Origio Tentationibus

Life at the Circle in Ostwick was quiet, far less exciting than Samantha had expected when she was first brought there. She had always thought that the Circles were wreathed in mystery and magic; in truth the magic was kept at a minimum, at least for the apprentices. The Templar oversight, while unnerving at first, ensured that any mystery was kept to the bare minimum of dormitory gossip.

The young Trevelyan learned that life in the other Circles in Thedas was not all the same, they often varied depending on the cultures of the countries that they were located in and the dispositions of the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter. The Circles in the Free Marches varied greatly from city to city as each state had their own. Apparently the Ostwick Circle was very sedate compared to the others; compared to Kirkwall that always seemed to have Mage-Templar tension. The Circles in Orlais were always deeply involved in the Game, the political manoeuvring that the Empire was constantly entrenched in. The Circle of Ferelden was probably the most balanced, but had a great deal of internal struggle between mages when it came to the fraternities.

Samantha was grateful for the relaxed nature of the Circle she was located in, if only because it meant that with the political clout her family had, she was occasionally allowed to visit them. There was always a pair of Templars that accompanied her on these visits, but it allowed her not to lose all contact with her loved ones. It was when returning from one of these trips that the unexpected happened.

They had just entered the courtyard that surrounded the gate of the first wall surrounding the Circle; the courtyard was intended to make the gate more defendable from an attacking force, but was also used by merchants to set up stalls and trade for magical and alchemical wares from and for those housed in the Circle.

It was already late in the day, as Samantha had set out as early as she could to spend most of the time that this privilege earned her productively. The sky was a fiery red as the sun reached the end of its daily journey and the courtyard had been largely emptied of people by this hour. Ahead of Trevelyan and her escort, though, was a similar group to her own: two Templars accompanying a man.

Everything seemed to be normal – just a new addition to the Circle, or perhaps a case similar to hers - until the trio drew nearer to the gate that led to the Circle's inner courtyard. The man that was being escorted shouted out. One of the Templars that was with him grabbed onto his arm; this seemed to panic him as he tried to wrench from the holy soldier's grasp. Not succeeding, he shouted out again.

"Get away from me!"

"Stand down, mage." The Templar responded, his voice slightly muffled by his helmet.

The two Templars with Samantha bristled and loosened their swords in their sheaths, preparing for the worst. The few people that were still in the courtyard – merchants packing up, or those whose route home took them through the area – turned to look at the commotion.

"No! I won't let you imprison me like you do those…those sheep!"

Fire formed around the man's free hand and he punched it into the Templar's chest. The result was a dull 'thump' as the world seemed to take a breath, and then let it all out again. The Templar and his companion were thrown from the man, who was thrown in the opposite direction. The one who had been hit was flung so hard that he collided with one of the pillars of the surrounding wall with a sickening crunch and then clattered to the floor. His companion was thrown onto the pavers, and slid a short distance. Dazed, he tried to get up again, but was struck down by a bolt of lightning. He spasmed uncontrollably and then collapsed as well.

By now Samantha's escorts had drawn their swords and raised their shields, inching forward warily. She was paralysed, unable to move as these events played out before her – emerald eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. The others that had been in the courtyard had fled screaming and, recovering from where he had been flung, was the mage who had started it all.

He was now looking at his hand with a curious expression. It had been bloodied – the skin split from punching a breastplate – and sparks were still jumping across it from his most recent attack.

"So…." Despite his speaking so quietly, it still travelled clearly across the open space to the trio that was still in a position to hear him. "This is the power of blood."

"Maker silence you, Maleficar!" The Templar to Samantha's right called out, lowering his guard and pointing his sword at him, challenging him.

This seemed to rile up the man, who screamed back. "Damn the Maker! Damn him and his Chantry! Now burn, weakling!"

The Maleficar gestured at the Templar who had challenged him, but nothing happened. His face turned into an expression of confusion and disbelief. The two remaining Templars seized the opportunity and charged. When it seemed that they were almost on top of him and were about to cut him down, another thump shook the courtyard. Samantha blinked several times trying to clear her eyes to find out what had happened.

The second shock wave had sent her to the floor, market stalls crushed against the walls behind them, the two Templars that escorting her both lying on the ground. Blearily she took all of this in, the ringing in her head still too strong to allow for any coherent thought. Standing in the centre of the courtyard now, where the man had been a moment ago, was a monstrosity that was at least half his height taller than he had been.

It was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing – plain commoner's garb – but the rest of the body was horribly warped, bulbous growths sprouting from its back to give it a hunched appearance. The arms were much longer and sinewy and had massive claws at the tip of each elongated finger; even creature's skin had changed to a sickly beige. Slowly Samantha's mind made the connection: Abomination. The man had allowed a demon to possess him.

One of the Templars that had charged him seemed to be struggling to get up. The abomination walked over to him, slow, deliberate steps. It laughed as it drew nearer to him and then picked him up by the neck with one of its mutated arms; the laugh was a deep, hollow, echoing sound, as if it were laughing into an empty barrel – as if it were laughing from an empty soul.

