"Holy Andraste's tits! Is that Alistair?"

  Hawke gasped when he saw a fiery demonoid, with Alistair's features, rise into the air and land on the ground like a burning comet. A sinister and demonic aura oozed off his body like flames licking rocks to turn them into lava. Walls of fire flared up at his back to make the uncharted valley beyond seem so bright as daylight.

  "I think this changes plans." He panicked as he recoiled from the approaching menace.

  "You think?!" Iron Bull readied his axe, but he wasn't sure how effective it would be against that thing.

  The Alistair rage demon glided towards them, trailing a lava stream at his rear. Unlike the typical ones they had no problems defeating, this one had possessed Alistair, a warden and templar powerhouse. A typical ice spell wasn't going to contain it.

  "Hateful mortals, your doom is here. I'm gonna kill you all! Revenge. Revenge!" Alistair-demon cackled with his voice making the ground spit fire and tremble beneath their feet.

  The group tottered about the area but was able to retain balance. They instinctively retreated toward the old Inquisition camp.

  "Is there another one of those elven artifacts nearby, it might help us weaken the demon." Fenris shouted through his sprints. His thought was if they could somehow weaken the demon's strength, they might be able to kill it.

  "If we can pick one up at the market, sure." Hawke blurted as he sprinted next to him and yelped when he felt spits of fire singe his boots.

  "Market is here!" Iron Bull answered as he dashed ahead toward some ruins of stairs nearby.

  "Seriously?! There's one of those green glowing orby thingies here?" Hawke couldn't believe their stroke of luck, or hoped it would be.

  "Yeah, it's in the Astrarium Cave, but we have to go in deep to get it."

  "Better than swimming in lava out here." Hawke looked back and gulped at the rapid fire balls headed for him. He ducked low and scrambled out of the way. "He's casting fireballs. What warden warrior casts bloody fireballs from their bare hands?!"

  "He's a raged demon-possessed. If he isn't throwing fireballs, I'll give him a medal." Krem bellowed as he raced ahead of Hawke.

  The Chargers fled into the cave with Fenris and Iron Bull not far behind. Dalish cast a Wall of Ice over the entrance as soon as Hawke entered to be the last one inside.

  "This won't last, so figure out something quick." She reminded everyone as she kept up her magic, with beads of sweat trickling down the sides of her neck. Krem and Grim stood ready to guard her when the spell ran out.

  Iron Bull swiftly ordered everyone to take cover positions near the Elven Artifact at the far end of the room with the stone statues and pillars.

  "What's the plan?" Hawke asked Iron Bull as he took cover with him behind a pillar.

  "We can kill him and the demon..."

  "Not an option."

  Iron Bull sighed. "Then he needs to be reached through the Fade I guess. I don't know, I'm no expert on this... stuff."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Fenris frowned and glanced at the sparky glowing orb near him. "If we can lure him closer to this artifact, I might be able to reach him through a Fade connection and seperate him from the demon."

  He quickly went into detail that had everyone shaking their heads with 'I don't know if this is going to work' looks.

  The hasty plan was for Fenris to draw from his lyrium-infused power to activate the blur skill he had used on the Venatori enchanters back at Death Drink Springs. Only this time he would tap deeper into the Lyrium's energy to open a Fade channel so he could pass along it as a spirit impression. He could then call to Alistair's soul somehow and try to sever his bind to the demon. In its original form, they would be able to kill it normally.

  "The Elven Artifact's energy should keep the connection stable. I did learn something about magic from being a victim to Danarius's twisted schemes."

  "Yeah, but this could kill you. No. Has to be another way." Hawke fiercely argued.

  "The demon won't separate easily." Dalish called out through panted breath. "Fade is... it's mental manipulation. You also need to find... find Alistair's true spirit. Fade can be deceiving."

  "Dalish is right." Iron Bull nodded. "The times I've been in the Fade it's all psychological demon crap."

  Fenris shook his head. "This won't be a true visit into the Fade, but tapping into a channel to draw something out. Like one of those, er, rifts, but I'm using my spirit form instead."

  Hawke sighed. He wasn't about to let his partner risk his life over this. They had combined their strength for something similar in the past, so maybe they could do it for this purpose.

  "Perhaps I can link into the Fade through Fenris? We have a, um, unique bond, and with my spirit energy connected to him, he shouldn't burn out too fast, and I can do all the talking," he said through a diffident cough.

  "Too dangerous." Fenris argued.

  "Making you a fade wraith is not? This is my responsibility. I'm going to save Alistair!" Hawke firmly stated. "You can be the beacon and I can draw him out. Together we can save him. I'm not going to lose you over this."

  Dalish screamed when she felt her magic about to blow back at her. The Alistair-demon's assault against her ice wall was fierce and about to make it shatter.

  "Do it quick! We'll keep him busy!" Krem called out.

  All the Chargers readied themselves for the fight.

  "We've got this." Hawke reassured everyone. "Draw him to the artifact and us."

  "Right, we'll try to make sure the demon doesn't roast you and us in the process." Iron Bull acknowledged.

  "Please don't kill him accidently. It might kill us too." Hawke made sure to drop that important fact and reminder.

  "If you take too long, I might get impatient."

  "And I'll become that troublesome fade-wraith who haunts your dreams with busty redheads."

  "Ha." Iron Bull laughed and reassured him that he had his back.

  Hawke and Fenris stood next to the Elven Artifact, holding each other's hand.

  "Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand." Fenris closed his eyes and slipped into a meditative focus, blocking out the commotions of the fight and other noises of the world until he was able to lock onto a constant humming.

  The sounds of the world. Feelings. Touch. Fire. Ice. Hot winds. They all began to fade into a numb and nothing feeling as the hum became louder and persistant until it was the only entity existing.

  Then a melody formed: a soft lull that transitioned into a sorrowful and bitter song of regret, loss and loneliness. The song grew louder, ringing through a gray space with a pitiful chorus of being left behind and discarded. Not a man. Not a boy. Just a tool for others to use, break and toss away.

  Hawke's spirit eyes saw a fiery spark chained against a grayish smoky wall. It was struggling to stay alive. The image of Fenris's hand appeared before him and transformed into a ribbon of white light that wrapped around his wrist like a bracelet.

  "I feel his aura in that fiery spark. You have to give it form to make the connection. Then we can help him break the chains." Fenris's words flowed through his being like a welcomed and lovingly melody. He held to it with all his might; never wanting to let it go.

  Back in the physical world, Iron Bull and the Charges were facing off with the most powerful rage demon they had ever encountered.