HOME | DD

Description
Title:                            A Shattered Amell – A Mouse A Demon
Author:                        mcomommy
Game:                         Dragon Age
Characters:                  Shattered Amell, Mouse, Valor
Disclaimer:                  Dragon Age and all characters from it belong to Bioware.
Content Warning:         Mage Origin Spoilers

A Shattered Amell
A Mouse A Demon

     A weapon.  What kind of weapon, Sha mused to herself.  In her mind's eye, Shattered pictured a demon leering menacingly at her.  How did one slay a demon?  Immediately, Cullen came to mind.  She could picture him, standing in front of her in his templar plate, the Sword of Mercy emblazoned across his chest and his Great Sword raised in her defense.  Was that how you defeated a demon?  With a sword?  That wouldn't work, she would never have the strength to swing something that large.  Sha frowned, her brow drawing down to crease her forehead.  Cullen's sword was taller than she was; thinking that into existence was out of the question.

     No, a sword wasn't the way to go.  Even if she could think one up that she would be able to swing, it would likely do more harm than good.  'A combatant fighting with a weapon they aren't trained with is just as likely to cut themselves in half as their opponent,' she remembered Cullen telling her once as they sat next to their garden taking a break from planting to eat lunch.  It had been nervous rambling, as he frequently did during breaks from working the field.  For her part, Shattered was usually more interested in listening to the rumbling sound of his voice as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the cool grass, the hot sun beating warmly at their backs.  When speaking about a subject he was familiar and comfortable with, Cullen rarely stuttered.  Maybe that was why she could recall the words so easily.

     It would have to be a staff, then.  Something straight, and strong.  With a crystal at the top to help focus her energy.  The comforting feel of wood against her palms startled Shattered, smooth with a comforting weight.  She opened her eyes to look at her work.

     "To soon," Valor told her reproachfully as the faint outline of a staff shimmered in her hands before disintegrating, slipping through her fingers to be lost to the Fade.  "Do not look at what you make, only think.  You will know when it is finished.  A weapon is a single need for battle."  Valor swept his arm to take in the racks surrounding his part of the Fade.  "It does not need you to see it for it to be, it needs only to have a purpose."

     Biting her lip, Shattered nodded.  "I will try to be more patient," she said softly.

     Kneeling beside her, the spirit  searched Shattered's face through the slit in his helm, concern crinkling the corners of his eyes.  "Do not let urgency hurry you," he advised.  "Here in the Fade, time does not always move in the way you would expect it."

     Surprised, Sha stiffened, eyes wide as she gazed at Valor.  "What do you mean," she whispered.

     Shrugging, Valor stood.  "Simply that, here in this realm of dreams, time can be slow or fast in comparison to other realms.  What to you feels like a year, could only be mere moments in your own world."

     It heartened Shattered, to think that little more than a few minutes had passed.  She didn't think that the spirit would make up something like that just to make her feel better.  Reminding herself to be patient, Sha closed her eyes, focusing once more on the task at hand.  A staff should be long and straight, sturdy and strong.  Keeping only her purpose in mind, Shattered focused on the coming battle.  The staff materialized in her palms so slowly, she didn't even notice until it had finished, startling her with its sudden weight across her hands.

     Eyes snapping open, she looked down in shock at the length of wood in her hands.  It was a long, sturdy length of heartwood.  A pale blue focusing crystal sat at the apex, finger like branches of dark wood grown straight from the staff to twine around the stone holding it securely in place.  Her eyes widened as they swept to the bottom of the staff.  Instead of tapering down to a blunt end, it kept a uniform thickness all the way down to join a bladed tip, a strip of red leather wound around the binding point.

     Gasping in surprise, Shattered glanced up at Valor with narrowed eyes.  Through the slit in his helm, she saw the edges of his eyes crinkle in pleasure.  "It is a fine weapon," he nodded approvingly as he looked over Sha's creation.

     "It's practically a sword," Sha cried out, fingers clutched tightly around the shaft.

     Unperturbed, Valor shrugged.  "It is the expression of your single need for battle.  It is what it is because that is what you need it to be."

     Hesitantly, Shattered got to her feet, eyes locked on the blade at the bottom of the staff in disbelief.  Giving the weapon an experimental twirl, she slammed it point down at the ground and let out an inarticulate noise at the resulting shockwave that rippled through the ground in front of her.

