There and Back Again Ch. 152-153

This, however, was Jowan's main objection, and I didn't blame him. His mentor was going to create the seals, powered by summoned demons, that would bind the Architect inside the tomb we were creating -- and he would not escape. His sacrifice would ensure that the ancient tainted magister was never allowed to harm anyone again -- but that didn't make it any easier on poor Jowan. Avernus, however, seemed at peace with it.

"Never wanted to slowly die in bed, helpless," he had said when asked if he was certain. "My name won't be widely remembered, but I'll die knowing I did something for the Wardens and for Thedas just as heroic as any of those other figures in legends -- like those Wardens whose names have been forgotten by history but whose sacrifice brought down Dumat and Toth." I found his delusions of grandeur sort of endearingly cute, but he wasn't entirely wrong -- and if it made him feel better about his sacrifice, well, who was I to take the wind out of his sails? Either way, we need him to do what he's going to do, so whatever works.

And so we sat about defending the Keep from the demons Avernus was setting out to summon. He'd decided seven seals was the correct number -- muttering something about magical theory that made no sense to me -- and so from his perch on top of the Architect's sarcophagus, he began preparations to summon seven waves of demons -- and bind their strength into powering the seals, much as, I assumed, Malcolm Hawke had done decades earlier.

The actual summoning took surprisingly little effort; Avernus slammed a Lyrium potion, settled himself cross-legged in a meditative pose, and began chanting; a few minutes of that, and one huge outpouring of magical energy later, four rage demons rose from the ground in front of the mage, massive fiery limbs reaching for us as we prepared ourselves to hold against them.

The secret, however, was that we couldn't kill the demons. Any demon we accidentally destroyed would necessitate another summoning, another fight -- and Avernus had only so much mana, so much Lyrium, to fuel the summoning and binding process. So we had to survive the demons -- and prevent them from escaping to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of the Keep above us -- but somehow not damage any of them too badly.

Anders was the first to respond; with a shout, a torrent of ice flew out from his outflung hands, coalescing on the molten 'skin' of the demons and hardening it in place, extinguishing the flames. The warriors surged forward a second later -- only to halt at Anders' shout, as he was worried they'd inadvertently shatter one. Instead Alistair and Bel crouched within sword's reach, using their shields to protect all of us from the heat and steam rising off the demons, and Anders kept blasting them with ice until Avernus' binding was complete. I'd lost complete track of the ancient Warden during the tense encounter, but with a triumphant yell, the demons slowly disappeared -- and a red-tinged, shimmering barrier sphere came into being around Avernus in its place.

He slumped, face covered in sweat, and breathed an audible sigh of relief which was quickly echoed by the rest of us. When he'd caught a couple of moments of rest, he straightened up and smiled wanly. "One down."

The next five seals were similar. Avernus would chant, a number of demons would materialise, and we would defend ourselves until the binding was complete. There were three desire demons in one wave, causing feelings of envy and jealousy to flare, but they were easy to ignore. An odd mix of shades and lesser demons made up the next few, making us feel tired and slow, or angry and nauseated. One massive, green pride demon roared loud enough I thought it would wake the entire keep. It was terrifying, and I almost dropped my dagger and wet myself when it appeared -- but all of them were eventually held in place by the combined might of the Wardens with us until Avernus was able to complete the ritual.

And then there were six, closely spaced, nearly transparent spheres of magic surrounding Avernus, who still knelt beside the enormous sarcophagus. The spheres were tinted different colours -- green, white, purple, blue, and yellow, in addition to the initial red, and each seemed to loosely correspond to the demon used to create it. I couldn't feel either Avernus' or the Architect's mana through the shields surrounding them, nor could I sense the taint from either of them. If anything, in comparison to the rest of the Deep Roads around us, there was the strangest-feeling lack of taint sensation where they stood, which would have concerned me -- but I knew our final step for concealment would solve that problem.

Avernus, now noticeably pale and drawn, opened his last Lyrium potion and sipped it slowly, eyeing it with distaste. "You know, I suppose I really should have asked for something more palatable as a last meal." Jowan let out a strangled laugh that was very nearly a sob, and Avernus gave him a kindly smile, his voice tinny and distorted through the shields around him. "You'll be fine, my boy. Just remember you're a lot stronger than any of them ever believed you were, remember to use that remarkable mind of yours instead of always acting on instinct, and you'll do just fine."

Jowan nodded sorrowfully, averting his eyes as the ancient mage climbed to his feet slowly. "Last one. Be ready -- this one will be the worst. You won't be able to hear me once it's done, though you'll still be able to see." Avernus looked at Aedan and Alistair. "Thank you for the second chance. It had been a long time since I'd remembered what being a Warden felt like." My husband and brother nodded grimly. Avernus smiled at me -- we had nothing more to say, really -- and then levelled his staff and began chanting.

I could feel the veil parting, an itchy uncomfortable feeling like too much magic crammed into too small a space, and I gripped my daggers reflexively. I hadn't fought any of the demons yet -- Anders had insisted I avoid fighting if possible, so I was behind the others, as back-up in case something went wrong, and Solona stood with me, arms wrapped around her own waist tightly -- but I suddenly had a bad feeling. Everyone tensed as a black line appeared in the air, and a long-legged, oddly proportioned black creature seemed to drag itself through a barely visible hole, one long limb reaching through first, followed by the rest. It was a ghastly sight -- and certainly looked like no demon I'd seen in either game before coming to Thedas.

Maker, what have we gotten ourselves into?