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Jace nervously paced amongst his friends, awaiting for the accursed summit to end. The Divine and Fiona had entered the Temple alone hours ago, leaving the majority of their subordinates to wait in frozen anticipation out in the snow. On the edge of his senses, he could feel the bubbling pool of energy hidden in the mountain. Unfortunately, no one around seemed be able to feel magic as Jace could, leaving them skeptical of his claims.
At twenty-four, he was the youngest Senior Enchanter in Ferelden's history. His young age was the only thing keeping him from being the top candidate for First Enchanter. Unfortunately, his strength and aptitude for magic had left him few friends during his time in Kinloch Hold. His handsome appearance had brought about many admirers, but his rather quiet and isolationist personality drove even those few people away. He had bitterly come to the realization that he understood magic far more than he did people.
A bitterly cold wind brought him back to his perusal of the mountain. It must have been an enormous deposit of lyrium, larger than any other natural formation in the world. It was filled with so much magic that it set his teeth on edge.
Resigned to keep an eye on the mountain, he walked towards the large bonfire that the mages had created to share with the Seekers and Templars still loyal to the Divine. He caught a glimpse of amber eyes across the fire. Jace smiled quietly, a feeling of warmth entering his body. The mage watched as the Knight Commander took his men down the mountain. They were to regroup with a contingent of Seekers coming from Kirkwall. And if Jace's gaze lingered on a certain Knight Commander's muscular ass as he left, well, let's just keep that between you and I.
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It had just begun to get dark outside when Jace heard someone shout. He turned to see someone pointing to the sky. The mage saw a large bolt of light headed their way, a blue flash bright in the darkening sky. As the spell hurtled towards their camp near the Temple, his heart began to pound.
The world stopped as that light flashed across the sky before settling on the building behind Jace. The Temple of Sacred Ashes glowed for a brief, pregnant moment of silence before erupting in a dazzling flash of light. A concussive wave radiated outward from the blast, forcing Jace and the other mages to try and shield the people on the mountain. However, this blast was far more powerful than any mortal mage. His comrades quickly dropped, dead from trying to shield the many behind them. Jace was the last to fall, just managing to halt the blast for but a second. He alone held the burden of the shield, preventing the blast from reaching the screaming people behind. But even he could not do it all. Jace's barrier crumbled as the explosion punched right through, blasting away hundreds of people in an instant.
As he fell, he felt a wave of growing heat cause a burning sensation throughout his body. He wearily raised his head, only to be horrified. Jace watched as people began to scream in pain and desperation. Before his very eyes, comrades and mentors began to wither away, as though the very air was sucking the life from their bodies. Jace realized that he was screaming too, in disbelief at this horror. Somehow though, he remained untouched by the unearthly fires above. He could only watch as what appeared to be crystal covered their skeletal bodies before it all came to a halt.
The silence on the mountain was deafening. So many people around him were petrified in what he now realized was lyrium, forever frozen in their last moments of fear and terror. Tears ran unchecked down Jace's face as he fell to his knees in disbelief and despair. He abruptly felt drained, as if something had been sucked out of him.
The mage fell onto his back, his smoldering robes and coat bunched up underneath him. As he looked towards the sky, Jace felt it coming. His head felt like it was on fire as his sense of dread crystallized in molten fear. The air was rent by a discordant sound, a vibration in the air that grated against more than just Jace's ears. This note resounded through his very soul. If he could have raised his tired arms, he would have clapped them against his ears. As it was, he could only watch as the sky tore above. As if someone had taken a sword to the very air, green light scythed across the sky. The jagged line widened, leaving a large rip in the sky that was nearly two miles long.
Now Jace could hear discordant singing, what he knew to be the call of the Fade. Snatches of melodies came through his tired mind, and as he began to succumb to exhaustion, he could see dots of green fire shooting off in every which direction, demons now freely crossing the Veil. His eyes began to close, and as they did, he dimly felt his right hand burn, a sensation out of place in his tired body. The last thing he heard was the roar of a dragon.
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A slap to his face brought Jace back to cold, hard reality. Above him stood a woman in gleaming silver armor. What made his heart pound was the Seeker symbol across her chest. The woman reached down, and with great strength, pulled the weakened Jace to his feet. He wobbled for a moment, the Seeker kindly steadying him. As the mage appeared to settle, the woman's gold eyes turned hard.
She grated, "Tell me what happened here."
Jace was struck by a flash of memory. An explosion. Screaming. Statues of crystal, forever frozen. The Veil torn asunder. These images nearly brought the man to his knees once again. Tears ran down his face, as he turned to survey the remnants of the mountain. Nothing remained. A large crater marked where the Temple had once proudly stood. For at least a mile in every direction, there was a line of ash, the snow completely vaporized. Crystalline statues were everywhere, all still smoldering. With growing dread, he looked above him, only to have his worst thoughts confirmed. The Veil had been rent asunder. There was a bright, green pillar of light coming down from the portal, touching the earth and connecting the mortal realm and the realm of dreams.
The woman had begun to speak again. “My name is Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of the Divine. Again I will ask, mage. Who are you, and what happened here."
Jace turned to the Seeker, and nearly whispered in raw agony. “They're all gone. All of them."
And with that, he nearly broke down in tears once again. He distantly heard Cassandra gasp and fall to her knees, whispering prayers that would go unanswered.
Her soldiers had spread out on the mountain, examining the statues that graced this hellish graveyard. Jace watched in numb horror and silence. The woman gained her composure and came to the man's side.
She asked him quietly, her voice still rough with grief, “Your name?"
He replied, “Jace Trevalyan, of Kinloch Hold."
Her eyes widened in recognition. “I...have heard of you. The youngest to ever be made Senior Enchanter in the history of the Circle."
Here she paused. “We watched you fall from the sky, young man. You stepped out of the Fade untouched, survived a blast that just killed thousands. How in Maker's name did you do it?"
At her words, Jace spun around in disbelief. “What? No, impossible! The last thing I remember is falling unconscious after the blast. I couldn't have walked from the Fade!"
She ruefully replied, “Ah, but you did. I myself watched you float down from the Breach, before coming to rest here."
Jace could do nothing but stare at Cassandra. She pronounced, “What the Divine feared has come to pass. Come with me. We have work to do."