     A hearty laugh rumbled from behind Valor's helm.  "It is acceptable," he asked, a slight twinkle in his translucent eyes.

     "Quite," she answered softly, still stunned at the power she felt thrumming through the wood from a single move.

     "Shouldn't you get a move on," Mouse's voice cut through Shattered's stupor, breaking the commune she had with the weapon.  "Wouldn't want to make the templars think you've failed," he sneered, lip curled upward to reveal a jagged row of teeth.

     "I…yes," Sha stiffened, running a hand across her throat.  Offering a smile up at Valor, she bowed slightly at the waist.  "Thank you.  It means more than I can say to have had your aid."

     "Indeed, mortal," he inclined his head faintly.  "The pleasure was mine."  The weight of his armored hand fell on Shattered's shoulder as she turned to leave the spirit's campsite, startling her.  Looking back, Sha's eyes met the concerned gaze of Valor.  "Be careful, mortal," he told her quietly.  "The company you keep…is not what it seems."

     Flicking her eyes in the direction Mouse had taken, Shattered nodded.  "I am aware, spirit," she told him.  "And I thank you for the warning.  Do you know what he is," she asked, brows drawn together.

     Uncertain, Valor's gaze moved over her head.  "I…do not know," he sounded apologetic.  Meeting her gaze again, he gripped Sha's shoulder tightly.  "I know only that he is strong.  Perhaps stronger than what you are meant to fight.  Do not trust him."

     Mouth drawn into a grim line, Shattered nodded her understanding.  Reaching up, she gave the hand resting on her shoulder a firm squeeze before turning back toward Mouse with determination.

     "Finally," he huffed at her as Sha drew even with the small furry body.  "For a moment there, I thought you had decided to spend the rest of your days wasting away at Valor's fire thinking up weaponry you'll never use."  Rolling a beady eye, Mouse glared up at her.  "Shall we be off, then?  I'm rather…anxious for you to meet my friend."  He grinned, but it looked false, sending a chill up Shattered's spine to tickle at the base of her skull.

     "I think not," Shattered snorted.  Mouth dropped open revealing rows of needle sharp teeth, Mouse gaped at her.  Trying to appear confident and unconcerned, Shattered braced a hand on her hip, the delicate fingers of her hand wrapped firmly around her new staff as she let it rest lightly against the ground.  "Valor was quite useful," she told him, eyes scanning the surrounding area, "yet you were insistent that I not speak long with him."

     Mouse gazed up at her through narrowed eyes.  "I didn't want you waste time with that fool," he told her slowly, trying to sound aloof but unable to hide the rage that seethed behind his eyes.

     "And yet you are adamant that I go see this other...friend of yours.  This demon," her eyes sparked as they snapped to glare down at Mouse.  "No.  I think not.  I may be inexperienced in the Fade, but I am not naive enough to volunteer to be trapped with two of you."  Shattered's mouth was drawn into a thin line, her chin stuck out in determination.

     "Fine," Mouse snarled, then made a visible effort to reign in his emotions.  Taking a deep breath, he continued more calmly.  "Fine.  I will…lead you to the one you seek," he grumbled, turning away from her.

     Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, Shattered sighed and followed behind the mouse that wasn't a mouse.  She wondered bleakly to herself what was stopping him from taking her wherever he chose, anyhow.  It wasn't as though she would know the difference until it was too late.

     "Here," Mouse huffed, stomping his paws ineffectually.  "This is where the demon is you are meant to fight."  His black eyes glittered as he looked up at Shattered.  "Aren't you afraid you'll fail," he asked, cocking his head to the side.  "Don't you wish you had some…extra help," Mouse's lips curled upward, sending a chill up Shattered's spine at the maliciousness she could feel seething just below the surface.

     "I think not," she answered stiffly, eyes sweeping over the small clearing he had indicated.

     Fretting inwardly, Cullen tried to keep his face that of an impassive templar as he watched over Shattered's small form shivering on a blanket laid across the Harrowing chamber's floor.

     "Do you think she's cold," he wondered out loud, glancing up at the others in the room.

