[ ELM ] sender lends receiver aid in a time of urgent need. (Avery for Henri)
Action prompts | Accepting
HOPE was lost for most of the Grey Wardens. They fought off the Inquisition like the holy forces were little more than Darkspawn. Apparently, their blades and arrows worked against the flesh of man as well as it did corrupted beasts.
His small team of four mounted the catwalks, Henri could immediately feel the demons pressing against the Veil like grubby hands palming glass. Fear, Rage, Vengeance ━ they clamored at his skin, greedy for entrance.
He shook them off, wrapping a swathe of Fade around himself. There weren't many benign spirits to feel, even with the Veil as thin as it was. He could almost see it like a tangible mist, fine and warbling at the edges of his vision. Faith was with him as always, but he feared for it in such an environment.
Demons and Wardens fell against their blades and shields in equal measure it seemed as they navigated the labyrinthian fortress. Vivienne wrapped their path in ice, deterring any would-be followers off their heels. Varric did the same with his caltrops, and despite his height, managed to see them coming a mile away.
Henri and Cassandra led the charge ━ a familiar formation.
He had no way of telling how deep into the fortress they had gotten when they encountered a group of Wardens who seemed to be ... cowering behind their weapons.
❝ Hold ! ❞ Henri yelled over the din, holding one hand out in a placating gesture, the other waving away his spectral sword. ❝ We are with the Inquisition, we mean you no harm ! ❞
❝ Explain all this then, robe ! ❞ One shouted back, his voice stronger than Henri thought it should be, considering the way his knees were knocking.
❝ This is the work of Corypheus and Livius Erimond ! ❞ Henri explained, choosing to take the familiar slur in stride. It was almost funny how someone could see him in armor, using his magic for holy purpose and still think so little of him. Almost. ❝ They mean to use the Wardens to conquer Thedas ! ❞
❝ I don't think they're listening, kid, ❞ Varric mumbled from his side. And true to the dwarf's words, the Wardens gathered their strength and charged.
❝ Cursed blood magic ! ❞ Henri groaned under the weight of a Warden's blade against his barrier. ❝ Get ahold of yourselves ! ❞ He pleaded as the battled joined around him, ❝ Can't you feel the magic twisting your mind ? ❞
❝ What're we doin' here, kid ? ❞ Varric shouted nervously as the Wardens crowded them. For now, their blades fell against shields and barriers, no blood shed yet. But Henri knew that would change quickly with one false thought.
❝ They're not attacking of their own will ! ❞
❝ None of them have been, dear, ❞ Vivienne said patiently, ❝ Just because these retained part of their minds makes them no different. ❞
Henri growled in frustration, pushing back the Wardens beating against his barrier. There had to be a way. He couldn't just kill men who would know better if their minds were their own. It was madness, insanity, blasphemy. All men are the Work of our Maker's Hands. Those who bring harm the least of His children are hated and accursed by the Maker.
❝ I have faced armies with You as my shield, ❞ Henri grit between his teeth as the Veil weakened and frayed around them. ❝ Though I bear scars beyond counting, nothing can break me except Your absence. ❞
❝ Look out ! ❞
Henri heard Avery's voice just in time to feel the pull of the Fade in the distance. His head shot up to see a small girl, deep blue Warden robes swimming around her like she was a minnow in the ocean. As she channeled a spell that smelled like ozone and burnt leather, Henri realized she looked nothing at all like Aalis, except for the fact that she could've well been her, if the Maker had willed it.
Avery toppled Henri just in time for the flash of lightning to cut clean through where he had been standing, piercing the armor of the Warden he had been fighting off as the man tumbled forward the same way Avery and Henri fell to the side.
His breaths came shallow in near-death panic as he watched Varric, Vivienne, and Cassandra sink blade, arrow, and magic into the Wardens who were now, definitively, beyond saving.
Henri still couldn't help the stone in his stomach.
❝ Thanks, ❞ he gasped, losing Avery in his muddled vision. It hadn't been Aalis and he hadn't died. He repeated the thought like a mantra made to fight off demons. ❝ You have good timing, ❞ he attempted levity as he took her offered hand to stand. The tone fell flat.
