Conatum Kelch

Donovan looked around nervously as he walked through the dark corridors of the Circle. He had been there his whole life, but had never been asked to travel this deep into its bowels, and that only for a message!

The architecture this low was taking on a very dwarven style, evidence that it was closer to the Deep Roads than anywhere else. Finally he reached his destination: a doorway with two statues standing on either side as if guarding it. Only, these statues seemed to be weeping; in the dim lighting the whole scene was extremely eerie.

Swallowing loudly, he tried to straighten his robes a bit and after a short pause, marched up to the door and rapped his knuckles on it three times. He waited ten seconds, then twenty; almost half a minute had passed before there was the sound of a bolt being drawn back and the door slowly creaked open.

Finally the room and its occupant were revealed. Standing before Donovan was the First Enchanter, his expression slightly distant. "Is there something you want, boy?" the old man said. He would have come across as cold had Donovan been able to convince himself that the Enchanter was even aware that he was standing there.

"Yes, First Enchanter. We have received a missive from Cumberland. Supposedly it has to do with a potential Blight in the South, Ferelden."

The old man seemed to finally arrive in the present as his eyes focused on Rory. " A Blight? Mmm, a Blight means darkspawn, lots of darkspawn. Nothing good can come of that."

"Sirrah, I was only asked to deliver this letter. It may have more information on the matter."

"Mmm, yes, I suppose it will." The elderly mage turned around and motioned to someone Donovan had not yet seen; he had not thought that there would be anyone else in the room. "Samantha dear, will you please take this missive and read it out for me?"

A pale girl with freckles and striking red hair emerged from the shadows of the chamber. Her expression was blank, her green eyes dead. "Yes, First Enchanter."Her voice was as lifeless as her face.

"And after you're done with that could you please read me the 3rd Chapter of Magister Remus' Compilation of the Spirits? I was sure I read something there that could make my research easier."

"As you say, First Enchanter."

Donovan shuddered; he still could not stand the Tranquil, severed from the Fade as they were they no longer seemed human. Having run his errand, he turned and left the place as fast as he could. There was something about being this far below the ground in the Circle that put him on edge -- a crawling at the back of his mind.

He was glad he had passed his Harrowing. Seeing how the girl had become an aide for the man's dying eyesight frightened him. Some sense of him was also jealous though. To have the complete and utter trust of the First Enchanter like that, to research and test the most advanced magics alongside him. Such an opportunity was wasted upon a Tranquil, who would never appreciate the wealth of knowledge that they were exposed to. But that was probably for the best. Stories of apprentices that aspired to surpass their masters often ended in tragedy.

~o~

"This is the crappiest job I've ever been given," Elisa whined after they had just killed a pack of rabid wolves. "I mean killing stuff is fun and everything, but blood? That's just gross."

"Sister," Erik responded as he wiped his sword clean on one of the animals' pelts. "I've seen you covered in gore from head to toe. How is this any different?"

"Well…these are darkspawn, you know, creepy and evil. Plus getting splattered in the stuff is different from surgically extracting it." She made a gagging face after finishing her explanation.

Daveth, another new recruit, piped up, "At least we're not on the receiving end."

"Amen to that," Ser Jory agreed, a massive slab of a man that had also been recruited.

"Aw this is not that bad," Alistair commented, "I doubt any of you have had to clean out stables in Redcliffe."

Elisa waved off what the senior Warden had said. "Come on Tina, you must have had something to add - any icky mage stuff?"

Celestine, who had been content listening to the banter, crossed her arms in thought. "Never really got into alchemy. I wasn't allowed near the more volatile reagents. But there was this one time I helped clean out a spider infestation in the Circle store room."

"Spiders?" Daveth asked chuckling.

"Yes, they were as big as Mabari," she responded, smiling sweetly as Daveth suddenly got several shades paler.

"It took me days to wash the stench of ichor from my hair."

Elisa laughed, a clear joyous sound in stark contrast to the progressively murkier marsh that swallowed up the Korkari Wilds.

"You're alright by me Tina."

Erik looked around where they were now walking. "Speaking of stenches…."