     The other templars didn't seem to care, save Knight-Commander Greagoir.  Greagoir and Irving both stood watch with Cullen over Sha's diminutive form, waiting with bated breath for any sign of her progress.  Carroll had managed to convince the rest of the templars in attendance that Cullen was only interested because it was to be his task to put the blade to the mage should she fail.  Bored, they stood in a small cluster near the wall, talking and joking in hushed tones.

     "No," Irving answered him softly.  "Her body is reacting to something in the Fade, not to a physical discomfort," the First Enchanter told him.

     "Is she…," Cullen paused, swallowing nervously, "is she facing the demon now?"

     Brow furrowed in concentration, Irving finally gave his head a sharp shake.  "No, not yet.  It's only been 20 minutes since her Harrowing has begun.  It would be unthinkable that she finish so quickly," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his grey beard.

     "We could be here well into the dawn," Greagoir said aloud, concerned eyes never leaving Shattered's face.

     "You've finally arrived," the rage demon's voice rumbled forth, deep and gravely as it regarded Shattered with its fiery gaze.  "Did Mouse lead you on a merry adventure before your demise?"  It grinned at her, mouth a gaping maw of lava and embers sending a quivering worm of doubt into Sha's mind.

     "Not much of one," she answered, surprise widening her eyes that her voice sounded so much more confident than she felt.  "Honestly, he was a bit of a pest."

     A twisted, mockery of a laugh rumbled out of the demon.  "It does not matter.  You won't be leaving here," it told her.  "Soon, I will be looking at the world through your eyes.  You shall be mine!"  It snarled, leaping forward at her as it summoned wisps to help attack her.

     Instinct saved her more than anything.  Without even thinking, Shattered flung a hand up, the Cone of Cold flinging effortlessly outward, catching the rage demon firmly in its grasp.  Whirling around, she sent an energy bolt from the tip of her staff at the nearest wisp, surprise gripping her all over again at the resonance of power she felt flowing between her and the staff.  Mind wandering distractedly to the time she had travelled to Redcliffe with Cullen, she wished she'd had this kind of staff when she was fighting the darkspawn.

     The wisps fell easily as Sha turned on them one by one.  A Stonefist here, a Winter's Grasp there, and she turned back to face the demon just as it broke free from her Cone of Cold, roaring defiantly as it charged toward her.  Twirling the staff in front of her, Shattered slammed it blade first to the ground, a touch of pride curving the corners of her lips upward as the demon was caught in the shockwave and tossed to the ground.

     The rage demon leapt upward, surging forward, arms swinging wildly at the mage.  Back stepping, Sha stumbled over a bump in the terrain; it was all the opening the rage demon needed.  Single minded in its determination, the demon leapt at her, flaming fist connecting with her cheek and sending the mage reeling.

     Shattered gasped in surprise and pain, the sizzling of her cheek burning filling the air.  Tightening her grip on the staff, Sha swung upward and felt a solid thunk as the head of her staff connected with the side of the demon's face.

     It shrieked, the cool blue of the focusing crystal blazing blindingly bright as it froze the demon into a living statue of ice.  Fighting to stay on her feet, Shattered leaned against the staff, supporting herself with it just to stay upright.  She glared at the rage demon, breath huffing in exhausted gasps.  Forcing herself upright, Sha flipped the weapon around blade first and gripped it tightly with both hands.  Raising the staff over her head, she clenched her teeth in a determined grimace and swung downward.

     A relieved satisfaction filled her as the demon shattered, bits of ice exploding outward from the impact to scatter around the clearing.

     "You did it," Mouse said in awe.  "I can't believe you actually did it."  Shattered raised an eyebrow at him, feeling weary from the effects of the battle.  "Well, I mean, I always thought you could," he backtracked, "but you actually did it!"  His form shimmered, the mouse unfolding into a man.

     "Yes, well, I have a lot to live for," she grimaced.  While being in the Fade might give a mage an extra power boost from being in direct contact with the source of their power, it also left them feeling more drained than normal after using their magic.  Mouse leering at her was making her skin crawl; Sha didn't like the that she was still here after having vanquished the demon.  Here with another demon, barely able to stand from exhaustion.  The look Mouse was giving her made her feel like a tasty morsel.

