Bethany's Writing Desk

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Wherever Bethany is staying, Nathaniel finds her, hoping she's alone, rapping at the door.

"Bethany?"

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Bethany had managed to change from living in the barn, to a small room in the main tower. That Nathaniel had found her at all was ... well, rather amazing.

So she blinked with surprise, as she looked up from the book of spirit magic she was reading, but smiled brightly as she got up to open the door, "Well hello, stranger!"

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Nathaniel gives a brief smile and closes the door behind him as he enters. "Settling in?"

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"Hmmm, as best I can." She went back to drop down on her bed, giving him another grin. "Clean sheets and warm food, not to mention bathing every day? I believe I am as settled as a pig in slop. Which ... I am neither."

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"Paradise, isn't it?" After so much time on the road, especially. He finds a flat place to sit and sits. "Anyone giving you trouble?"

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"It is, actually. Well, as much as paradise should feel." Bethany grinned, before her smile dimmed a little. "Nothing more than the usual. Mages are a danger, Wardens get a free pass ..."

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"The usual." Maker, if someone tried to put a spirit like Bethany in a tower, Nathaniel wouldn't be able to bear it. But they have, haven't they? How many Bethanies went into those towers? How many of them came out like Anders? No. Spirits like hers should be in the sun, where they can shine.

His head dips slightly, shaking off the thought. "Have you met Detlef?"

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"Well you know, another day, another person trying to spit in my general direction. It is what it is." Bethany said with a flicker of a sad smile. She knew she would be fighting for a long time, trying to prove that she could handle her magic. She'd been doing it since she was ten, after all.

At his question, she arched an eyebrow at him, before flipping over the volume she was reading and showed him the title, Understanding Spirit Magic.

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Nathaniel sits beside her now, looking over the title.

"I was just...talking with a magical scholar about spirits. The Fade, possession, abominations. When it's permanent and when something can be...done about it."

He glances at Bethany to see how she reacts.

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Bethany, for her part, goes very still. She looks hard at Nathaniel, before she speaks slowly and quietly.

"...and what did she say, about whether or not something could be done for such a person?"

All of her research was good -- but from an expert? Far, far better.

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"She said it depends upon whether the spirit is still physically in the Fade, or has fully come into this world."

His voice lowers, and he speaks slowly.

"I knew them separately. Justice possessed a corpse first. But I think...there might be reason to believe he still had a connection to the Fade. I remember that lyrium sang to him in a way it didn't to the rest of us. But that's all I have. You have observed this possession longer than I have. Can you think of anything, from any time, that could indicate Justice is still connected to the Fade?"

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Bethany looked at him intently, her hands folded into her lap as she listened carefully. So, the question was whether or not Justice still had any connection to the Fade whatsoever. Interesting.

"Well ... what I saw of Justice was that he only came out when Anders was too, too angry. Except ..." She pressed her lips together, "Except when Marian and the others actually went into the Fade, to save a young half-blooded boy from his own nightmares. He was a Dreamer, so they had to enter the Fade to find him, and convince him to leave. Marian told me that Justice was the only one present there, in the Fade."

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Nathaniel considers this quietly for a moment.

"So Justice dominant in the Fade, Anders in the waking world. It sounds like her description of possession, which...is reversible. If the possession is a willing one. Do you remember the story of Connor Guerrin during the Blight?"

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"Of course. A clearer warning was never told through the apostates. Make deals with demons at the risk of your life -- and the lives of everyone you care about." A lesson that Bethany was going to grimly take to her grave.

Now, she was curious. "...They say the mages of the Kinhold Circle performed a ritual, that allowed a mage to enter the fade -- and destroy the demon. Saving Connor."

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Nathaniel looks straight at Bethany.

"That's right."

And leaves it there, letting her come to it on her own.

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Bethany gnawed on her lip a little, "...and beyond that, Karl. Oh Maker, how could I have forgotten about Karl? Karl was -- well, he was a lover of Anders, apparently. The first time we met him, he said he would only help us with the Deep Road maps if we helped him save Karl from the Circle but ... Karl had been made Tranquil."

She looked over at Nathaniel, her brown eyes brightening. "Except - when Justice came out, Karl woke up, and he said ... it was as if Anders brought a piece of the fade there with him."

Excitement flashed over her face, "Nathaniel! If we knew this ritual, if we could get the lyrium, and the mages, we could save ... certain ... people."

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Nathaniel...has to take a moment. To absorb this story. Not just the bit where it confirms Anders is a prime candidate for this ritual, but the bit where someone made Anders' former lover a Tranquil. That...no, that has to come later. Right now, he has to think about Justice. The gate is finally opening here. Bethany is on board, perhaps able to perform the ritual herself.

"Don't tell anyone. Not even your twin brother, if he ever comes along, not Kaisa, and least of all Anders. If Anders finds out, Justice will find out. Consider...consider Anders a hostage to Justice. Anything Justice learns can be used to punish Anders. And if he knows, he will take Anders far away from us and we will never have this chance."

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She shook her head slightly. "No ... it would not be safe for Carver to know any of this. It's best that we keep this to ourselves." She paled, softly, "Are you serious? Do you truly believe that Justice would hurt Anders? Anders is the one who saved him."

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"He's willing to put Anders' life on the line so he can play at helping," Nathaniel growls softly. "I knew him. He wished to be gentle, but there was a bloodthirst in him. He would gladly have sacrificed himself for others, but I believe he now considers Anders an extension of himself. I've...

He hesitates, and then his voice takes on a different tone. Reminiscent. Bethany doesn't know details about his relationship with his parents, but there is quite a bit that she can guess.

"...heard Anders. Speak of him with fear. He begged me not to rouse Justice's anger, not even in private or if it was justified."

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Bethany exhaled, looking down at her hands as she clasped her fingers together. Then she looked back up at him. "Then ... we had best find a way to save our friend. No matter what it takes, and as quietly as possible, so Justice doesn't hurt him or anyone else."

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"If the ritual requires a mage to enter the Fade to slay the spirit," Nathaniel whispers, "I trust you. So does Anders. I know you will do what must be done to save him, and others."

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"I can do it, Nathaniel... but it's not a matter of me being able to do it." She looked at him solemnly, "We're going to need at least three or four mages we really trust to get me into Anders mind. And a lot of lyrium."

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"He's going to turn himself in to the Wardens." A huff. "I doubt he will remain Detlef for long. Who would agree to help him?"

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She breathed out, deeply, resting her hands on her thighs for a moment.

"Well ... myself. Merrill. Sabriel, if we can convince her. I don't know if Felix or Kaidan would be willing - or powerful enough."

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"The Inquisition has lyrium. I would rather come by it with the consent of its leaders, but if worst came to worst...no. I would rather plan this as if expecting it can be done legally. Save for obtaining consent from Anders, who may never forgive me."