Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own the works of EA's Dragon Age or anything that may come into the following Fan made piece of fiction. This is meant for enjoyment alone.

"You fear Barbarians will swoop down upon you?" speech.

'Yes. Swooping is bad.' thought/flashback monologuing.

"█▄▄██▄▄▄██▄▄█" Archdemon/Darkspawn/Inarticulate Roar/etc.

XxxXxxXxxX

Previously:

The swing was clumsy and slow. Father was nothing more than a Merchant, fit from the travel of his youth sure, but there was no training or understanding on how to hold or even swing a sword.

Nonetheless he looked surprised when Knight Rodier swung his own sword out in response to the Merchant's clumsy attack and scored a deep, mortal would across his chest.

As he fell, Father could see the frightened, fear filled eyes of Leon; witness to the murder of his parents from his hiding place and felt a profound sense of sadness fill him. To die knowing that his son would live with this memory for the rest of his life.

Father died there. Not three feet from his wife and under the terrified gaze of his poor, orphaned son.

XxxXxxXxxX

Consciousness came slow to Leon. He could not recall how or when he had fallen into a slumber, just that he had been hiding underneath his bed. Why? He remembered Mother urging him to hide there. There had been a knock at the door. Who was it? Why couldn't he remember?

Where was he now?

He wasn't in his bed, he knew that much. From the smell he wasn't even in Jader. Whatever he was resting on felt too hard and rough to be his bedding and he couldn't smell the near constant odour of fish and salt water that was predominate throughout his home.

A sudden jolt and the floor knocked him about slightly, bumping his head and forcing the boy to reach up to grasp at the back of his head where it had knocked against the wooden surface. He could feel himself shaking, almost rhythmically, side to side. Was he on a wagon?

Why was he on a Wagon? Where were Mother and Father? What was going on?

Leon shifted in his slowly growing panic and confusion, pulling himself up into a seated position and instinctively shuffling backward; seeking some kind of protection and cover.

"Easy lad. you're alright."

Leon squeaked out in fear, his eyes wide and head turning sharply to face the man that had spoken. It had not been Father's voice.

A Templar.

Gleaming silver armor with the flaming sword displayed proudly on the chest piece. There was no helm covering his face which allowed Leon to take in the man's appearance. He was old. At least older than Father. A face weathered by lines, greying short hair and a neatly trimmed beard. The Templar's eyes were a soft brown and Leon could not help but feel confused; why did those eyes seem so sad and filled with regret? Had something happened?

"Your name is Leon is it not?"

The boy nodded. "Yes sir. Leon Graves sir."

The Templar nodded slowly from where he was seated; hunched forward with his forearms rested on his knees. The man seemed undisturbed by the shaking and jostling of the wagons movements.

"I am Knight-Captain Henry of the Templar Order. Do you know what a Templar is?"

Leon nodded, glancing away from the man to look around the Wagon interior. Where were his parents? "Templar's work for The Maker. They protect the Chantry?"

Henry smiled shortly, seemingly amused by the response. "Close, but not quite. Templar's protect everyone, not just the Chantry. From the Emperor of Orlais to the lowliest urchin. We even protect those like you Leon."

Leon didn't understand. Those like him? Wait, no. That didn't matter right now. "Where are my parents? Are they in another Wagon?"

The Knight-Captain tensed momentarily before his eyebrows furrowed and he leaned further forward. "Do you not recall?"

Leon shook his head. Recall what?

Henry let out a long, drawn out breath as he briefly turned his head to the side. A muttered, something, passing through his lips before the Templar returned his gaze back to the boy. "The Chantry teaches us Leon; that Magic exists to serve man and never to rule over him. It was one of the teachings the Blessed Bride Andraste left to us. Because of this the Chantry keeps and protects those who can perform magic in places that are called 'Circles'. It is where we are headed now. To keep you safe and protected within a Circle."

Leon blinked, slowly. He was going to a Circle? But if that was where Mages lived, then did that mean?