     "You could help me, you know," he told her slyly, eyes glittering as he gazed at her through his lashes.  "There may be a way for me to leave here, to get a foot hold outside.  You just have to want to let me in."

     Panic dumped fresh adrenaline into Shattered's tired body.  Hands gripping the shaft of her staff, Shattered slid a foot backward for support, assuming a fighting stance.  "Not on your life," she hissed through clenched teeth.

     "Oh I don't really mean you," Mouse smiled soothingly.  "You could get some other mage alone, convince them to help me," his eyes glittered dangerously at her, leaving Shattered feeling like a snake had just crawled across her flesh.  "Or," a single stride and Mouse was standing within inches of Shattered, he reached out a hand, placing the palm flat against her belly, "you could let me into this little one."

     "No!"  Shattered's shriek reverberated through the Fade.  She jumped back, swinging the staff, blade first, wildly in front of her.

     Mouse snarled, a hand pressed to his face as he glared at her through one eye.  Panting, Shattered glared at the demon.  "You will not have her," she said roughly, her fatigue forgotten.

     "We shall see," Mouse snarled at her, and then smirked, taking his hand away from his face, revealing a hanging strip of skin Shattered had inadvertently sliced open.  An eye, the eye that should've been part of his face, was in that piece of dangling flesh, blinking, unconcerned that it was no longer attached to the face it belonged in.

     Eyes locked to the purple flesh exposed by the torn skin, Shattered stumbled backwards.

     "What are you," she whispered, shock written clearly across her features.

     "At last," a deep voice rumbled from Mouse, "the act is over.  I no longer have to masquerade as a weak simpleton."  Mouth grinning, Mouse reached up and gripped the edge of the sliced skin, pulling it away like a banana peel, sloughing it off as the demon inside was revealed.

     Shattered's mouth gaped open as she stared up at the pride demon before her.  Feeling from the real world was starting to return, she could sense the hard floor beneath her shoulders.  The Harrowing was complete, she was starting to lose her connection to the Fade.  Trembling slightly, Sha held the staff in front of her, hoping she would be pulled back to reality before something happened she wouldn't be able to stop; the pride demon was far too powerful for her in the current, weakened state she was in.

     "Simple killing is a warrior's job," the demon told her, taking a step forward.  "The true dangers of the Fade are preconceptions.  Blind trust," he grinned, finger length razor sharp teeth sending a frozen panic racing through Shattered's veins as she gazed up at the pride demon rolling it's shoulders.  "Pride."  It took another step closer, Shattered could smell the candles from the Harrowing chamber.  "Keep your wits about you mage," it told her, clawed hand reaching toward her head as she stood frozen in place, "true tests, never end."

     Shattered sat up, trembling and screaming on the floor of the Harrowing chamber.  Wild eyed, her gaze darted around at the three men standing over her.  Breath coming in short panicked gasps, Sha readied herself to fight, hand searching the floor beside her for a weapon.

     "Shattered," Cullen said, hesitantly, as he removed his helm.

     Sobbing in recognition, Sha threw herself at the templar, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.  Running his hand soothingly over her back, Cullen looked questioningly at the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter.

     "She needs rest," Irving told them gravely.  Quietly, he worked the simple magic of a sleeping spell, letting it settle on the young mage so that she sagged against Cullen limply.

     "Take her back to her bunk in the Apprentice quarters," Greagoir directed him roughly.  "Then get yourself some sleep.  She'll sleep through till morning."  With that, the Knight-Commander turned briskly on his heel, jerking his head for the other templars to follow him, leaving Cullen alone with the First-Enchanter.

     Rubbing at his eyes wearily, Irving offered a tired smile.  "She did well," he said aloud.  "Anyone who…cared…for her, would be proud."  Moving slowly over to the stairway leading from the chamber, Irving looked back over his shoulder at the templar, Sha draped lightly across his arms, her head leaning against his chest.  "She's such a burden to carry," he said gravely.  "One could hardly fault you for taking your time in carrying her down all these stairs."

     Cullen was about to protest, but Irving was already gone.  Looking down at Sha as she slept peacefully in his arms, it finally sunk in that this was possibly the last time he would have the freedom to simply gaze into her face.

     Irving was right.  He should take his time getting her back to her bunk.