The group looked at what he had been referring to; ahead of them where the solid ground started to give way to water they could spot bodies lying among the reeds. Blood had seeped in and stained the ground dark in large patches.

"Maker, what happened?" Ser Jory asked, hefting his massive greatsword.

Elisa watched him, her eyes sad as she recalled another who had wielded a similar weapon not too long ago.

"Our prey happened," she said, tone sombre.

Daveth looked around nervously. "There are tales of witches and barbarians that live in the Wilds too."

Erik shook his head sharply. "No, the wildlings will have fled by now. They know better than to remain in the path of a Blight. And witches, well, I would hardly be able to tell you anything about those now, but I doubt that any victims of theirs would look so…cut? Whatever killed these people used edged weapons and bows."

His assessment was true; the remains were either human pincushions or corpses savaged by jagged blades. They moved among the bodies looking for clues to their demise. It looked as if it had been a caravan of missionaries, come to spread the Chant among the Chasind.

"Poor bastards. I wonder why nobody has reported this yet," Alistair mused.

"Because," Elisa answered, "the ones who would have reported anything got done in too."

She pointed ahead. A short distance from the corpses they were examining, another set of bodies was strewn across the ground; these were soldiers though and looked as if it had happened recently.

"Spirits!" She exclaimed. "One of them is still alive."

The group rushed forward and Alistair pulled some bandages from a pack he carried, wrapping the man's wound tightly. He mumbled something about being able to return to the camp on his own, then staggered off in the direction they had come from.

Ser Jory looked around, a hint of panic in his eyes. "A whole platoon taken out and I don't see any but their corpses. Going out here was madness."

"Don't worry, I can sense the darkspawn, all Grey Wardens can," Alistair said, placing what he hoped was a comforting hand on the giant man's shoulder.

"All that that means is that we'll see our death coming," Daveth remarked snidely.

"Now, now," Erik said motioning that they all calm down, "No one will be dying here today. I've already had my fill of that over the past month."

"He's right!" Elisa exclaimed as she pushed herself up on Erik's shoulders so she could look ahead. "Never fear, when Alistair's near!"

Erik buried his face in his palm. "Sister, please. We're supposed to be taking this marginally seriously."

Celestine had sidled up to Ser Jory and elbowed him in the ribs conspiratorially, "You said something about madness? I think we're full on up."

The giant laughed nervously. Alistair, who had overheard her, grinned at her in a manner that would only back up her statement. Daveth was too preoccupied watching Erik and Elisa's antics to have overheard the comment.

Suddenly the laughter faded from Alistair's face and he drew his sword. "Darkspawn."

Elisa seemed to vanish from where she had been holding herself up on her brother's shoulders, whose shield was raised and sword drawn before Alistair had even finished uttering the word. Celestine gripped her staff in both hands as Ser Jory took up his blade again. Daveth unslung his bow and nocked an arrow.

Celestine took in a sharp breath as cold hands that had somehow circled around her took hers in their own. "Relax," Elisa whispered into her ear, "my brother and Alistair will hold them at bay; Daveth will worry about any of their archers. You and Ser Jory will just take them out as the opportunity presents itself."

Celestine nodded sharply, a cold sweat forming on the back of her neck. "And you?" she asked shakily.

"I'll have some fun," the Cousland answered quietly, a wicked grin forming on her lips.

Then the darkspawn were upon them. They burst from the reeds and bushes, jumped out from behind trees or just charged at them from atop a hill where a tree that had gibbets hanging from its branches stood.

As Elisa had predicted, Alistair and Erik met the first ones; Erik slammed the edge of his shield into the face of the one nearest to him, while Alistair impaled another on his sword. One had already fallen, with two feathered shafts sticking from its throat. Ser Jory cleaved off the head of a fourth who was trying to sneak past the other two men and managed to lodge the blade in the darkspawn next to it.

Celestine looked around, trying to locate Elisa again who had vanished from her side. She spotted her as the twin reached out of a thick bunch of reeds and grabbed one of the darkspawn archers from behind, running a long blade across its throat as she pulled back with the other hand. The mage looked around, trying to find a way to assist and not injure any of her new-found friends.