"You were found to be capable of using Magic lad. I, along with a small group of Templars visited your home to speak with your mother and father. To explain to them what we had discovered and what was to happen." Henry paused, a flicker of hesitation expressed on his face before he steeled his resolve. "I was able to convince them both that it was for the best that you be brought to the Circle in Montsimmard."

Leon nodded in understanding. If Mages were safe in Circles then why wouldn't he go there? "Are Mother and Father coming as well? Did they stay behind to pack before coming as well?"

Henry let out another sigh. This was something he never enjoyed in his work as a Templar. Especially when explaining the new life that awaited children; even more so when they were as young as Leon was.

"I am afraid that the Chantry does not allow any who are not either Templar's or Mages to enter the Circle." The man explained. "Both of your parents are to remain in Jader. They cannot come with you."

A moment of silence filled the wagon interior at the revelation. Leon was stunned silent as he processed what had been said and tried to come to terms with the fact that he was being taken away from not only his home, but his family. That he would very likely not see Mother and Father for a very, very long time.

"But I can see them when I get older right?" Leon asked, trying to hold onto some hope that he was get to at least visit home in the future. "When I learn to stop using Magic maybe?"

"I am afraid that will not be possible." Henry shook his head. "The Chantry is quite strict in making sure that Mages remain within their Circle. The risk is just too great for anything different. Both for yourself, and those around you."

Leon's breathing picked up, tears forming at the edges of his eyes as he tried and failed to keep calm at this reveal. That once he was brought to Montsimmard, he would never be able to leave. That he would never get to go home and see Mother and Father again.

Henry, seeing the slowly growing panic and mounting sadness in the child, reached into a small leather satchel that was positioned by his side, sifting through the contents before pulling out a small ampule filled with a murky yellowish liquid.

"Drink this lad."

Leon took the vial, eyeing it for a brief second before pulling the stopper out.

"It'll ease your nerves. It's alright."

Leon drank it swiftly. Shivering and scrunching up his face in disgust at the revolting taste. He handed the empty glass vial back to the Templar and blinked several times when he felt his head starting to grow heavy.

"It will be alright Leon. When you wake up, We'll have some supper and I can tell you all about the Circle of Montsimmard."

Leon was asleep before his head even made contact with the Wagon floor, the Templar provided drug placing him swiftly into a deep, deep slumber.

XxxX

The Wagon ran over another rock on the dirt road, causing it to jostle about sharply and caused Leon to actually leave his seat by a bare inch before falling back down with an 'oomph'. To his side, the Templar Knight-Captain; Henry let out an amused chuckle; hands gripping the reigns of the two horses that were pulling the wagon.

Leon shifted in his seat, working out the slight sting in his backside from the bump in the road as he looked from the gently smiling man to take in the surrounding landscape.

Being out of the inside of the Wagon and now at its front afforded the five year old with an actual view of where he was. Knight-Captain Henry was directing the Horses forward and seemed quite serene at this moment; a far cry from the tense man that he had woken up to before.

"It's quite beautiful isn't it?"

Leon agreed. Large fields of golden wheat stretched out on either side of the dirt road the wagon was travelling down and beyond those fields on Leon's side a lush forest with giant green leaved trees stretched up into the heavens seemingly like an unending barrier between farmland, and everything beyond.

Peaking out from the canopy of the forest, seemingly positioned in the distance beyond it, Leon could spy what looked like a castle, so distant that in the sunlight it appeared to be a shadow.

"I can barely remember a time when I was last fortunate enough to enjoy such a sight." The man commented as the boy turned his attention away from the scenery and to him. "So often have I found myself travelling along paths where all I can see are ruins and landscapes twisted almost beyond recognition."

"By Mages?"

The Templar looked away from the road ahead and down to a curious Leon; the man's eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

"Was it Mages that twisted up the places you saw? Ones that aren't safe in Circles?"

