by Milton Garby
Aedan stood silently for a moment. "…I will try to find this Urn."
"Thank you." Said Isolde. "I owe you more than I could possibly repay you. I promise I won't forget what any of you have done here."
Aedan, Alistair and Morrigan left the Arl's bedchambers and made their way out of the castle, but before they did Aedan looked into Connor's room and saw no abomination, but a young tired boy looking over some of his father's books. Connor peered over the pages and saw the three guests enter his room.
"You…you're the ones who saved me, aren't you?"
Aedan smiled at the boy and gestured to Morrigan. "Actually, young man, that was Morrigan here."
"Really? I should thank her then. Father always tells me that you should thank people when they do nice things for you."
~Chuckles~ "I think that's an excellent idea, Connor. Go ahead and thank her in any way you feel like." Aedan's approval drew a look of confusion from Morrigan.
Connor shyly walked up to the Chasind woman and looked at her face bashfully and Morrigan looked right back at him with indifference. Then Connor hugged Morrigan affectionately.
The awkward look on Morrigan's face was utterly priceless, it took Aedan and Alistair everything they had to stifle their laughter. Alistair motioned the others to quickly and quietly see what was going on. Everyone did their best not to laugh at the awkwardly adorable display, despite the venomous look Morrigan shot at him.
"Thank you, for saving me." Connor whispered sweetly.
Morrigan looked down at the little boy holding her, the venom leaving her face. She patted the boy tentatively.
"You are…welcome. Connor." She replied quietly with an almost…sincere ring in her voice.
Connor finished his hug and waved her goodbye as they all left the room. As they left the castle Morrigan tried to keep her face neutral and her head aplomb despite the looks everyone was giving her behind her back and their pitiful attempt to hide their laughter.
"Is something the matter?" She demanded, facing the whole group.
"Oh, it's….nothing…Morrigan." Leliana chuckled sputteringly.
"That was the most adorable display I've ever seen." Wynne finally said laughing.
"Indeed!" Zevran commented. "Who knew our residential ice-queen was such a sweetheart!"
"I didn't think she had a heart!" Alistair guffawed. "Shows what I know. Ahaha-ha!"
Morrigan turned away from the others and walked right next to Aedan with displeasure in her step and on her face. "You are going to pay for this later!" She whispered in annoyance.
"I can't wait." He whispered back, holding her hand.
Back on the road…..
The company, once more on the road, walked northbound to find the next destination in their quest. Alistair was glad that everything back in Recliffe ended well. If they hadn't arrived when they did things could have gone very differently. Now if they could find the Urn of Sacred Ashes they could save the arl and put a stop to this war.
"If we move quickly we can be in Denerim in less than a few days." Alistair pointed out.
"We will not be going to Denerim." Aedan rejected.
"What? But the Urn…"
"We don't have time to go running around for some fairytale, religious relic, that probably doesn't exist, Alistair. Even the Chantry denies its existence. But, granted, what the hell do they know anyway?"
"But Arl Eamon!" Alistair argued. "You gave your word!"
"Haven't I done enough for the Arl and his family for now? Yes, I gave my word, but I did not specify when I would waste my time and resources going after it." Aedan explained vehemently. "I will go look for the fucking Urn, Alistair. But only after we've accomplished our other tasks and when I deem the time is right."
Alistair didn't like leaving the Arl hanging like this, at all. But…Aedan had a point. They were still not even remotely ready to face the darkspawn, let alone Loghain, and the fact that the Urn might even exist was…slight. Damn it all!
"So…where do you intend to go from here, then?"
"We're going to head back north." Aedan answered. "To Soldier's Peak."
Three days later in the Soldier's Peak Tower….
At this point Aedan was starting to see a recurring theme in every action he made to try and make ready for the Blight. The situation at the keep was almost identical to the ones at the Circle Tower and at Redcliffe. It was like almost every time he went somewhere to fulfill his duty as a Grey Warden all he did was stumble on spirits, abominations and evil magic. It was starting to bore him.
