Mythal's Favour: A Dragon Age Origins Fan Fiction

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Demons

 

Ayu slowly sat up from her bedroll. She rubbed her fingers across her forehead, propping her elbow on her knee. The others were milling around their small camp, gathering up their supplies. Wynne was heavily rationing her energy stones, but the old woman at least had the decency to let her rest longer than the others. Beren noticed that she was awake and came trotting over to her. He sat between her bent legs and she absentmindedly scratched his ears with both hands.

 They had been underground for nearly four days. They had been lucky so far in their travels, only coming across handfuls of darkspawn at a time, or the lone pair of scouts. The light of Orzammar had quickly become enveloped in the dark as they left the city. The old dwarven passages held firm near the city, but quickly fell to ruin as the party descended underground. The stone cracked and crumbled, large chunks missing in some places. They had seen no sign of the Taint until near the end of their second day of travel. The dwarven halls became darker and darker as the thick oily sludge began to ooze from between the stones. The party was cautious, ensuring that they did not come into contact with it.

 The group kept to the dwarven made passages where they could, but on occasion were forced to use side tunnels. The tunnels were narrow, only allowing the party to move through in single file. The tunnels had been hacked through the dirt and stone of the underground with rough tools. The darkspawn had obviously pushed their way through the earth in their frantic search for a way to the surface. At the end of the third day, the party came to a small cavern set into the side of the road. It was late in the day and the party made a small camp, unfurling bedrolls around a fire.

 

It was here were Ayu awoke. Crushed into the back of the cave, she still sat on her bedroll, Beren between her feet. She had no concept of time this deep in the earth. It was always dark. She felt the weight of the tonnes of rock above her head and it made her all the more uncomfortable. Turning to face the group, Ayu pressed her back to the cool, damp wall. She gently pushed Beren to her side and crossed her legs beneath her. Wynne had been reinforcing her need to meditate to gain control of the spirit within her. Ayu begrudgingly followed Wynne's exercises, but she had to admit – they seemed to be helping. She could begin to force Phoenix to quiet in her mind, effectively locking her away for a brief time.

 Ayu closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Focusing on her breathing, Ayu began to fade into her own consciousness.

 

***

 Ayu stood in the center of a clearing in a thick forest. There was no sound but the echo of silence from within the trees. Looking above her, she spied the full sun beaming down into her little clearing. Birds flitted this way and that through the branches. She began to hear a faint sound in the distance, some melody that she could not quite hear. She inhaled the sweet smell of the grass and flowers and concentrated on the sound. Ayu strained her ears, but it became no clearer. Becoming agitated, Ayu stalked around the clearing edges like a caged predator. After a couple of turns, she stopped. She gathered herself, drawing herself up to her full height. Taking a calming breath, she looked again to the skies. The birds took flight in a sudden panic from the surrounding trees; trees that suddenly began to shake and close in around her. A brilliant light from overhead caught her attention. The sun was coming down into the clearing, set to burn her and all it touched. Ayu was frantically pushing against the trees, trying to get away from the heat that blistered her skin.

 She could not escape.

 ***