Description
Title:                            A Shattered Amell – A Mouse A Demon
Author:                        mcomommy
Game:                         Dragon Age
Characters:                  Shattered Amell, Mouse, Valor
Disclaimer:                  Dragon Age and all characters from it belong to Bioware.
Content Warning:         Mage Origin Spoilers

A Shattered Amell
A Mouse A Demon

     A weapon.  What kind of weapon, Sha mused to herself.  In her mind's eye, Shattered pictured a demon leering menacingly at her.  How did one slay a demon?  Immediately, Cullen came to mind.  She could picture him, standing in front of her in his templar plate, the Sword of Mercy emblazoned across his chest and his Great Sword raised in her defense.  Was that how you defeated a demon?  With a sword?  That wouldn't work, she would never have the strength to swing something that large.  Sha frowned, her brow drawing down to crease her forehead.  Cullen's sword was taller than she was; thinking that into existence was out of the question.

     No, a sword wasn't the way to go.  Even if she could think one up that she would be able to swing, it would likely do more harm than good.  'A combatant fighting with a weapon they aren't trained with is just as likely to cut themselves in half as their opponent,' she remembered Cullen telling her once as they sat next to their garden taking a break from planting to eat lunch.  It had been nervous rambling, as he frequently did during breaks from working the field.  For her part, Shattered was usually more interested in listening to the rumbling sound of his voice as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the cool grass, the hot sun beating warmly at their backs.  When speaking about a subject he was familiar and comfortable with, Cullen rarely stuttered.  Maybe that was why she could recall the words so easily.

     It would have to be a staff, then.  Something straight, and strong.  With a crystal at the top to help focus her energy.  The comforting feel of wood against her palms startled Shattered, smooth with a comforting weight.  She opened her eyes to look at her work.

     "To soon," Valor told her reproachfully as the faint outline of a staff shimmered in her hands before disintegrating, slipping through her fingers to be lost to the Fade.  "Do not look at what you make, only think.  You will know when it is finished.  A weapon is a single need for battle."  Valor swept his arm to take in the racks surrounding his part of the Fade.  "It does not need you to see it for it to be, it needs only to have a purpose."

     Biting her lip, Shattered nodded.  "I will try to be more patient," she said softly.

     Kneeling beside her, the spirit  searched Shattered's face through the slit in his helm, concern crinkling the corners of his eyes.  "Do not let urgency hurry you," he advised.  "Here in the Fade, time does not always move in the way you would expect it."

     Surprised, Sha stiffened, eyes wide as she gazed at Valor.  "What do you mean," she whispered.

     Shrugging, Valor stood.  "Simply that, here in this realm of dreams, time can be slow or fast in comparison to other realms.  What to you feels like a year, could only be mere moments in your own world."

     It heartened Shattered, to think that little more than a few minutes had passed.  She didn't think that the spirit would make up something like that just to make her feel better.  Reminding herself to be patient, Sha closed her eyes, focusing once more on the task at hand.  A staff should be long and straight, sturdy and strong.  Keeping only her purpose in mind, Shattered focused on the coming battle.  The staff materialized in her palms so slowly, she didn't even notice until it had finished, startling her with its sudden weight across her hands.

     Eyes snapping open, she looked down in shock at the length of wood in her hands.  It was a long, sturdy length of heartwood.  A pale blue focusing crystal sat at the apex, finger like branches of dark wood grown straight from the staff to twine around the stone holding it securely in place.  Her eyes widened as they swept to the bottom of the staff.  Instead of tapering down to a blunt end, it kept a uniform thickness all the way down to join a bladed tip, a strip of red leather wound around the binding point.

     Gasping in surprise, Shattered glanced up at Valor with narrowed eyes.  Through the slit in his helm, she saw the edges of his eyes crinkle in pleasure.  "It is a fine weapon," he nodded approvingly as he looked over Sha's creation.

     "It's practically a sword," Sha cried out, fingers clutched tightly around the shaft.

     Unperturbed, Valor shrugged.  "It is the expression of your single need for battle.  It is what it is because that is what you need it to be."

     Hesitantly, Shattered got to her feet, eyes locked on the blade at the bottom of the staff in disbelief.  Giving the weapon an experimental twirl, she slammed it point down at the ground and let out an inarticulate noise at the resulting shockwave that rippled through the ground in front of her.