She eventually spotted a very large darkspawn standing on the hill who was calling out guttural roars, seemingly directing the others. Seeing that no-one else was near the creature, the Amell girl summoned together her power, a sudden calm enveloping her as an orb of fire enveloped her right hand while her staff remained clasped in the left.

Celestine flung the arm forward, propelling the missile towards the creature. It streaked through the air, leaving a blazing trail as it travelled towards its target. The fireball exploded upon impact with the alpha, scorching a large cone around it, catching one of the archers in the blast – both creatures screamed horribly as the scent of burning darkspawn filled the air, an acrid sickening thing.

Seeing the fate of their leader, the others screeched in defiance and renewed their assault, but without even the little tactical manoeuvring that the leader had enforced, the darkspawn attack quickly fell to shambles as the Grey Warden recruits mopped them up. The last one was about to turn and flee when Elisa appeared next to it, thrusting one of her daggers through its throat, sending blackish blood spurting as she retracted it.

"See, my good Ser? As easy as a tavern wench," Elisa remarked teasingly to the towering knight.

"I'll say," Erik commented. "Their stench is more lethal than their methods."

"And Tina, that was awesome!" Elisa exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

"Yeah," affirmed Alistair. "Just let me check if I still have eyebrows." He gingerly tested his brow with his gauntleted hand.

Celestine and Daveth went to the bodies that had not been scorched and extracted the blood into the vials. As soon as they had finished with that, the group delved deeper into the Wilds. Duncan had charged them with finding an ancient Warden outpost that held treaties which would compel certain factions to aid during a Blight, in addition to getting the blood. While the blood seemed to be an initiation of sorts, they were far more comfortable with the objective of finding the outpost; it seemed to have more purpose.

Darkspawn and blighted animals attacked them on numerous occasions, but the group proved to be far more than up to the challenge. Seemingly the rumours about Grey Wardens were true. Even only as recruits they were the best of the best.

"You know, I wonder why there are all these sunken ruins everywhere," Elisa piped up after they had dispatched yet another attempted ambush. "Everyone says that they're from the old Tevinter Imperium, but there must have been a lot more people alive back then if they had enough to populate even this place so extensively to build so widespread."

"Or they just realised how lousy a place this was after the Imperium was chased out and all left," Erik muttered.

"Well true, I'm still thinking if I should risk jumping into that water to wash off all this darkspawn…stuff."

"There's more green than water there," Alistair said, nodding his head towards the pools that seemed to swallow the land.

"Green?" Celestine asked, smiling that innocent smile of hers.

"Well what else should I call it?" the Warden asked, flustered.

"Algae? Slime? Goo? Sludge? Mud?"

"I don't have a wordy word qualification from the Circle, alright?! Have pity upon the miserable bastard."

"Ooh, a bastard," Elisa cooed, "The girls mother used to force me to associate with would love…" her voice suddenly hitched as she stepped into a memory landmine, "…loved."

Erik took his sword in the hand that also bore his shield and wrapped his free arm around her. The others looked on in slight sympathy and confusion, not entirely sure what had happened. Erik whispered something to his sister and squeezed her, then let her go. She brushed a tear that had escaped from her cheek and hefted her daggers again.

"What are you all gawking for? Let's go!"

The group, a bit dazed at this sudden change in demeanour, just lurched into action, following her. Alistair pulled Erik to the back of the group and asked him quietly, "What was all that about? Will your sister have problems with my lineage?"

The Cousland kept his eyes locked onto his sister's back as he responded, voice stony, "No, nothing so petty…we're alone." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Arl Howe betrayed our family, killed our friends and parents and slaughtered all who lived in Highever."

Celestine stifled a gasp as she overheard the response. She saw the look of pity upon Alistair's face as well, but the Warden did not say anything. He merely set his jaw and nodded.

"Stop!"

The group froze, then slowly looked at who had spoken so sharply: Celestine. She had taken her staff into both hands again. "There is…magic, ahead. I can feel the Fade pulling at something."

At the mention of the spiritual realm, all readied their weapons once more. They might not know what to expect when it came to such matters, but in the event that it was something bad – which would most likely be the case, them being in the place they were – they would be prepared.

