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Tainted Dreams	By : wyldehart Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 3478 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: All characters and Dragon Age are property of Bioware/EA. I made no money, sadly.

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
Welcome to the first of the final three chapters of Tainted Dreams. You will notice that this entire chapter is italicized and in the first person. I don't mean to confuse you all but we are passengers inside Elissa's head. I had expected it to only be a short thing and then right into the action but, alas, that is not how things work. Oddly, no sex but there are some very disturbing images.

Blood, black and glossy was splattered across his face. The gold-brown eyes, like warm honey, were intensely focused on me as he asked, "Elissa, did you see? We're done! We did it! Now I'm going to finish it off."
I grabbed his wrist as he rose from the ground to get his sword. Everywhere, fires burned and people screamed but this high up, here on the platform of the ballistae tower, the heat and death were distant. I was sadly aware, however, of the many lives taken during the battle against the archdemon. It was painful for me to look around at all those who had sacrificed themselves for this cause. My cause. Even though we had won, something unfinished hung in the air, preventing me from enjoying our success.
The archdemon, broken and unable to move as she was, was not yet dead.
"Why can't I do it?" I asked as hauled myself to my feet. I was dizzy for a moment but soon, I stood wearily, my hands like a vice on his wrist.
He jerked his arm away and hefted his sword in one hand and the other touched my chin. He kissed me with warm lips and smiled sadly. "If Morrigan's trick fails, I would rather myself die than you. You cannot be sacrificed, my love. Not for this."
I watched him turn away in stoic silence and then he ran to the prone dragon. I raised my own sword and rushed him, sending him sprawling just feet away from delivering the final, fatal blow. I then leapt to the dragon's neck and perched there upon the rough, jagged spines and boney plates in a precision balancing act that left me unprotected. Though weak, she was still able to fight me. I plunged the sharp lyrium-enhanced blade named Starfang deep into the archdemon's skull, the glowing metal driven into its brain. I cried out as the beast gave a sudden staggering shudder and I was thrown to the ground as it began its death throes.
I hit the ground hard, a bone snapping beneath me. I think it was my hip. As the dragon died, Alistair ran to my side, weeping. He was saying things, sweet things, begging me to stay with him. But his words were lost on me as my vision faded and then…there was only blackness.
For a moment I lingered in this, "not quite here" state before once again, I opened my eyes. I expected to still be in Alistair's arms and I was but I was looking down at myself and him. Down. I looked around and realized that the lone survivors were staring at me with horror. I turned back to Alistair and our eyes met. I tried to cry out that it was I, his love! But all that came out of my jaws was a terrible roar that splattered Alistair and my body with long threads of gooey, acidic saliva. He grabbed his sword and lunged, my human remains forgotten at my clawed feet.
His sword bit through my tough hide several times and it hurt like a mosquito's bite but nothing more. I felt myself losing control as my jaws opened, hovered over his body and snapped shut. Within my mind, I howled, I tried to pull back and though I was the dragon in every way, I could not control her. I could feel, taste, scent and touch but otherwise, I was a passenger. I tasted his blood, his viscera; I felt his heart beating on my tongue. I tried to spit him out of my mouth but instead, I chewed. I crunched his marrow-filled bones. I devoured his heart and brain. Then I swallowed. When I looked down again, all that remained was his body from the waist down and blood. His blood. It was on me, in me, on my tongue and it pooled beneath my feet in a hot, sticky black slick.
I screamed and once again, all was dark.

I awoke screaming. I sat up and the first thing I noticed was that my belly was flat and I was lying in grass that had no touch or sensation. The ground was vaguely "there" but it gave the impression of walking on foam or soap. In the distance, under a pink and purple sky, there were mountains and rocks that seemed to constantly change their shape and composition.
It suddenly hit me; I was in the Fade.
I rose to my feet and looked around. I had done this a few times so nothing was at all that new to me. Every "Fade walk" had a way out of the Nightmare. It was just a matter of finding the "key". For a non-mage, I was pretty damn good at dealing with the Fade and its demonic denizens. Walking around and looking for clues would be the first order of business. Somewhere along the path, a spirit would be drawn to me. That spirit would help with a word of advice, some knowledge to guide my first steps. At least I hoped. Demons were the more common creature one encountered.
After a time of wandering, I felt myself growing frustrated. Usually, there was a creature, a demon something that would challenge me but so far, I hadn't come across anything. Surely it was not abandoned! I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I did not hear the crying at first but a few moments later, I did listen and that time, I did hear it.
Inspired, I listened more closely and I walked in the direction of the woman's tears.
"Hello? Hello!" I called into the shimmering veil of the Fade. Ever shifting, ever changing, it was hard to navigate it but I had done it many times and I was not fooled by the varying environment I traveled through. But most others would become disoriented and frightened. Yes, I was unnerved by it but I found it lovely, actually.