     A hearty laugh rumbled from behind Valor's helm.  "It is acceptable," he asked, a slight twinkle in his translucent eyes.

     "Quite," she answered softly, still stunned at the power she felt thrumming through the wood from a single move.

     "Shouldn't you get a move on," Mouse's voice cut through Shattered's stupor, breaking the commune she had with the weapon.  "Wouldn't want to make the templars think you've failed," he sneered, lip curled upward to reveal a jagged row of teeth.

     "I…yes," Sha stiffened, running a hand across her throat.  Offering a smile up at Valor, she bowed slightly at the waist.  "Thank you.  It means more than I can say to have had your aid."

     "Indeed, mortal," he inclined his head faintly.  "The pleasure was mine."  The weight of his armored hand fell on Shattered's shoulder as she turned to leave the spirit's campsite, startling her.  Looking back, Sha's eyes met the concerned gaze of Valor.  "Be careful, mortal," he told her quietly.  "The company you keep…is not what it seems."

     Flicking her eyes in the direction Mouse had taken, Shattered nodded.  "I am aware, spirit," she told him.  "And I thank you for the warning.  Do you know what he is," she asked, brows drawn together.

     Uncertain, Valor's gaze moved over her head.  "I…do not know," he sounded apologetic.  Meeting her gaze again, he gripped Sha's shoulder tightly.  "I know only that he is strong.  Perhaps stronger than what you are meant to fight.  Do not trust him."

     Mouth drawn into a grim line, Shattered nodded her understanding.  Reaching up, she gave the hand resting on her shoulder a firm squeeze before turning back toward Mouse with determination.

     "Finally," he huffed at her as Sha drew even with the small furry body.  "For a moment there, I thought you had decided to spend the rest of your days wasting away at Valor's fire thinking up weaponry you'll never use."  Rolling a beady eye, Mouse glared up at her.  "Shall we be off, then?  I'm rather…anxious for you to meet my friend."  He grinned, but it looked false, sending a chill up Shattered's spine to tickle at the base of her skull.

     "I think not," Shattered snorted.  Mouth dropped open revealing rows of needle sharp teeth, Mouse gaped at her.  Trying to appear confident and unconcerned, Shattered braced a hand on her hip, the delicate fingers of her hand wrapped firmly around her new staff as she let it rest lightly against the ground.  "Valor was quite useful," she told him, eyes scanning the surrounding area, "yet you were insistent that I not speak long with him."

     Mouse gazed up at her through narrowed eyes.  "I didn't want you waste time with that fool," he told her slowly, trying to sound aloof but unable to hide the rage that seethed behind his eyes.

     "And yet you are adamant that I go see this other...friend of yours.  This demon," her eyes sparked as they snapped to glare down at Mouse.  "No.  I think not.  I may be inexperienced in the Fade, but I am not naive enough to volunteer to be trapped with two of you."  Shattered's mouth was drawn into a thin line, her chin stuck out in determination.

     "Fine," Mouse snarled, then made a visible effort to reign in his emotions.  Taking a deep breath, he continued more calmly.  "Fine.  I will…lead you to the one you seek," he grumbled, turning away from her.

     Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, Shattered sighed and followed behind the mouse that wasn't a mouse.  She wondered bleakly to herself what was stopping him from taking her wherever he chose, anyhow.  It wasn't as though she would know the difference until it was too late.

     "Here," Mouse huffed, stomping his paws ineffectually.  "This is where the demon is you are meant to fight."  His black eyes glittered as he looked up at Shattered.  "Aren't you afraid you'll fail," he asked, cocking his head to the side.  "Don't you wish you had some…extra help," Mouse's lips curled upward, sending a chill up Shattered's spine at the maliciousness she could feel seething just below the surface.

     "I think not," she answered stiffly, eyes sweeping over the small clearing he had indicated.

     Fretting inwardly, Cullen tried to keep his face that of an impassive templar as he watched over Shattered's small form shivering on a blanket laid across the Harrowing chamber's floor.

     "Do you think she's cold," he wondered out loud, glancing up at the others in the room.