"Puny mortal, you have no power against me. Where is your Maker now?" The creature's voice exhibited the same effects as its laughter did. Without flinching, it broke the windpipe of the man it was holding and tossed him to the ground like so much trash.

Samantha was still prone on the floor, unable to bring herself to move, unable to think. All she could do was watch in horror as the creature killed indiscriminately. It had reached the second Templar and after lifting him by a limp arm, punched straight through his breastplate and chest – arm emerging from his back seemingly unscathed by the platemail. It extracted the arm again, making a sucking noise as it pulled out of the now dead man's body. The abomination discarded the second corpse just as it had the first – the mangled armoured body clattering to the now blood-stained cobbles.

Then it saw the young Trevelyan and with surprising speed appeared right in front of her, the strange gait it used seeming to move it at the speed a man could only run.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The creature said as it grabbed her by the scruff of her robes and dangled her in front of its horribly mangled face. Samantha could not quite tell where it was actually speaking from, where the man's mouth used to be there was now a large muscular growth that seemed to twist around its face and back around the neck, adding to the hunched appearance. "A child mage…and such a pretty one too. No doubt one of the Templars' pets."

There was no other word for it – she was terrified. Her mind was a blank slate and all her limbs were made of lead. Nothing wanted to work. The abomination eyed her up and down, its eyes dead and lifeless, yet somehow still moving – whatever there was now, there was nothing left of the man it had once been. "Whatever shall I do with you?" the creature mused to itself.

"Shall I simply kill you for being such a sheep? Or shall I convince you to join me? How about it, girl, how would you like to play with the Templars?"

Samantha could not bring herself to answer, the blind fear freezing everything. She could not fight, she could not submit. She could only hang there paralysed. "Whaaat? Nothing? My, but you are a dull one. You're about as interesting as those four back there," the abomination said, pointing over its shoulder with its free hand.

"You know, since you're about as interesting as a dead person, how about you become one!" Saying this, it drew its arm back to do her in as it had its previous victim. Just as Samantha thought that it was the end, the monster holding her shuddered, its face twisted into a look of confusion, then a second later a blade sprung from its chest.

Screaming, it dropped the young mage and turned around, wrenching the blade impaling it from the wielder's grasp. "First Enchanter, some help here?" the Knight-Lieutenant nervously called, backing away from the creature.

"Yes, yes, of course," The elderly man behind him responded briskly.

Thrusting his staff into the sky, it glowed a pale blue as condensation formed around it. The abomination, which had lifted its arm to swipe at the unarmed Templar before it, stopped with its arm still raised as the temperature of the air around it dropped significantly. Suddenly it was encased in ice, unable to move. The Knight-Lieutenant carefully stepped around it, and with some effort extracted his sword. Then he kicked the creature in the leg – it shattered at the impact and the whole thing collapsed to the ground, breaking into hundreds of gory pieces.

"What a mess…."

~o~

The terrain around Celestine was changing again, the giant mushrooms, warped walls and odd bits and pieces from reality were slowly being replaced by large spires of dark rock or metal that pierced into the green-hued sky. The giant trees that had been connecting the floating islands had also vanished when she hadn't been looking. Where one of the larger islands had been obscuring her sight she could now see what seemed to be a distant city – dark edifices reaching into the Fade much like the dark formations near her – the Black City.

The place where, every mage was told, due to the hubris of the ancient Tevinter Magisters, the Maker had turned from his creation and the Darkspawn were born. Celestine spared a glance at the place that was the supposed location of such a cataclysmic event; she didn't spend much time thinking about the events the Chantry taught had taken place, and while she believed that it was prudent to know what happened in the past to prevent similar mistakes in the future, she did not believe it necessary to dwell on such things.

The cobbled floor with its grey dust also started to give way, replacing it was a shale that seemed similar in substance to the black spires. But unlike the spires which were strangely glossy – as if polished – the groundcover was a dull matte, having been crushed underfoot until the smallest pieces were a dust unto themselves, that coated the larger pieces and stole away all the light that shone on them. At intervals the floor was split, emitting an eerie green light from an unknown source. The whole effect made it apparent that they were moving from what had been purely alien territory to undoubtedly hostile alien territory. Mouse moved as close as he could to Celestine without getting caught underfoot.

They reached a point where there were no more of the strange plants; instead, before them, the black rocks grew into canyons and cliffs. There seemed to be a path leading into them, but blocking their way was the form of a monstrous bear-like creature, that seemed to be lying, sleeping, before them.

It was easily twice the size of a normal bear, or at least what Celestine believed the size of a bear would be – she had never seen one herself. Its fur was patchy, with sores and strange growths protruding from its body. Hard spines lined the creature's back and its claws were unnaturally large and long. She doubted that it was a beast of the mortal plain. It had one glowing yellow eye open which was lazily watching them as they approached.

"Mmm, visitors…" the creature said. Celestine was unsure how, but the voice seemed to come from inside of her head, instead of from the creature itself, which had not moved since they had laid eyes upon it.

"Are you the demon I am to be tested against?"

"Demon, such an ugly term… you may call me… Sloth." Every time the creature spoke it seemed as if it was about to fall asleep, with gaps in between phrases as if it were either yawning or stretching mid-sentence.