They had arrived at Soldier's Peak. Somehow Levi was able to navigate the narrow and convoluted tunnels that led to fortress. When Aedan inquired how he knew these passageways Levi told him that it came to him in his dreams. After seeing what happened in the Fade, Aedan could not doubt the very real power that dreams held.
Aedan and his company looked upon Soldier's Keep and were beholden by its ruined glory and decrepit might. Despite all the wear and rot that ebbed away the luster of this castle it was nonetheless a powerful testament to the Wardens strength and ingenuity. When they arrived they were instantly assaulted by the images and memories that haunted this place. Visions of the terrible and forgotten last days of the Fereldan Grey Warden's last stand.
Aedan vaguely remembered from his history lessons that Sophia Dryden was a top contender for the throne, a close cousin to Arland, but she lost the election in the Landsmeet. To keep her from trying to take the throne from him, Arland gave her a choice: face execution or join the Wardens. Sophia chose to join the Order of the Grey and survived the Joining. Then some years later she was somehow involved with the civil war that took place later. The results of that war left Ferelden weak and allowed Orlais to invade them.
The further they pressed into the keep the more they discovered the true story of Sophia's last stand and the truth behind the Warden's exile from this land. It seemed that the Wardens were preparing to break their oaths of neutrality and launch a coup against Arland, but something happened to their rebellion and they were trapped here in their own keep, forced to be starved out and then finally slaughtered. When the time came for Arland's men to finally finish their adversaries, Sophia ordered the Warden-Enchanter, Avernus, to summon demons to lay waste to their enemies, but in their desperation the demons turned on them as well. Levi was distraught to see his proud ancestor resort to such an unholy act.
But Aedan, Levi and all the others were horrified beyond words by the abomination that used to be Sophia Dryden. The once mighty and beautiful Sophia was now a rotting, talking meat puppet for a demon's perverse desires to interfere with the land of the living. Aedan's companions and everything inside him told him to slay the abomination; split it in twain with the Hound's Teeth, if only to give poor Sophia some peace. But…Aedan stayed his axe. He had no choice. The tear in the veil must be sealed in order to restore the keep to the Wardens and their cause.
"Sophia" made it clear that whatever it was that was in the tower that constricted her power must be destroyed. If they were going to be rid of all the damned freaks in this castle they to acquiesce to her demand. They entered the tower and were all appalled by what they found there. The long dried and desiccated remains of Warden's, still wearing their colors, were frozen in their last agonizing moments of death. They were all held in cages and strapped to strange torture devices with hooks, needles and thick spikes piercing their skin. The butcher who did this didn't even bother to give them back their dignity. Aedan found a strange red concoction in a vial and some kind of journal next to it. Aedan discovered that after the Veil had been torn, Avernus performed heinous experiments on his fellow Grey Wardens in some sick attempt to increase his power through blood and pain.
Aedan was disgusted. He had the same power flowing in his veins as a Reaver, but he never did and never would sacrifice his brothers-in-arms for something like that. He would rather slay a thousand dragons for on tenth of that power the mage discovered than ever do something t
his horrible to his sworn brethren. In anger and revilement Aedan destroyed the red vile. He was tired of strange vials full of blood.
They all entered into laboratory and found it almost as dead as the rest of the keep. Save for one figure at the end of the room, standing before some kind of alchemical table. He was so shriveled and frail-looking Aedan almost mistook him for a walking corpse.
"I hear you." He called, his voice familiar. "Don't disrupt my concentration. Even now the demons seek to replenish their numbers. Are you to thank for this welcome but temporary imbalance?"
Aedan did recognize his voice! "The Warden mage!? Alive!?"
"Only just." Avernus answered. "I have only a short time left."
"Be careful, Aedan." Leliana warned. "This…man has dabbled in arts forbidden by the Maker. He may look frail, but don't trust him."
"Oh? The Maker told you that, did He, young lady?" Avernus mocked. "Short-sighted men and religious zealots have forbidden my work, not some unseen god. Why…are you here?
Aedan stared down the frail old man with seething hate in his eyes.
"I want answers, old man."