     The other templars didn't seem to care, save Knight-Commander Greagoir.  Greagoir and Irving both stood watch with Cullen over Sha's diminutive form, waiting with bated breath for any sign of her progress.  Carroll had managed to convince the rest of the templars in attendance that Cullen was only interested because it was to be his task to put the blade to the mage should she fail.  Bored, they stood in a small cluster near the wall, talking and joking in hushed tones.

     "No," Irving answered him softly.  "Her body is reacting to something in the Fade, not to a physical discomfort," the First Enchanter told him.

     "Is she…," Cullen paused, swallowing nervously, "is she facing the demon now?"

     Brow furrowed in concentration, Irving finally gave his head a sharp shake.  "No, not yet.  It's only been 20 minutes since her Harrowing has begun.  It would be unthinkable that she finish so quickly," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his grey beard.

     "We could be here well into the dawn," Greagoir said aloud, concerned eyes never leaving Shattered's face.

     "You've finally arrived," the rage demon's voice rumbled forth, deep and gravely as it regarded Shattered with its fiery gaze.  "Did Mouse lead you on a merry adventure before your demise?"  It grinned at her, mouth a gaping maw of lava and embers sending a quivering worm of doubt into Sha's mind.

     "Not much of one," she answered, surprise widening her eyes that her voice sounded so much more confident than she felt.  "Honestly, he was a bit of a pest."

     A twisted, mockery of a laugh rumbled out of the demon.  "It does not matter.  You won't be leaving here," it told her.  "Soon, I will be looking at the world through your eyes.  You shall be mine!"  It snarled, leaping forward at her as it summoned wisps to help attack her.

     Instinct saved her more than anything.  Without even thinking, Shattered flung a hand up, the Cone of Cold flinging effortlessly outward, catching the rage demon firmly in its grasp.  Whirling around, she sent an energy bolt from the tip of her staff at the nearest wisp, surprise gripping her all over again at the resonance of power she felt flowing between her and the staff.  Mind wandering distractedly to the time she had travelled to Redcliffe with Cullen, she wished she'd had this kind of staff when she was fighting the darkspawn.

     The wisps fell easily as Sha turned on them one by one.  A Stonefist here, a Winter's Grasp there, and she turned back to face the demon just as it broke free from her Cone of Cold, roaring defiantly as it charged toward her.  Twirling the staff in front of her, Shattered slammed it blade first to the ground, a touch of pride curving the corners of her lips upward as the demon was caught in the shockwave and tossed to the ground.

     The rage demon leapt upward, surging forward, arms swinging wildly at the mage.  Back stepping, Sha stumbled over a bump in the terrain; it was all the opening the rage demon needed.  Single minded in its determination, the demon leapt at her, flaming fist connecting with her cheek and sending the mage reeling.

     Shattered gasped in surprise and pain, the sizzling of her cheek burning filling the air.  Tightening her grip on the staff, Sha swung upward and felt a solid thunk as the head of her staff connected with the side of the demon's face.

     It shrieked, the cool blue of the focusing crystal blazing blindingly bright as it froze the demon into a living statue of ice.  Fighting to stay on her feet, Shattered leaned against the staff, supporting herself with it just to stay upright.  She glared at the rage demon, breath huffing in exhausted gasps.  Forcing herself upright, Sha flipped the weapon around blade first and gripped it tightly with both hands.  Raising the staff over her head, she clenched her teeth in a determined grimace and swung downward.

     A relieved satisfaction filled her as the demon shattered, bits of ice exploding outward from the impact to scatter around the clearing.

     "You did it," Mouse said in awe.  "I can't believe you actually did it."  Shattered raised an eyebrow at him, feeling weary from the effects of the battle.  "Well, I mean, I always thought you could," he backtracked, "but you actually did it!"  His form shimmered, the mouse unfolding into a man.

     "Yes, well, I have a lot to live for," she grimaced.  While being in the Fade might give a mage an extra power boost from being in direct contact with the source of their power, it also left them feeling more drained than normal after using their magic.  Mouse leering at her was making her skin crawl; Sha didn't like the that she was still here after having vanquished the demon.  Here with another demon, barely able to stand from exhaustion.  The look Mouse was giving her made her feel like a tasty morsel.

