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Chapter 6 -- The Experienced and Inexperienced in Love
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Gathering over the body of Niall, I bent down to gently take the paperwork from his fingers, handing it to a tearful Wynne. She thanked me silently as I returned my attention to the fallen mage. I closed his eyes with my fingers before adjusting his hands, crossing them over his chest. Taking out my amulet, I kissed it before speaking.
"Oh Talos, God of Man, please guide this mage to Sovngarde. Let him face down Mighty Tsun in battle, and may he be found worthy of entrance into the Great Hall. I have yet to meet a mage of greater heart, of greater spirit, of greater bravery than he. Give the rest of us the strength and courage to face down our foes, so that we may prove to be worthy of his sacrifice." I clasped the now cool hands of Niall. "Find the path, Niall. May you find eternal peace by the side of your Maker. Know that you have earned eternal rest through your deeds. But, rest assured, you have earned your place beside the great warriors in Sovngarde." Standing up, I kissed my amulet again. "May we be victorious. For that request, I can only offer my pleas, Talos," I whispered.
"His death upsets you?" Leliana asked quietly.
"I am angry, Leliana. I am furious. But, more importantly, I am honoured to have known this mage, even if only briefly. And his death will not be in vain. We will now climb these steps. We will face down Uldred. And we will kill him."
And that is what we did. For the first time in a long time, I unleashed the full power of my Thu'um upon something that was not a dragon. And Uldred did not stand a chance against a furious Dragonborn. Uldred and his allies wilted against us. Any other time, it would have been an unfair fight. But I only had eyes for Uldred. I would make him pay for what he had done to the Circle, to its mages, to the Templars, to Niall. I had to blink back tears of rage as I cut Uldred to shreds. I fought with a ferocity I last did when facing down Alduin. The urge to use my Thu'um again and again nearly overwhelmed me, only remembering the advice of the Greybeards, how the Thu'um could be corrupted by hatred and rage, stopping me from doing so.
When Uldred finally died, and the monsters beside him lay on the ground next to him, Leliana hugged me. I did not weep, but as I rested my head on her shoulder, I could only mutter, "It was so pointless. He did not deserve that fate. It's not fair."
I felt her arms simply hold me tighter. "He is with the Maker now, Ragnar."
Leaning back, I met her eyes. "We must honour him when we're done here. He died a warrior. He must be treated as such." I looked around the room for Wynne. She'd heard and nodded her agreement.
The First Enchanter was still alive, as were around half a dozen other mages being held prisoner. They were all thankful to have been saved, all of us receiving plenty of handshakes and hugs for being their rescuers. Wynne spoke with the First Enchanter about the situation.
"Has Greagoir asked for the Right of Annulment?" Irving asked.
"He has."
Irving sighed. "I don't blame the man. I would have done the same thing. We'd better get downstairs quickly before the Templars get any ideas."
Though the tower appeared clear, we gathered them mages in between us, forming a guard around them, as we began our descent. On the way down, we gathered the body of Niall, Sten offering to carry his body, as we called out for any survivors to make their presence known. Once they heard the voice of Irving, plenty of mages came out of the woodwork. Seeing so many survivors filled our group with joy, though tempered by the fact so many had also been lost.
When we opened the door for Solona and the Tranquil, she immediately came towards me, grabbing my hand. "Please don't leave me," she whispered. I glanced at Leliana and Cerys, and they both smiled in my direction. I squeezed her hand in reassurance as we continued down the tower.
We had quite the gaggle of mages, and even a few injured Templars, when we made it back to the doors. One of the Templars, a young man by the name of Cullen, we had talked to before fighting Uldred. He'd been tortured and insistent the Circle 'needed to be cleansed'. I wanted to shut him up, but Solona held tight onto my hand.
Back at the bottom of the tower, a few of us banged on the giant doors. We heard a voice asking for the First Enchanter.
"I'm alive, Greagoir. You can open the doors."
Solona asked for me to hold her on the appearance on even more Templars. The poor girl was near shaking with fright, but once I wrapped an arm around her, she settled down a little. Leliana came up to my other side and whispered, "You're just a big sweetie," in my ear before walking ahead. Solona didn't want to go anywhere near the Templars, so I escorted her away towards a group of mages.
I watched but couldn't hear the conversation between Greagoir, Irving and the rest of our group. There was an occasional glance in our direction, and by this stage, Solona was practically cuddling me. I think she was still frightened, but I think there was also another reason. I didn't mind at all. Cerys eventually walked in our direction. "Good news, you two. Greagoir has agreed that Solona will join the Wardens. If you want anything, Solona, you'd best grab it now. He has ordered that once you leave, you cannot return."
"I don't want anything. I just want to leave," she said quietly.
Cerys just smiled. "Okay. We'll leave shortly. Ragnar, would you like to pay Niall your last respects?"
"Yes, I would."
"The Templars will make a pyre outside, then we'll send him to the Maker. I'll come grab you when it's ready."
Solona still wouldn't let go of me, so I just hugged her tightly. "You're okay," I said quietly.
"I know, but you make me feel safe already. Just hold me a little longer."
So I did. By the time Wynne returned, Solona just continued to hold my hand as we gathered outside. Nearly all the mages joined us too, having heard of what Niall was trying to do. Many were in tears, and I think one of the women, being consoled by everyone, had been a girlfriend or lover of his. Leliana performed a poem, speaking of his bravery and his worthiness, before four of us were given torches to light the pyre. We stood in silence as the fire took hold and Niall was sent to the Maker. Part of me hoped he would be sent to Sovngarde. I would like to meet him again, the whole Niall, and share a beer with him in the Great Hall.
Solona finally let me go as she headed inside with all the mages to say her goodbyes. I waited outside with Leliana. Gazing out towards the lake, she clasped my hand. "She likes you."