Against a pillar, I found her. She was small, plump with round hips, a bulbous bottom and small breasts. She was not the type of woman I would associate Ambrose with but here she was, his wife. I don't know how I knew that but it felt right to me that that's who she was. Her dark hair shadowed her round face and tears dripped to the ground. "Aliyena? Hello."
She peered up at me through the curtain of her tangled hair. "You…you've been with him…" she whispered. Her tone was accusatory, her statement carrying so much meaning. But she didn't seem mad, just imploring. "Is he…well?"
I nodded as I crouched down to her side. It was then that I realized that, as in life, I was naked. She at least wore a simple shift over her ample curves. "Yes. I think so. He's gone for help. She…the demon let him go for help. I don't understand why…"
She snorted and turned away from me. "She wants the challenge. The first step to her plan, to see if her minions can beat whatever he brings to face her. She has you now. In her mind, that alone is victory enough. You know why she needs you?" the woman asked in soft, thickly accented Fereldan.
I started to nod but because she wasn't looking at me, I murmured, "I think so. It's pretty crazy."
She snapped her head around. "You're not in her thoughts! You don't know the half of it! She knows a way to speed up your son's age, you know. A way to make him grow fast so that she can have her king and her army and our world. She thinks herself unstoppable! She thinks she's won." The woman bent over her hands once again, sobbing. I reached out my hands to comfort her and she flinched away. "Don't! You're his. I won't be touched by him ever again."
I steadied myself on my heels and watched her closely. "I don't belong to him. He's a lover, yes, but I belong to myself." I sounded defiant. Maybe I was. "Has he hurt you?" I asked in a hushed voice. Was he even capable of hurting a woman?
She shook her head. "Non…I did the hurting. I was wrong. He loved me. He tried. And I failed him. I lied about our son. He is not his. I was pregnant with my father's child and mother and I knew it. The night he saved me, I gave my body to him willingly in thanks. Then the Wardens took him in and some months later I had given birth to a black-haired, blue-eyed child. I claimed it his. And he believed me. Mother told him he had to marry me because I was ruined. In truth, she knew he was wealthy and Grey Wardens die young. It was a perfect situation since we had no money ourselves.
"Her hope was that he would leave all to me and by me, she meant her and the rest of our family. Sometime after we married, we made love at the Lover's Ball, unaware of who we were with. There, we conceived our daughter. But he didn't know I had a real lover there… I had been with him since before we were married. But mother wouldn't let me be with him. He was a mage. He didn't have money. He had no real station in life. Ambrose was wealthy, handsome, terminally ill…perfect for an aspiring Lady. He always fretted that I wouldn't let him touch me. He never knew the truth. I feel terribly for the hurt I caused him. But mother is evil. Gold meant more than love. I had to obey her or lose my son."
I watched her take a deep breath and her hands wiped away her tears. "The worst of it was that he did learn to love me a great deal. And I tried! I really did but every time we touched, I felt as if I was being untrue to my real love, though he understood. Ambrose was so sweet, using flowers and romance and the sweetest kisses… He was more patient than any man should ever be. Then one day he stopped coming home. So I sent his clothes to Lydes during a fit of anger. Shortly after that, he threatened me with divorce and mother threatened to take away my daughter since my son was old enough by then to be on his own.
"Then Veranon showed up, practically dancing with joy to present the request for annulment. I hit him. I actually hit Veranon. That wasn't like me but I was terrified of mother. She would do much worse to me when she found out. I was emotionally weak as I kicked him out of my home. He was laughing at me. I prepared myself to listen to mother's threats but before I saw her, I felt my soul get slammed out of my body and into this place, this Fade place."
I looked at her as she peered around, her eyes drinking it in and fear clutching her breast. "So you know this is the Fade. Did you know you are a mage?" I asked.
She nodded slowly. "My lover said I had a hint of the gift but not enough to train. Ironically, our daughter has more than a hint. She is strong, like the one in your womb."
"I see. I was told she had magic," I murmured softly. "You need to return to your body so that we can stop her. I can help you go home!"
Aliyena shook her head sadly as she slowly rose to her feet. "Non. I cannot. The body that was once my own she has warped beyond all comprehension. Then, even were I able to return, I have nothing left and my mother will ensure that I never have a life free to live however I wish. No, I am finished. But you can stop her. I hold the key, the answer, the weapon that will be her undoing."
