathways stretched out before her. Linn looked around as she crept closer to the source of the dark energy.

"Hello?" Connor's voice came from the distance.

Linn quickly picked up her pace and noticed the young boy standing nervously in the distance. However, as she approached him, she noticed the demon's magic getting stronger. It was definitely watching her now.

Connor shifted nervously at her approach. He stuttered as he asked, "W-Who are you? Are you the one who made Father ill? Tell me now!"

Linn kept her distance and kept her staff at the ready. She smirked at the boy and replied, "If you were truly Connor, you would know the face of the mage that's been teaching him magic. You sound more like a demon than a child."

Connor glared at her in return before his eyes hesitated on her shoulder. "You could be a demon too. You could be a demon that just looks like a person. Is that what you are?"

"No," Linn replied with a shrug. "Although… In my world I have demons that work for me."

The fake Connor's eyes narrowed as he lost all traces of the "nervous boy" persona. "Is that what you're offering me?"

"Oh, no! Heavens no," Linn replied with a laugh. "I don't work with demons that hurt or possess children. I do have lines that I won't cross."

Fake Connor snarled at her before his form shifted and changed. Linn readied a fire spell as the demon showed its true form. A purple skinned woman with a tail formed from where the boy had been. Linn focused on her spell and attacked the demon with flames. The demon didn't seem fazed as it simply redirected the flames back at her. Linn leapt out of the way as she changed tactics.

The demon's eyes widened as she swung her staff at its head. After the demon jumped away from her, Linn quickly sent a bolt of lightning at the demon. The demon screamed as its illusion was broken. The air around Linn hung thick with dark magic as she desperately tried to find the source. This was a dead end.

With a groan of frustration, Linn walked back to the portal and checked to see if anything had changed. The specters of Connor were no longer calling for the Arl.

"You cannot help him! You cannot stop me!" one of them shouted as Linn checked around for another portal.

Ignoring the ghostly voices, Linn continued until she found another portal. As she stepped through the odd purple light, she focused on the trail of demonic energy to lead her closer to the demon. In the distance, she saw another "Connor" and approached him warily.

"Why do you keep hurting me?" the demon asked pathetically before noticing that she wasn't buying its feigned fear. The demon's face twisted in anger as it asked angrily, "Why are you trying to stop me?!"

"Because I don't like demons that mess with children. Stop playing games and let Connor go, or I'll find him and you.

"You will not find what you seek. Turn back now!"

"No," Linn replied stubbornly. "But why are you so scared? Are you afraid that I'll find the real Connor if I keep going?"

"Trespasser!" the demon shouted as it started to morph into its demonic form. "I will drive you out!"

A heat from behind Linn made her turn to see a rage demon rising from behind her. Panicking, Linn quickly threw lightning at it before running to gain some distance. The demons' laughter grated on her nerves as she ducked around their fireballs. Ice magic wasn't exactly her forte, but she didn't have much of a choice. Turning around, Linn muttered an ice spell at the rage demon. The demon froze in its tracks, bound by ice. Before it could break free, Linn drained some of its vitality before hitting it with more lightning.

The ice shattered, but the demon fell down. Its molten body melted into the Fade as the other demon screamed with frustrated rage. Linn gripped her staff tightly and focused on the illusion. As she sent more lightning at the illusion, it broke, leaving her alone once again. The blood pounded in her veins. Linn fought the rising anger, taking deep breaths to try to find calm. When she found the actual demon, then she could let loose but not now. Her trembling hands gripped the staff for comfort as she retraced her steps back to the portal.

No doubt it would spawn more demons to stop her. She couldn't keep this up forever. Even after getting some rest, she was still exhausted after the trip back to Redcliffe. Linn bit her lip nervously as she continued forward. After finding another portal, she once again found a demon masquerading as the child.

"This is getting really old," Linn muttered through her teeth and glared at the demon.

"Father wanders, seeking me. Trapped within my web. All is as it should be," the demon said poetically before noticing her hateful stare. "Why must you interfere?!"

"You started it! Now give back the damn child and get lost before I lose my temper!"

The demon took a step back as its form began to shift and change. "Connor invited her to come, and they struck a bargain," the demon argued. "She has every right to do as she wishes. No, it is time for you to go now. Do not persist or things will go very badly for you."

Linn once again felt a familiar heat, and a thought occurred to her. She remembered the Spirit of Valor. If he could change the Fade to his bidding, why couldn't she? Linn focused on a column of rocks behind her.