The man seemed to ponder on the question for a moment before nodding slightly. "I imagine so, yes. You will find, I believe Leon, that Mages are quite capable of affecting incredible change. Some good, some bad."

"What about me?"

The greying Templar raised an eyebrow silently.

"Am I good, or bad? Before, I mean earlier on the day you came for me, I remember falling off the pier and I felt, something weird. Then the water froze and I landed on it instead of falling into the water. Does that mean I would have been a bad Mage? Changing the water like that?"

Knight-Captain Henry peered at the boy intently for a moment, the faintest of smiles still on his face before he turned away and refocused on the road ahead. "Do you feel like one? Do you think you are a bad Mage?"

Leon frowned in thought before shaking his head. No he didn't. He didn't want to hurt anyone or anything. He just wanted to stay safe. "No."

"Then you aren't." The Templar shrugged. "People may claim to know otherwise, they may believe it without reservation. But the only one who can truly know your mind, who can truly know your intentions, actions and therefore your existence. Is you."

"But what if because people think I'm bad, I become bad?"

The Templar nodded slowly, his smile lessening only slightly so at the prospect. "Not an unwarranted concern. As much as we try to fight it, we are all subject to change because of the views of others. I believe that the best way to weather such a thing, is to remember one key thing."

"And what's that?"

The older man turned back to look at the five year old and smiled in a way that seemed to fill Leon's very bones with comfort. "What is the purpose of Leon Graves? What defines him?"

In the distance, beyond the pair on their wagon, the forest came to an end. And the castle that Leon had seen earlier, loomed, not on a hilltop or distant mountain; but on a broken and twisted island, floating free in the sky.

XxxX

Leon awoke back in the darkness of the Wagon's interior once more. A foul taste on his tongue that reminded him of that rancid drink that the Knight-Captain had offered him. It hadn't smelt like anything sinister, but the taste had been, well what Leon had always imagined fish chum would taste like.

Looking around, the small enclosed space was much darker than it had been before and the flickering light he could see through a small gap in the curtained cloth at the back that looked very much like firelight hinted that the sun and long since set.

Crawling toward the exit, Leon pushed back the cloth and looked toward the light source. True enough there was a small crackling campfire burning with three men seated around it.

One of them turned to look back and spotted the child peeking through.

"You're up lad. that's good." Knight-Captain Henry spoke with a welcoming gesture. "We're camped by a small stream, why don't you clean yourself up and I'll get you a plate ready."

Leon noticed the rabbit that the Templar's had roasting over the fire and nodded quietly, heaving himself over the edge of the Wagon and carefully climbing down to the ground. With a worried glance at the other two Templar's; who were both watching him with an almost uncomfortable level of scrutiny, Leon scurried over to where he could hear the gentle bubbling and lapping of water across stone.

Under the moonlight Leon was able to see well enough to wash the dirt that had caked onto his body in the time since he had woken up in what had at that time felt like just another day in Jader. Realistically he knew and could see that he didn't look any different than before. Short greyish white hair that was admittedly odd to many others and light emerald green eyes peered back up at him from his reflection in the stream.

It was all the same. But, it felt different. Leon could see that his eyes looked a bit bloodshot and puffy, as if he had been crying and there was a very slight scrape on his right cheek.

Had he been crying? Well he had left home and everything he had ever known so it wasn't exactly unsurprising, but still.

"If you don't hurry the food will be all gone by the time you get here lad!"

With a start and feeling a tingle in his stomach that reminded him of the fact that he was very hungry, Leon quickly finished washing up and hurried back over to the campfire.

Taking the offered plate, Leon moved away from the fire before seating himself. Those other Templar's were still looking at him. He didn't like it.

It was realistically a meagre meal. A few chunks of rabbit meat and a chunk of bread, but it was enough to settle the beast roaring in his tummy for now.