I was intrigued now as she smiled at me, the first one I'd seen on her yet. When she smiled, she suddenly became radiant and I understood then why Ambrose tried so hard to make things work with her. "I have been her pet, her slave and she has fed off of me for months now. I will give to you, voluntarily, everything that I am and ever was in the form of a weapon she cannot counter. Because it is my essence, given without compulsion, she will not know how to counter it. An added benefit is that I have been studying magic while I was locked up in here, learning her spells. The weapon I give you will make you a mage for as long as my essence remains. It is the only way. The best way. Also, without her to feed on me, her powers weaken. Trust me."
I was stunned, shocked. She wanted to give up not only her life but her spirit, her soul, her very essence! I wasn't sure I could do this but when I looked back at her, I saw she was glowing softly; her hand wrapped around a staff as much in flux as the rest of the Fade. She pushed it into my shaking hands but didn't let go right away. "I don't know how long you'll have but the Fade seems to keep me strong so you should be able to use it to free yourself from this place without losing its potency outside…"
My eyes widened as I looked hard at her. "Wait, you mean this thing will work outside the Fade? But Fade weapons don't do that!"
Her smile was sweet as she leaned in to kiss my mouth. "That kiss is for Ambrose. Tell him that I am sorry and that I am glad he has a woman as amazing as you must be. You are in love with him and if you are in love with him then he must be in love with you. That makes me…happy. This weapon, because it is a human life, will last as long as necessary to accomplish its goals. Now, I bid you farewell. Good luck." When she finally let go of the staff, the rest of her was sucked into it and all that was left was a glowing, pulsating stave that seemed to constantly modify its length, it bulk and its ornamentation.
With little time left to waste, I quickly searched for a portal, a door, anything that would lead me out of the Fade. Then, I saw them: two demons stood by a Fade Portal, smiling at me. The one was a Sloth demon and his companion was a demon of Lust. They converged on me, lashing out with their powers. The Sloth demon tried to lure me into forgetfulness but I had dealt with his kind. I laughed at him and used the staff to block his magic. That's when I realized I was using magic! A fireball exploded from my fingers and ice erupted in a show of glittering crystals. Then, of course, there was good old fashioned brute strength to take them out when magic took too long.
I darted through the portal only to find myself in another part of the Fade. The demons came at me and as more came, more fell and I learned quickly how to make my weapon do what I wanted. When I reached the final portal, I faced six demons in deep concentration around an orb of light. Not just one orb but two orbs, each one growing slightly larger under their careful guidance. I realized that these must be the demons within the mages seeking to speed up my pregnancy. I raised my staff and blasted the lot of them with a hail of ice and lightning. It struck them, blowing them from their feet and flinging them against the "stone" of the portal. Two died instantly, a third was unscathed and three others were dazed, injured but alive. Though weak, they were still fully capable of causing me great damage. Their weakness only helped equalize us.
I used my strength combined with the magic of the staff along with an ice-shard I picked up, one created by one of the spells I'd hurled. I used it as I would a dagger, stabbing at them with it until they died. Eventually, the demons lay dead at my feet and the glowing orbs of my children no longer growing. It was a visual representation, a fade-dream to allow me to see what they were doing as they did It, I realized. I hoped it was so that I could stop those doing it. I ran my hand through the twin orbs of light, dispersing the vision and turned back to the portal. Purple and black mist, swirled with sparks of light like static poured out of the frame ominously. I stepped forward but as I did, a hand reached out to me, stopping me.
I turned and looked up at the Spirit of Hope. I had almost forgotten about her. She smiled through her glowing eyes and light-beams for hair. "You stopped them. Well done. I had hoped this vision would draw you to stop the mages and their resident demons from finishing their task. Forgive me for not aiding you sooner but I was protecting them, especially the girl."
I smiled and looked down where the representation of my babies had been. "I don't blame you, Hope. I am thankful that you were there for us at all. So, the girl, eh?"
Hope smiled and nodded. "She will need the help of a Fade Spirit like myself. In return, I will get grow up in the body of a beloved child. Being born, learning, living…growing…it's all a part of the grand experience that is life. To experience birth from your side, I will be with you for the boy's arrival and when the girl is born, I too will be born but in her. Is this…all right?"
Looking away, I nodded. "It was our agreement and if you can keep her safe, I will agree. I won't be allowing her to fall prey to the Chantry's rules governing mages, after all. Is this the way out?"
She nodded, "Yes. And now you have an army to face. The weapon you carry will turn the tide, helping you win this war. What you face is as important as the Blight was, if not more so because of the ambition of this particular Pride Demon. As the Fade touches other lands, other worlds, ending her reign is impertitive. You must stop her once and for all." With those final words spoken, I felt her take a step into me and once again, I was alone.
Turning back to the portal, I drew in a deep breath and placed one foot before the first and then, for a final time, there was darkness.
To be concluded…
- 31
- 32
- 33
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Tainted Dreams