- From the Journal of Eratus Riverwood
A piercing whir drowned out all other sounds, and the room churned into a vortex of color. Though I could not see, I could feel the blade of light find purchase.
And from the end came a psychic screech of pain.
I pressed my strength into the strike, intent on sending whatever lurked beyond back to the nether from which it sprung. But as I drove onward, I glimpsed a part of my foe ahead. I saw threads anchoring a shadowy core to the edges of reality, but beyond lay a spool drawing from a reservoir, filled with the bleak despair collected from hundreds of souls.
They cried for release, and the being threw back with all its strength.
The pressure of our clash strained the world until what color and sound was left frayed apart. A crack formed along the edge of my vision. Feeling vanished from my skin and strained muscles. The air itself disappearing to void.
Then reality shattered in a burst of green.
I was thrown back, and felt a fume of outrage from my foe, but before it could be sent hurtling away it clutched onto my blade, then pulled, dragging it and me with it as everything dissipated to void.
Until sensation returned to me like a splash of cold water.
I gasped, tasting air that felt as thin as in the high mountains. My eyes opened next, peering through a narrow slit and gazing upon a hazy green sky. Something heavy wrapped around my entire body and I was lying down. As I leaned up I realized I was in the middle of a cobblestone street bordered by houses much like any would find in Denerim.
Where was I? How did I wind up here?
With my second breath, I tasted the miasma infused into the air. I coughed as the Light within revolted and shone out, forming a protective sphere which sent the darkness quailing in its wake.
This couldn’t be Denerim. Had I died? I suspected my sins would have made me unworthy of the bright afterlife of those who lived good lives, but then why did the Light still answer my call? And why could I still sense the power of the lyrium thrumming within me?
I glanced down and saw familiar plate gauntlets woven around my hands in an equally familiar silvery blue sheen. The foggy glass of a nearby house reflected back my visage, an Alliance Knight in full plate regalia, helmet and all, with a tabard emblazoned with the emblem of the Silver Hand. My sword had disappeared as well and in its place on the street rested a standard-issue warhammer.
“Lorekeeper. Are you there?”
No response. I tapped my person and couldn’t find the Lorekeeper’s disc, which I had tied to my belt. It appeared I was alone out here.
Was this some sort of elaborate illusion? I gazed back at the sky above, searching for moons or a sun to tell if it was dusk or dawn, but in place of those celestial bodies was something else entirely. A floating island from which rose dark spirals within a walled enclosure. A black city.
I had seen it before in the deep roads, in the same room where I found the urn. And I realized as my enemy fell asunder, so too did it drag me to its prison with it.
There was an intensity to my thoughts and emotions here, and it reminded me of theories I read on distant realms where the spiritual took precedence over the physical. Wandering druids spoke of one such place, where the will itself could conjure things by its volition alone. A place where dreams could be made real, and so too could nightmares.
I grabbed my warhammer and touched my armor. Both felt real enough to use, and knowing the Light would have cleansed away any deceit, it meant these were real enough to put an end to the demon behind this. The fight wasn’t over.
I heard slime slurring against rock, followed by an uneasy feeling crinkling at the edges of my mind. I faced this new threat, and witnessed a red blob slithering from the corner of a building. It was unlike any creature I had ever seen, sporting two thin arms and a bulbous head with twin eyes simmering like embers. It lacked a mouth but had no need for one, because I could feel the rage and hate being emitted from it.
And I recognized a demon when I saw one. This one looked far too miniscule to be the one I had sent back, which meant this prison held more than one denizen.
It rushed me, surprisingly fast for a being without legs, but not before I called forth a barrier. The sphere of light solidified right as the creature smashed into it, sending sparks from the impact. I wasted no time returning the blow in kind and with the war hammer shimmering with holy energy, I swung, smashing into the demon’s head. Holy energy suffused through the being’s essence with the blow, causing it to emit a shrill shriek of pain before dissipating into oblivion.
Where there was one demon, one often found many, so when I glimpsed movement from the same corner of the building, I swerved my hammer towards it.
No response.
“Who goes there?” I said, then willed light to my free hand. “Show yourself!”
There was still no response, so I slowly stepped closer, ready for an ambush, until my light unveiled what lay in the darkness. A child huddled in the corner, sporting a familiar tuft of blonde hair, who I recalled hugging his mother’s skirts.
“Louis?” I lowered my hammer, recognizing Madame Lebois’s son.
The baker’s boy fidgeted but stayed still, a blank look on his face. Miasma shrouded his entire being, preventing me from telling if it was truly Louis or something else in disguise.
He hadn’t attacked me, but there was an easy way to check. I drew my arm forward while calling upon a cleansing invocation, the holy energy washing away the miasma to reveal what turned out to be the boy’s soul beneath.
A revelation that brought relief but also concern. A terrible thought crossed my mind as I recalled the hundreds that fueled the demon that attempted to enter the world. I recalled the comatose people held aloft in coffins and evidently, they had a purpose beyond being sold as mere slaves.