With his dinner finished, Leon took his plate to the stream to clean. Mother had always told him to clean up after himself when dinner was done. It was because of this, the distance between himself and the other Templar's that the five year old was able to hear a hushed conversation that the men clearly did not want him to be aware of.

"… doesn't remember?"

"By The Maker's Mercy it would seem not. I can only imagine that the boy's memory loss has come as a result of what actually happened."

"I don't like what Rodier did, but those two really should have known better. Nothing good could have come from keeping a Mage of all things in their home."

"And defying a Templar? I wonder if what Rodier did was more a mercy than what they would have faced for sheltering what would have been considered an Apostate."

"I cannot fathom any kind of mercy to be had in the senseless murder of a husband and wife who's only crime was a genuine desire to love their child. Former Knight Rodier will be punished for his crime and both of you will speak no more of this. I will not see this end with the boy being made Tranquil because he learned the truth and lost control."

"..."

Leon very nearly lost his grip on his plate as he felt his blood run cold. Dead? Mother and Father were dead? And, and killed by a Templar?

He fought to keep tears from his eyes, tried his very best to keep himself in check. What Knight-Captain Henry had said at the end. Something about 'Tranquil' it sounded, bad. He didn't want to find out what that was, so the boy did his best to keep himself calm.

Walking back to the campfire, the boy handed his plate back to Henry and muttered his thanks before yawning widely and loudly. An old trick he had done at home to get out of doing evening chores. One that worked well enough in this situation.

With the excuse that he was still tired, Leon thanked the men for the meal and excused himself to return to the Wagon.

Climbing back inside, Leon fought to return to his sleep as the tears that he had fought to hide broke free. Images of a man holding a bloodied sword standing over the wide eyed bodies of Mother and Father. Another Templar removing his helm to reveal the face of Knight-Captain Henry who then pushed the scary Templar back before advancing to the bed where he was hiding.

Knight-Captain Henry dragging him out from under his bed, his cheek scraping against the rough wooden floorboards. Being force fed the same yellow concoction that had sent him to sleep earlier.

Leon did not truly fall asleep for sometime. Sobbing and whimpering in the dark, alone and scared with three monsters lurking outside.

XxxX

"So who are you, really?"

Leon was looking up to the, person, who was as he had come to expect; seated at the front of the Wagon with the Horse's reigns in hand. This time he was not paying much attention to the peaceful scenery that surrounded him. Nor wondering at the impossibility of a floating castle that loomed in the distance.

Ever since he had overheard the hushed whispers of Knight-Captain Henry and his fellow Templar's those two nights ago, it had ceased to be his Templar 'captor' that he found himself next to, but an elderly woman with greying golden hair peeking out from beneath the hooded cloak that covered her form.

"Why do you ask?" The woman asked gently. "I'm here. Does it make any difference who I am?"

Leon shrugged. "Not really no. But I would like to know. You're not Knight-Captain Henry, but you were before somehow. But you weren't."

"I know. I stopped being him when he stopped being what you saw as a 'good man'." The woman explained. "But your question; 'who am I'? Not very straight forward to answer if I must say. Would you like me to tell you what others would tell you I am? Or shall I tell you what I believe myself to be?"

Leon tilted his head to the side. What did he care for what other people would say this, 'woman' was? Those very same people could be like the Templars that had him captive who would say he was just a danger.

"Who are you to you?"

"Compassion."

The white haired boy frowned in confusion. He didn't understand. "How can you be Compassion? Compassion is a feeling. M-Mother said that it was something nice people felt for others."

Compassion nodded, her glowing eyes peering out from underneath her cowl and a soft smile. "In the world of Thedas that may very well be true. But here, in the world beyond that your kind would call The Fade? I am very much that feeling your mother described."

Leon's eyes blinked before widening a fraction when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, the world around him flicker. Like a ripple of light spread out, shifting the ground, temporarily causing shafts of wheat to turn into mighty trees before returning to their previous form. The sky pulsed dark as if a cloud had, for the briefest moment, obscured the sun.