     "You could help me, you know," he told her slyly, eyes glittering as he gazed at her through his lashes.  "There may be a way for me to leave here, to get a foot hold outside.  You just have to want to let me in."

     Panic dumped fresh adrenaline into Shattered's tired body.  Hands gripping the shaft of her staff, Shattered slid a foot backward for support, assuming a fighting stance.  "Not on your life," she hissed through clenched teeth.

     "Oh I don't really mean you," Mouse smiled soothingly.  "You could get some other mage alone, convince them to help me," his eyes glittered dangerously at her, leaving Shattered feeling like a snake had just crawled across her flesh.  "Or," a single stride and Mouse was standing within inches of Shattered, he reached out a hand, placing the palm flat against her belly, "you could let me into this little one."

     "No!"  Shattered's shriek reverberated through the Fade.  She jumped back, swinging the staff, blade first, wildly in front of her.

     Mouse snarled, a hand pressed to his face as he glared at her through one eye.  Panting, Shattered glared at the demon.  "You will not have her," she said roughly, her fatigue forgotten.

     "We shall see," Mouse snarled at her, and then smirked, taking his hand away from his face, revealing a hanging strip of skin Shattered had inadvertently sliced open.  An eye, the eye that should've been part of his face, was in that piece of dangling flesh, blinking, unconcerned that it was no longer attached to the face it belonged in.

     Eyes locked to the purple flesh exposed by the torn skin, Shattered stumbled backwards.

     "What are you," she whispered, shock written clearly across her features.

     "At last," a deep voice rumbled from Mouse, "the act is over.  I no longer have to masquerade as a weak simpleton."  Mouth grinning, Mouse reached up and gripped the edge of the sliced skin, pulling it away like a banana peel, sloughing it off as the demon inside was revealed.

     Shattered's mouth gaped open as she stared up at the pride demon before her.  Feeling from the real world was starting to return, she could sense the hard floor beneath her shoulders.  The Harrowing was complete, she was starting to lose her connection to the Fade.  Trembling slightly, Sha held the staff in front of her, hoping she would be pulled back to reality before something happened she wouldn't be able to stop; the pride demon was far too powerful for her in the current, weakened state she was in.

     "Simple killing is a warrior's job," the demon told her, taking a step forward.  "The true dangers of the Fade are preconceptions.  Blind trust," he grinned, finger length razor sharp teeth sending a frozen panic racing through Shattered's veins as she gazed up at the pride demon rolling it's shoulders.  "Pride."  It took another step closer, Shattered could smell the candles from the Harrowing chamber.  "Keep your wits about you mage," it told her, clawed hand reaching toward her head as she stood frozen in place, "true tests, never end."

     Shattered sat up, trembling and screaming on the floor of the Harrowing chamber.  Wild eyed, her gaze darted around at the three men standing over her.  Breath coming in short panicked gasps, Sha readied herself to fight, hand searching the floor beside her for a weapon.

     "Shattered," Cullen said, hesitantly, as he removed his helm.

     Sobbing in recognition, Sha threw herself at the templar, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.  Running his hand soothingly over her back, Cullen looked questioningly at the Knight-Commander and First Enchanter.

     "She needs rest," Irving told them gravely.  Quietly, he worked the simple magic of a sleeping spell, letting it settle on the young mage so that she sagged against Cullen limply.

     "Take her back to her bunk in the Apprentice quarters," Greagoir directed him roughly.  "Then get yourself some sleep.  She'll sleep through till morning."  With that, the Knight-Commander turned briskly on his heel, jerking his head for the other templars to follow him, leaving Cullen alone with the First-Enchanter.

     Rubbing at his eyes wearily, Irving offered a tired smile.  "She did well," he said aloud.  "Anyone who…cared…for her, would be proud."  Moving slowly over to the stairway leading from the chamber, Irving looked back over his shoulder at the templar, Sha draped lightly across his arms, her head leaning against his chest.  "She's such a burden to carry," he said gravely.  "One could hardly fault you for taking your time in carrying her down all these stairs."

     Cullen was about to protest, but Irving was already gone.  Looking down at Sha as she slept peacefully in his arms, it finally sunk in that this was possibly the last time he would have the freedom to simply gaze into her face.

     Irving was right.  He should take his time getting her back to her bunk.