"Shatter," Linn murmured as she outstretched her hand toward the rocks. There was a loud crack. The demons turned to flee, but their molten bodies were too slow to avoid the falling rocks. The lone demon woman threw a blast of fire at Linn, but she quickly threw up a barrier. As the demon let out a scream of anger, Linn ran towards it. The tool in her hands was no longer a staff but a sword. The demon let out a cry of pain as Linn stabbed it in the stomach, but it quickly disappeared into the Fade. Linn fell to the ground with a sigh. The sword in her hand made her feel better as she gripped the handle. After taking a deep breath, she got back to her feet.

The Fade around her seemed to crackle with energy as she went through the portal. The air felt thick with demonic energy. Linn followed the trail to a portal. Energy surged through her as she let her anger propel her forward. There was a strange clearing in the distance. It felt like a trap, but Linn was too angry to care as she strode forward towards the demon.

The demon eyed her sword warily as she said, "Very well. No more illusions. Now we meet, face to face. You see my true form and stand in my domain. It is here I am most powerful, and yet I have no wish to engage your power nor should you be so eager to engage mine. Perhaps we should converse instead."

Linn glared at the demon but didn't attack her. The demon stroked her own body while giving Linn a sultry look.

"And just what kind of demon are you?" Linn asked as she kept her distance from the topless purple demon lady. "Lust?"

The demon's eyes widened in surprise before she regained her composure. "I am Desire. Whatever you creatures of the living world want… I seek to provide. Lust, power, greed… These are my province. Perhaps there are things you wish for. Let us pause and speak of them. It costs nothing but a moment of your time."

"Oh? So you want to make a deal with me? What are you offering?"

"I possess the boy's soul. We could battle for it or we could negotiate like civilized beings. If you are smart, you could even come out ahead."

Linn glared at the demon in response before she turned to look at her sword. The sword shifted and changed. In her hand, she now held a blade made of a donkey's jawbone. As Linn focused back on the demon, she noticed a new emotion on the demon's face: fear.

"What is that?! Do you truly wish to fight me? In my own realm?" the demon asked as her body glowed a dark purple.

"No… I don't want to fight you. Quite frankly, I'm tired. I fought my way through demons at the tower, and I'd rather not do that again. So I'm going to give you an offer that you'd be stupid to refuse. This here is a blade from another world. There's a lot of backstory to it, but to sum it up quickly: it's a blade that can kill demons, reapers… and even angels. Some of them at least. So… if you don't want me to stab through your illusions until I get lucky, then I'd suggest you take my offer."

The demon watched the blade warily and asked, "And what is your offer?"

"You leave the boy and the Arl alone forever, and I'll let you live."

The demon 's eyes flickered over Linn's face before drifting back to the blade.

"Very well," the demon replied irritably. "Though you are alone in my domain, I do not doubt your power. It seems that I will need to heed the warnings of a demon stronger than myself."

Linn glared at the demon in return, but the demon opened a portal out of the Fade.

"If you are concerned that I will not keep my bargain, allow me to reassure you. I have no desire to gain a powerful enemy. I will leave Connor. The boy isn't worth mortal danger… However," the demon paused and crept closer.

Linn's hand gripped the blade, but she waited to see what the demon would do. The demon stopped an arm's length away. Her eyes focused on Linn's shoulder.

"Hmm… that is a seal even I cannot break. Even so, should you ever want to make a true deal with me, you will be able to find me."

Linn kept her eyes on the demon as she made her way to the portal. The demon gave her a sassy wave but didn't move as Linn walked through the portal. Linn awoke to see Alistair's concerned face.

"You're back!" he breathed in almost a whisper. "Did you kill it?"

"No, but it won't be back," Linn muttered, and Alistair gave her a curious look.

"Mother?" Connor said in a quiet, scared voice as he hesitantly walked into the room. "I'm so sorry, Mother."

The arlesa ran to the scared boy and embraced him; her body shook as she held the boy tightly. Linn watched them for a moment before she felt a gaze. Irving was watching her with concern. Linn stood up with help from Alistair and walked over to the First Enchanter.

"Not a demon, I promise," Linn said half-jokingly, and the First Enchanter relaxed.

"That was not my concern… You said that you did not kill the demon… Did you make a deal with it?"

"Of a sort," Linn admitted. "Connor and the Arl's freedom in exchange for its life. It took the deal. To be honest by the time I reached the demon, I was running low on energy."

"So you bluffed a demon?" Irving asked with a chuckle.

"It's not my first time," Linn replied with a smile. "And it won't be the last… How are the mages?"

Irving let out a tired sigh and replied, "Scared, tired… but hopeful. We will be ready when the time comes to face the Archdemon. We will need to be ready…"

Linn nodded thoughtfully. Being attacked by demons and their fellow mages would leave a lasting mark, but Linn hoped that they could pull together enough to fight the darkspawn.