"The Fade is the place where your kind journey to in your dreams. It is also where a Mage, like yourself draws their power from." Compassion explained as she reached up to lower the cowl from her head.

Leon let out a gasp of wonder when he saw the old woman changed once more. She did not look young, but neither old. Timeless? Yes, that was the word. With a light that seemed to pour from ever part of her, Compassion could in no way be mistaken for something so mundane as 'human.'

"In The Fade Spirits of all kinds can be found. Valor, Wisdom, Justice and even others like myself; Compassion."

"A-are you real?"

Compassion laughed faintly. "Are you?"

Leon nodded. "Of course!"

"And what do you believe? Do you believe I am real?"

The boy nodded quietly and Compassion, if it were possible smiled even wider; her glow brightening to a point where Leon could have sworn, even years later that he felt warmer because of it. "Then yes, I am real."

"Why are you here?"

Compassion's aura shifted and a profound sense of sympathy and concern could be felt as she reached out to wrap an arm around the small child, gently moving him closer so that he could lean against her form. "Because you needed me to be here. I was not the only one to have heard your cries under the bed. Justice, Vengeance, Valor, Hope, Rage and countless more felt your sadness and pain. I do believe that I saw Rage give in to Despair when it could not reach you. It would seem that only I could find you at this moment."

"Can you help me?" Leon asked, his voice shaking slightly as he considered he desire he had felt ever since that night, to get away from the Templars. To not go to a Circle that was controlled by a Chantry that would have punished his parents for loving him.

Compassion let out a sad sigh, rubbing her hand along Leon's arm softly. "I am Compassion. I can offer comfort and advice, I can provide you a sympathetic shoulder to lean on and an ear to take in your frustration and anger. If I did anything else, I would stop being Compassion. Is that what you want? Would you want for me to stop being what I am and become something different if it gives you what you want?"

Leon could not shake his head more quickly. He could not give reason for it, but for some reason, just the thought of forcing Compassion to become something else. It was wrong. Bad.

"Then there is nothing I can do to aid in what you face in the waking world." The Spirit concluded sadly.

Leon looked down sadly and was set to end it, to look out to the landscape and simply take it in until such time as he woke when he heard it. A shifting creak from behind him.

"Ignore them. Those three have not the ability nor the strength to do anything so long as they reside here." Compassion said with a dismissive shake of her head.

Leon was a kid. He could not resist the urge to look. Turning he peeked through the cloth that separated him from the interior and his eyes widened when he saw the three Templars, fast asleep inside.

"Those unable to wield magic are unable to maintain awareness within The Fade." Compassion explained. "I will confess it odd that those three are here in what is essentially your dream though."

"Will they wake if I touch them?"

"No. Their minds are completely unresponsive while dreaming"

Leon nodded slowly, feeling his resentment and anger at the three peak. With the knowledge that they would not be able to respond to anything, the boy snatched up a Templar Helm that was within his reach. Impulsive and with a bit of justifiable maliciousness, the five year old hurled the helm as hard as he could at the closest Templar's head. It smacked off of the man's head loudly and clattered to the floor. Not willing to risk that Compassion was wrong and that the man would wake up from the conk to the head, Leon ducked back out of sight and pulled the curtain shut. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Compassion glance down at him with a somewhat disapproving expression before it washed away.

"Did you get that out of your system?"

Leon grinned impishly, feeling a small measure of his normal self return. "I didn't mean to. My hand slipped."

"I'm sure it did."

XxxXxxXxxX

A/N

So….it has been really long since we last updated, well, anything really. Covid has shut down pretty much everything in our area which has made it impossible to do any writing. Recently we have been able to sort out a work around that lets us resume.

At this point the schedule is an unspoken victim of Covid so mourn it and with any luck we will birth a new one when the plague has run its course.

Hopefully with luck we will have more updates of our other works in the near future but don't hold your breath.

Cheers.