"Don't toy with me, spirit. Are you to be my opponent or not?"

"My, my…so excitable; but to answer your question… no, I am not your foe. But I might, mmh…savour what's left…once he is done with you."

Seeming satisfied with this, Celestine merely nodded and stalked past the creature. Mouse followed suit, but tried to keep herself between it and him as much as possible. Before she entered the path into the cliffs though, she turned around sharply, causing Mouse to run into her. The large rodent sat on his hindquarters rubbing his snout while Celestine briskly addressed the sloth demon. "If there will be anything leftover when this is done, it will not be of me."

Then as suddenly as she had stopped, she turned around again and disappeared into the ravine, blocking the bear-creature from sight. The path into the dark pillars was not a long one; after a sharp turn in the narrow path they emerged into a circular clearing. It was outlined by one of the cracks that had the same green light shining forth. The clearing itself, though, had small patches of flames burning – seemingly fuel-less – and the scent of brimstone was at its strongest here. The air reeked of molten rock, sulphur and fire.

"He is here!" Mouse called from near her ankle.

Celestine's whole world seemed to shake and she heard a furious roar. In the middle of the clearing a spout of liquid fire erupted into the air. The two companions watched in rapt attention as the spout gathered together and formed into what was not a clearly defined body, but had what would possibly be called arms and a head, with glowing eyes that melted into the body without a proper neck or even mouth.

The fire creature roared again, the sound seeming to come from the very walls that surrounded them. Mouse squealed and scrabbled back to the path leading out. Celestine spared him a glance, but if she had wanted to follow it would not have worked, because as soon as the rodent had made it into the passage, the fire creature swung its amorphous arms upwards and flames erupted from the green crevasse, flowing over into the exit as if seeking to re-capture the mouse.

"Well, if you want me to stay that badly…."

Celestine clapped her hands together and then twisted her fingers into several symbols in quick succession before facing her open palms towards the creature. There was a loud crack as the floor beneath the creature erupted into massive icicles; the sudden decrease in temperature also caused a small area of air around it to sink very quickly and everything was coated with frost.

Seeing her foe immobilised so, she formed more symbols with her fingers and punched the air in front of her with her right arm, while holding onto it with her left. The air before her fist glowed green briefly – much like the light from the cracks in the floor - then chunks of dark shale appeared and flew together into a fist of rock that was twice the size of a man's head. It then shot forwards into the frozen mass that had been the fire creature. The collision was so hard that the entire thing simply shattered, but instead of falling to the floor, the pieces simply vaporised.

As soon as the last piece disappeared, the flames that had erupted around them dwindled and died. Mouse was back to his human form, robes singed in places and smelling slightly of burnt hair. His eyes were wide as he looked around the clearing. "Woah, you actually did it…." He looked at Celestine reverently, "I know you said you would do it, but I never actually thought it possible…."

Celestine was walking around the clearing, brushing her hands along the black rock that made up the walls. "It was a great deal easier than I had expected it should have been. Anything can die; you would think the Harrowing would try a more, well… less straightforward approach."

She walked over to the middle of the room where the demon had appeared, testing the ground there; it wasn't even warm. Mouse walked over to her. "It doesn't matter! You did it, the first in…too long."

He smiled brightly, "You can go back now!"

Celestine looked up at him through her eyebrows, "What of you?"

As suddenly as it had appeared the smile vanished again, replaced by a sad look, "My body is long dead; I will never be able to leave this place. Unless…."

He glanced hopefully at her. "I could go with you!"

Celestine breathed in deeply. The scent of brimstone was gone and the air had returned to its tasteless state. "You know, I'm starting to believe that this demon of rage was not my intended challenge."

She straightened up, looking Mouse in the eye. "Firstly, the Templars know of my potential, they would not test me in combat." She turned around and went back to brushing the chamber walls while walking along them. "Secondly, the Harrowing only ends when one either wakes up or is possessed. The scenario that you said happened to you seems implausible; after all, when it comes to being patient and watching the most boring things, Templars would be my first choice to do that task."

Celestine stopped walking again, turning to look at Mouse once more. "Thirdly, if anything, you would have been made Tranquil, which would have killed your spirit here."

"So," she continued, "while you chose the form of a man, it is hardly one I find alluring, and the character you have been displaying has been… disgustingly sycophant-like; there is only one conclusion I can come to: begone Pride, you have no hold over me, nor shall I succumb to your machinations."

The whole of the Fade in which Celestine had been seemed to be sucked away, and was replaced by emptiness. Leaving her and Mouse alone, his face began to twist as he laughed. "Well done little mage; fear not, we shall meet again."

By the time he was sucked away with the rest of the Fade he had sprouted several more eyes and his teeth had become pointed, grin twisting far further than any human mouth would have allowed. Then he was gone.

Celestine blinked, breathing in deeply. She panicked when she saw that she was no longer in the chamber at the top of the tower, but relaxed once she recognised the familiar knots in the wood of the bed above her in bunk she had been using since arriving at the Circle. Satisfaction and relief flooded her as realisation dawned ; she had made it, she was now a Mage of the Circle.