Ahead a rickety wooden bridge had been erected over one of the pools that broke up the land, on the other side stood more of the ruined pillars. What made this part of the land different from the others was that there were statues here, but they had been defiled by the darkspawn with filth and all kinds of hideous items strapped to the once-beautiful stone figures.

The group carefully advanced over the bridge, when Daveth cried out, "There!"

He released an arrow and it buried itself in the body of stocky darkspawn that gurgled and fell to the ground.

"Ambush!…Again," Elisa called out and crouched down, readying herself for a potential enemy charge. It proved to be a wise move as three Darkspawn emerged running from the pillars. Alistair and Erik moved to stand slightly behind the other Cousland and brought their shields to bear - one flying the colours of Highever, the other those of the Wardens.

Alistair flinched as something impacted with his shield; Erik looked at what it had hit it. A green caustic substance was slowly eating through the wood. Elisa also jerked in surprise as a blue bolt of energy suddenly dissipated just in front of her face.

"Emissary!" Alistair called out.

Elisa looked to her side where Celestine was standing, her hands shimmering with arcane light and her eyes glowing blue. Her mouth was curved into a snarl as she shifted into a steadying stance. Hands twirled and the staff spun around, its tip blurring into a glowing ring next to the young mage. Then without warning she stopped the swing and brought up the staff and slammed its butt down into the ground.

There was a cracking sound as the soggy soil around the impact didn't swallow the staff, but split as a trail of flame burst forward from it. The Emissary that had now shown itself on the other side of the bridge howled as the ground beneath its feet burst into flames and sent it smoking into the air. It crashed down a few meters from its initial position, unmoving.

As the three charging darkspawn were cut down, the group all turned to Celestine with wary eyes. Her hands and staff were still glowing and her eyes had not yet returned to normal. Elisa, who had not moved all that time, sheathed her daggers and cleared her throat. Straightening up she reached out and offered her hand towards the mage.

Celestine blinked several times and her eyes returned to their normal hue. She looked at the outstretched hand dazed, then at Elisa's sincere face, then back at the hand. Eventually she clasped it.

The Cousland twin grinned. "Thanks."

"It was nothing," the mage mumbled.

"'Nothing my beautiful arse!" Elisa exclaimed, "that thing would have taken off my head had it not been for you."

"Was that the Fade thing you mentioned earlier?" Daveth asked nervously.

Celestine wondered whether he was referring to her, or the darkspawn, but eventually decided not to worry about it. It seemed that these people had enough problems of their own without her adding to them. "No, whatever is weakening the Veil is still here somewhere."

"Something to look forward to then," Ser Jory muttered, his teeth gritted. All of this magic was putting him on edge.

~o~

Sorana Hawke marched back into the army camp with Lond and Garrod in tow, their shift at the road over. Braziers and fires were already burning as twilight stole over the countryside, the flickering flames darkening shadows and outlining features. The secret apostate waved off her escort as they headed deeper into the camp, saying that they should grab something to eat while there was still some left.

She eventually neared the place where her tent was located when she stumbled across a familiar figure. "Carver!" she greeted her brother, far more enthusiastically than he felt by the look on his face.

"What is it now, Sister?" Somehow he managed to make it sound like an insult.

"You won't guess who I ran into today," she said with a sly look.

"The king of Ferelden? Oh wait, that was a month ago," he responded in a bitter tone. "No, wait. The Lord High Marshal, oh no, that was last week - maybe Lord Cousland? Or was that yesterday?"

She smacked him upside the head as she neared him. "No, silly. Cousin Celestine, the kid of mother's cousin… the one whose children all got taken by the Circle?"

"Oh great, more mages…just what we need."

"Don't be such a prick. She seems nice. A bit quiet maybe, but nice." Rana grinned then. "Should have seen the men. They couldn't tell us apart."

"You mean I have to deal two annoying relatives now?" Carver asked incredulously.

"Not quite; remember she's quiet. But I'll see what I can do to amend that."

Hawke senior then stalked off, deciding that she should probably also find something to chew on. But before she got out of hearing range she turned to shout back, "She's also a Grey Warden!"

Carver cursed under his breath, something about family, mages and women before returning to clean his sword, which he had been busy with before his sister had interrupted him.