Chapter 5: CHAPTER 5
"What did you say you shitty mage!?" The templar couldn't stand the kid anymore, having lost it completely he broke out from the formation and launched a punch towards the 17 years old kid in front of him.
The other students from the circle watched surprised at the scene going on in front of them, they knew templars were a bunch of heartless bastards, but to resort to violence after a childish argument? That's a first.
The boy with a well-built body sidestepped to the left using the sword techniques he learned when he was a child, and sent a punch of his own towards the templar's face, due to him not wearing a helmet at the moment the punch was strong enough to throw him on the ground.
Most mages wouldn't be able to fight toe to toe with a templar when it comes to their bodies, having to rely on magic derived from shapeshifting to increase their muscle mass during fights, but the boy in front of them was quite different, he was one of the senior students, and an anomaly that trained his body every day since he was a child.
"Shit templar, you are a disgrace to the order!" The boy spat on him after he shouted, the others observing from the sides couldn't help but open their eyes wide. The vast majority being new on the circle didn't know that there was such a bold student here.
"Who's this fierce guy who's not afraid of beating the crap of a templar?" Someone whispered to his veteran colleague.
"That's Abraham, they don't dare to make him a tranquil or to give him heavy punishments because he is the protege of the current Knight-Vigilant."
"What!?" The girl who asked about him gasped. "Are you seriously saying that he is being protected by the head of the templar order!? Why!?"
"Rumors say that the Knight-Vigilant's wife is Dianora Penthagast, one of the Knight-Divine in Val Royeaux, and apparently the woman was his teacher or something."
The girl nodded and turned to look again at the scene.
"You fucking prick!" The templars ganged up on Abraham, two came from behind and held him while another in front kept punching him in the guts and sometimes on the face.
"Agh!" Abraham growled as he spat blood on the ground, however, he never stopped smirking at those shitheads.
"That's it! I'm going to fucking kill you!" One of them spat out and unsheathed his sword, he was about to pierce through Abraham's chest, but an orange barrier appeared out of nowhere, its power was so strong that his sword bounced off together with a burst of kinetic energy that launched him almost 3 meters away, making him fall face-first on the ground.
"Stop this madness immediately!" The voice of a woman reached their ears, turning to see who had arrived, the students' eyes started shining.
A beautiful elf with orange hair tied in a ponytail, a chest quite bigger than that of the average female elf, and a cold smooth face that seemed to have come out of a painting.
"Enchanter Pawen, the templars are too much! They ganged up on our fellow colleagues trying to bully us! Senior Abraham was just trying to help us!" One of them pointed out to a boy who had been knocked out early and was resting on the what remained of a table.
Looking at that mess Pawen frowned, and turned to the group of 5 or so templars, apparently only three of them participated in this situation.
"Who allowed you to cause trouble in the refectory?" Pawen's vicious eyes pierced their bodies, making them feel as if daggers were poking their skin beneath the armor.
One of the templars muttered something, he didn't bother to answer, snorting at the students and the enchanter, they took the one who was knocked out by her and left without saying another word.
"Tsk!" Abraham spat some more blood on the ground while clenching his teeth. "Cowards!"
Pawen sighed hearing her former roommate's words. "Let's go, Abraham, the first-enchanter wants to speak to you."
"Huh? What for?"
"Let's go already, he will explain everything to you."
Nodding, Abraham turned to look at his colleagues and gave them a creepy bloodied smile that lacked a tooth and said. "Don't let those bastards bully you, if they try anything, just say that you're friends with Abraham Wheeler!"
The apprentices looked at him with admiration, until then he was the only apprentice to stand up against the injustice that the Templars did to them every day.
After walking through the corridor and going up a set of stairs, Abraham couldn't help but notice that they didn't go towards the first-enchanter chambers, instead, Pawen kept walking towards the prohibited section of the castle, after some time they entered a big circular hall which had a pedestal right in the middle with some sort of shining liquid.
Pawen nodded at him and left through the doors they came from. Looking around he finally spotted the first-enchanter, and on his left was the Knight-commander who took the place of Dianora, an old man called Richard.
"Did you called me, first-enchanter?"
The old man with warts on his face and rough skin nodded. "That's correct, do you know what this is, Abraham?" He pointed out to the pedestal with the liquid.
"I think it's Lyrium sir."
He nodded.
"Today, Abraham Wheeler, you'll go through your harrowing, this process is what divides an apprentice from a mage, go through the test successfully and you will be made a full-fledged mage, fail... and may the maker watch over your soul."
Abraham looked at the liquid and them at the Knight-Commander that kept watching with a frown on his face.
"What do I have to do?"
"Drink the Lyrium, and do what must be done as fast as possible."