"To what questions, I wonder."
"What happened here?"
"What use would storytelling serve? The toll of years has erased our failure, the tyrant Arland is long dead along with all our noble co-conspirators with the grand rebellion and the kingdom has survived. Sophia's corpse may walk and talk, but even she is gone as well."
"How was Arland a tyrant?"
"He ruled with fear and poison." Avernus answered angrily. "His treachery pit noble against noble in bloody battle all for his heinous enjoyment. We thought him a monster and decided to act against him. We gathered nobles to join in our rebellion. But…in the end we failed utterly."
"Why did your rebellion fail?"
"Too many mouths to quiet. Even sorcery can go so far. So…we met with Teyrn Cousland. With his aid we had a…chance for victory."
What was Avernus talking about? Aedan had to know. "Teyrn Cousland? The Couslands almost rebelled? That's my House."
"Is it?" The bloodmage's eyes glided up and down the young warrior before him as though he were studying him. "Yes. I see it now. You have your ancestor's bearing, you even bare his shield upon your back."
Aedan looked toward his family shield curiously. "This shield was wielded by my great-grandfather Ardal in defense of King Vanedrin against the Orlesians."
"Was it? Well, it was first wielded by his grandfather in defense against King Arland who ambushed us. I later saw his head upon the Landsmeet table with an apple his mouth. You lost many family members that day. Arland's butchers no doubt slaughtered enough of your kin to make them…pliable. It never would have gotten that far if I took my bloodmagic further."
"You used bloodmagic on the nobles?"
"But of course. To nudge people, to keep them quiet and our secret safe. Sophia should have let me nudge harder. Her scruples became our undoing."
Aedan looked at the withered old mage with contempt. "What was the purpose of your experiments?"
"To stop the demonic tide. To correct the miscalculations of the past." Avernus explained. "Bloodmagic comes from demons, they could counteract every bit of lore I uncovered. But the darkspawn taint. That is foreign to them. And it has power. By experimenting on the taint in the blood of the Wardens I discovered such power, it became my saving grace, and with it I could bring the Wardens to even greater heights."
This man's disregard for his fellow Wardens disgusted Aedan "I'm debating on whether or not I should let you live or impale you on a spike."
"And here I thought you came to rescue me."
"I've seen you experiments, Avernus! How could you do that to your own brothers!?" Aedan demanded.
"They were necessary!" Avernus argued. "Any tool, any iota of information that could defeat the fell demons was justified. As a Warden you should know that better than anyone."
"He has a point there." Morrigan commented. "If a single spell could and a battle, I wouldn't question its source."
"Hmm. Your charming friend is correct. You would do well to heed her. There was nothing to be done for them. The few years they would have had here were nothing compared to goal of maintaining the balance if this place. I gave their deaths meaning." Avernus explained earnestly, as if he were preaching a sermon to a congregation.
"Meaning!? You…you call this, this rot, this perversion and that… that thing that used to be Sophia meaning!?" Aedan hissed as he pointed to the rot and ruin that surrounded them. "You didn't do this to stop the Blights, you didn't even do it to save Ferelden! You unleashed the demons to recreate forbidden magic! You sacrificed your fellow Wardens to save your own skin and hold back your own failure. In your unnatural curiosity you unleashed something you didn't fully comprehend and now the very balance of nature is suffering for your stupidity!" Aedan angrily spat at Avernus' feet in pure disgust. The very look at the old, withered Warden-Enchanter made him sick.
That did it. Aedan's words found their way to whatever sliver of a conscience Avernus had. "You….You're…right." Avernus admitted sadly. "I…should never have. So old, so tired. Let me undo my greatest mistake. Let me cleanse this place." Avernus begged. "Then…Then I will submit to whatever judgment you fell I merit."
"Sophia sent me here to kill you." Aedan informed. "We must deal with her first."
"You are wise not to trust her. She knows how to keep the Veil torn."
"Before we go, Avernus." Aedan grabbed Levi and urged him forward. "This is Sophia's great-grandson. You will answer any question he has."