And as if to confirm, I could see a miasmic coil, stubbornly latched onto the child like a parasite.
I focused my will upon it, and eventually it snapped. However, instead of disappearing, the coil gathered to a wisp before slithering away up the one-way street. I followed it with my eyes, noting it very well might be returning to its master, before checking to see how Louis was doing. The boy blinked, color returning to his face as he looked around with a sudden awareness of his surroundings.
“Huh?” said Louis. “Where…Where am I? W-Who are you?”
“Don’t be afraid, Louis,” I said, trying to calm the boy.
“You are shining like a star,” said Louis. “And you look like a chevalier. Are you a chevalier?”
“I am.” I said, opting to play along for now to at least gain the boy’s trust and figuring we both shared a similar mythos. Revealing my true self wasn’t an option, since I wasn’t keen on further sharing my identity with others.
“Oh wow! Has-Has something bad happened? Chevaliers only appear in times of trouble. I can’t remember much of anything. It’s weird.”
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“Something bad has happened to you,” I said, opting to play the heroic knight angle. “And as you said, that is why I am here. Was your mother with you?”
If they took the son, then they most certainly took his mother.
“I think so,” said the boy. “But I don’t know where she is.”
“Then we will look for her together.”
“Okay then!” said Louis. “I’ve always wanted to be a chevalier when I grow up. Do you think I can be one?”
“You have the heart for one,” I said, and his face went bright. “But that depends on your actions, not your words. And for now, I need you to not stray from me. Can you do that for me, Louis?”
Louis nodded up and down in an exaggerated yes.
“Good,” I said, then stood up. “Now stay close.”
The piece of miasma that fled did so in the single direction of the street, and so we followed in pursuit. There were no winding alleys or side exits here, only two rows of houses that were seemingly void of residents. However, with each step, I could sense shadowy presences lurking at the edges of my mind, filled with hate, envy, lust, and all manner of ill thought. Louis seemed to sense the same, and he stood close, bumping every now and then to my hind leg. They did not bother us for now, but there was no doubt in my mind that they would strike upon sensing weakness, which meant I had to put an end to this as soon as possible.
I halted though upon seeing a familiar-looking home in the distance. One sorely out of place in a human neighborhood, and which I sensed a cloister of despair from within. One that paid us not attention because I could sense the distress of the soul they feasted on.
I looked back at Louis, raised a finger to my lips in an indication of silence, then stepped off the streets and towards that house. Past the wooden door, I glimpsed the same curtains of fabric lining a hallway splitting up the rooms of the house, shared by a family whose members I had grown close to. And at the end of that hallway sat a red-haired elf gazing at a wall with a catatonic stare.
Three ghostly shades orbited above her, cloaked in willowy robes with their hands outstretched, drawing out shadowy tendrils that siphoned vitality.
They took note of my presence revealing eyeless faces and making threatening gestures while opening their mouths unveiling maws that resembled a leech. However, I had already primed the light in my hands, and a threat was but all they’d have time to make.
I slammed the end of my hammer upon the floor, consecrating the ground. Cracks of light spread along the floor, shooting up in beams that set the shades afire. They screamed and shrieked, attempting to put out the purifying flames to no avail, shriveling up like leeches exposed to salt before vanishing into the nether.
Louis gasped at the sight while Shianni shifted, the consecrated ground freeing her from her slumber.
“Shianni?” I stepped towards her, reaching out with my arm.
She turned towards me, and instead of relief, she backed up against the wall in surprise.
“What?” she said and turned towards me. “W-Who are you? Why are you in my home?”
“I am here to help.” I was tempted to remove my helmet before deciding to keep it on. Revealing my identity now would only complicate matters. Instead, I withdrew and gave her space. “You were taken along with others from the alienage.”
“What do you mean? I…” she said, then slowed as if she recalled some detail she first missed. “No… I remember now. I was home when there was noise. Shouting. I went outside and saw humans with swords out before everything went dark.”
“They took you and many others,” I said. “You must come with me. There is more to this than an attempted kidnapping. You are the victim of foul sorcery and are still in grave danger.”
“Others?” She peeked over to see the boy. “Who is he?”
“I’m Louis!” said the boy, cheerful and now sounding like he was convinced he was in some heroic story. “This is a chevalier and he rescued me as well!”
“A chevalier?” Shianni blinked. “You’re Orlesian? Never seen one in armor like that, or one so tall.”
“I’m… ,” I started when the ground rumbled.
“What’s happening?” said Shianni, grabbing onto the wall to steady herself.
“I’m not sure,” I said, leaving and looking outside. All the buildings were shaking but most conspicuous was a rift being pried open in the sky. I could feel the rippling sensation from it, and felt it before. The demon was attempting to re-enter the world once more.
Shianni followed me outside, looking up at the sky with Louis with her mouth agape.
“This isn’t Denerim… is it?” said Shianni, who then shuddered, trying not to look at the black mark in the sky.