Hearing this, Abraham looked at the first-enchanter in the eyes. The harrowing was kind of a rite of passage, one that he knew very well from the first game of the dragon age series. He knew quite well what he had to do, but this... It would be his first time directly dealing with a demon, the wards and protections of the castle kept all the demons away from the apprentices but now he would have to rely on his own to deal with that threat.
Sucking a mouthful of air, he didn't even wait for the first-enchanter to wish him luck, he took the cup he was holding from his hand and after filling it with the Lyrium, he didn't waste a second and drank it all in one gulp.
At first, he didn't felt anything, the Lyrium tasted like water, but a few seconds later he felt something, throbbing pain in his heart, a few seconds later he fell on the ground, fully blacked out, but while his body was lying motionless on the ground, in his mind he found himself in what looked like a big floating white rock.
Looking around for a moment, he managed to find it, there on the horizon, maybe thousands of meters away if not more, a black city.
Sighing he looked at the place he was for a moment and decided to start testing what he has been training all those years.
But here, where the practice was what really mattered for him, he would do everything through the methods he learned by following Solas's words, it was time to see what magic limited only by imagination could do.
He started running and a few seconds later he jumped and his whole body suddenly started changing, his clothes shrank together with his size, his head suddenly gained a beak, his hands transformed into big imponent wings, his legs became talons his body was covered in feathers, in a second he transformed in a fearsome Hawk and started flying.
Looking around, now with an enhanced vision he could see many things, weird statues who seemed to have come out of dreams, a landscape covered by big pieces of floating rocks, wisps, spirits... but no signs of demons.
He knew more than to rely only upon his eyes, demons were deceitful creatures, they liked to pretend to be other things to the living, they wanted more than nothing to lure a person towards them and make the person agree to become his or her host.
But... he also couldn't let his own views interfere in the truth of this realm, his prejudice could make a spirit become a demon, and that is not what he wants...
After some time flying he saw something quite interesting, a spirit clad in stylish armor with a design he never saw before was practicing something that reminded him of tai chi, feeling amused he decided to go down and have a closer look at the spirit.
The spirit noticed him but didn't say anything for a moment, after it finished, the spirit turned to look at him.
"Another visitant from the world of the living I see. It has been quite a while since I last saw one of you. Ten years I think." His voice was strong in a sense, it echoed in Abraham's ears.
"Who are you, spirit?"
"Me? What else could I be if not a seeker of Justice?"
"Justice?"
The spirit nodded, he walked towards the edge of the rock he was currently in and pointed downside.
"I was preparing to deliver justice to the poor souls who lost their lives here."
There, bellow the place they were currently in, a house of sorts could be seen floating, inside it was possible to see what seemed to be an old woman sleeping peacefully.
"Who is that?"
"That is what your kind calls a demon, for me, however, it is still a similar, but one whose objective is to spread chaos and suffering. He was once purpose, but now he's only desire, a poor fellow, it wasn't always like that, he always helped when mortals asked for his advice, but one day he became like that, corrupted by those whom he once helped." Justice shook his head. "Now he kills without stopping, searching, looking for an opportunity to cross the veil, to dominate the pitiful world of the living."
Abraham nodded and looked at the house for a moment, well, he would only be able to leave the Fade after killing a demon anyway, and the more time he stayed there, the more dangerous it became.
"Very well, Justice. I'll help you defeat this brother of yours who lost his way."
Justice turned to look at Abraham for a moment, then as if he noticed something he suddenly nodded. "Purpose would have liked you, you share quite a few similarities. Let's go then. Time waits for no one."
Justice jumped from the edge, but Abraham wasn't that confident in surviving such a fall, although he knew that his mind defined what was fact and what wasn't in the Fade, he wasn't willing to risk it. Shapeshifting again into a Hawk he followed Justice through the air.
Justice arrived crashing down the door of the house, announcing his presence in the most straightforward way one could imagine.
"Desire, the injustice you spread through this realm ends today, surrender or this suffering will last more than it's necessary!" Sword and shield materialized from thin air on Justice's hand.
Abraham stopped behind Justice and watched as the old woman stood up from the chair she was sitting on. She noticed Abraham and licked her lips.
"Boy, why waste your time with this moron? Of your world he understands so little, I on the other hand have lived for hundreds of years, I saw what lies in the heart of the living and I know how to conquer what they all wish! Join me and all your wishes will become a reality!"
"Hahaha!" Abraham laughed as he heard the demon's words. The old woman frowned seeing that and waited to hear his answer. "You know, call me prideful, or even arrogant, I don't care, but the thing is... I don't need to rely on spirits to reach my ambitions! Part of my dream is achieving them through my own efforts, so no thanks."
"Then, you leave me no choice." The demon's body suddenly changed in shape, assuming the form of a skinny tall creature with hard grey skin, and thin eyes with horns on his head. "Your body will be mine! Grrraaaah!"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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