Levi stepped forward nervously. "Uh, master mage, ser. My family's name has been less than dirt for over a century. Is there any kind of proof you might have that could clear our names."
"So the boy who braved the mists, you heeded my call. *Laughs* And you're a Dryden! The cosmos has a sense of humor it seems."
"Your call?"
"He was but a boy when he entered the tunnels below the Peak. His heart pure. His character certain. It still is, it seems. In dreams I gave him the keys he would need, he would be my deliverance. And it seems he has…brought just that."
"Answer his question, Avernus."
Utter sadness washed over Avernus. It seems even he knew the value of Sophia's character. "Your great-grandmother was the very best of us. Brave, charismatic, full of fire and utterly devoted to her cause. I doubt there have ever been many women like her. She was able to convince us to forget out oaths to fight against a tyrant, to give the Wardens another purpose and protect Ferelden in absence of the Blight. But proof? There is none to be had."
Aedan looked at Levi regrettably. "I'm sorry, Levi."
"I…I had hoped for so long. But thank you, Warden."
"Come now." Avernus urged. "We must go to the great hall. I will invoke the summoning circles and close shut the tears in the veil."
They all left the tower and returned to the castle. Sophia was all fire and brimstone over Aedan's betrayal of their deal. But Aedan knew all too well now that there could never be an honest bargain with a demon. Avernus, with the strength of Aedan and his companions backing him, was finally able to vanquish his century old adversary. Aedan couldn't help but notice the look of sorrow on Avernus' face as he struck the killer blow. It was hard to kill Sophia, even if it was merely a demon wearing her face.
They all rushed to the great hall and assumed battle positions to face the oncoming demonic waves as Avernus prepared his summoning circle. The demons came in force! Rage, sloth and desire came forth with their abominable minions in tow. As Avernus chanted in ancient Tevene Aedan and the others held their ground and felled every spiritual denizen that dared to enter the mortal plain. With the final demon slain and the last word spoken, the Veil was restored. It was over. Avernus became quiet and solemnly approached Aedan.
"The Veil is restored now. I…said I would submit to your judgment. What have you decided?"
Aedan looked over at the firep
lace and noticed the beautiful, black silverite longsword hanging over it. Asturian's Might, the sword of the first Warden-Commander of Ferelden. How appropriate. Aedan grabbed the sword and silently unsheathed it.
"Kneel." Aedan commanded softly.
"So be it." Avernus knelt acceptingly.
"You cannot be serious." Morrigan protested. "Surely you can see that his only crime was survival. Are our actions not as questionable, are not mine? Avernus is a prodigy and potentially an ally. You must spare him!"
"No! I cannot." Aedan denied.
"Cannot? Or will not?" Morrigan argued with her hands balled angrily.
"Both!" Aedan shot back. "He caused all this! Sad fact of the world is this, Morrigan: all actions done for good or ill have consequences."
"My dear." Avernus interrupted. "The Warden is right. Everything that has happened here is my fault and I have postponed my judgment for far too long. It's time I've answered for my crimes."
Morrigan shot a look of anger at Aedan, but he ignored her. He stood over Avernus' kneeling form and raised Asturian's Might to his face ceremoniously. "Warden-Enchanter Avernus. For the crimes you have committed against your fellow Wardens and the unholy actions you have committed in this keep that threw the very nature of this place out of balance, I, Aedan Cousland, acting Warden-Commander of the Order of The Grey here in Ferelden, sentence you to die. If you have any final words please say them now."
Avernus raised his head one last time and the bowed it repentantly. "In Death Sacrifice."
Aedan raised Asturian's Might above his head and then he let it fall. Morrigan looked away while the others watched Aedan carry out the deed. It was swift and clean.
"You've done it, Warden." Levi appraised. "The Peak is safe. A good thing you took care of that Avernus. A bloodmage, in the Wardens no less. Common folk should never learn about that. Folks still distrust the Wardens, even with a Blight on our doorsteps. Crazy buggers." A look of disappointed fell on Levi's face. "But…there was no proof. Nothing that could have cleared my family's name."