“Do you believe me now?” I said. “There is no time to waste, follow me.”
“Al-Alright then,” said Shianni.
We booked it up the street, running toward the source of the chaos. The lingering entities that were at the edges of my mind seemed to have vanished, spooked off by what was transpiring. Several moments passed when Shianni decided to pepper me with more questions.
“Just who are you?” said Shianni. “If I am being rescued, I would at least like to know your name ser. And who sent you?”
“No one sent me,” I lied, and thankfully, the conversation was cut short because we arrived.
The street gave way to the same marketplace I was used to seeing in Denerim. Mostly the same with tents and stalls set up, filled with goods.
And there were people too out here.
Flocks of them scattered throughout leaning against walls or poles or wandering about like zombies. I recognized two groups by their features. Human vagrants in ragged clothes as I had seen outside the city walls and the elvhen most of whom were still dressed in their festival attire.
I could feel the despair from them, and it was being siphoned away congregating to a central point in the market behind all of the stalls and shops.
“Maman!” Louis ran ahead to the ghostly figure of Madame Lebois seated upon a stool.
“Soris?” said Shianni, who stepped away at a young elf who was trudging along blankly.
Both ran towards their respective kin before I could stop them. Louis tugged at his mother’s skirt while Shianni patted her brother’s shoulder. Neither of them responded.
“What’s wrong with him?” said Shianni.
“The same that happened to all of you that have arrived,” I said, and willed the light forth in a cleansing wave, cutting apart the miasmic coils as I tried to catch as many in a single swathe. Soris, Madame Lebois, and several other people caught in the range of my invocation stirred to life.
“Shianni?” said Soris. “Where ar-“
Soris’ words were cut short as Shianni hugged him tight.
“Louis?” Madame Lebois looked down at her son in confusion, then around. “What are you doing here? Where are we?”
“Something terrible has befallen you.” I stepped up, and Madame Lebois held her son tightly as I approached her. “I am here to help.”
“It’s a chevalier, Maman,” said Louis.
Another loud rumble followed, but this time the miasma in the air stirred whirling about.
“What’s going on?” said Soris, looking around.
The remaining humans I hadn’t freed all suddenly gripped their faces in pain. The miasma surrounding them, wrapping closer until their bodies crumpled into dark wisps that trailed away to the source that I sensed in the middle of the market. Those that I had freed gathered around with terrified expressions, all looking for guidance.
It had sensed my interference and was now gathering its strength.
“Get away from here,” I said. “This is beyond you all.”
“What about you?” said Shianni.
“It is my purpose to deal with such things,” I said then pointed down the street. I did not want any of the freed souls nearby when the fight began because collateral damage was going to be inevitable. “Go down the road. Away from this place until this is over.”
The freed humans and elves looked at each other, hesitating until Shianni reiterated my words.
“You heard him!” she said with a commanding voice. “Let’s go!”
Her words cut through prejudice because humans and elves together followed Shianni away, leaving me to deal with what lay beyond. I moved ahead, ready for an attack at any moment, moving between the stalls and tents until I found a shadowy cloud linked to the growing rift above.
At its center stood a human figure with a flapped coif around his head, his hands raised up high in a trance. He looked like any other merchant, but I could sense no soul under that fa?ade. Its gaze turned towards me, and I could see nothing but malice behind those black eyes, nothing but an endless abyss that hungered and fed upon despair.
“So… you are the one who stopped me.”
“And you were what was sealed in that urn.” I cast the full power of the Light through my hammer, letting it shine bright. Each word allowing me to prepare for what was to come.
“A temporary reprieve by mortal conjurers, but futile nonetheless. The seal would have broken regardless, and the mortal conjurer only accelerated it.”
The entity laughed.
“Times change, but mortal desires never do.”
“I know your kind,” My barrier shone next, an aura of retribution reinforcing it. “You who prey upon the weak and twist people toward wickedness.”
“Whatever you assume I am, I assure you I am much more. And while you describe others of my kind, I have only gifted strength to those seeking it and guided the ignorant toward the path of enlightenment. For you now gaze upon the first of the four. We who laid bare the secrets lurking within your blood. We who made plain to you, knowledge of the world without.”
I could sense a kernel of truth in its words, but it was but a distraction.
“If you claim not to be demon, then release your hold upon the souls you have claimed,” I said while a shield of light in the form of a disc formed around my free arm.
“An interesting demand,” said the being. “From one in no position to make them. You may have held the advantage once but now you are in my realm.”
The miasmic cloud shrank in density, collected from pure and utter despair. It raised the demon into the air, causing him to float.
The demon’s clothes changed, resembling those of a Chantry priest crossed with those of a mage. All around the market, armored shades clawed their way out of the ground. Revenants dressed in the guise of warriors wielding shield and sword rallied to their master.
An army was assembled to meet me as the demon floated above like an arcane horror, magical energy crackling from its hands.
“I am unbound and you will not stop my passage. Now… Witness Gaxkang!”