A Dragon Age Short (I will definitely think about renaming this something cool.)

The Orlesian Seeker, Ariane Lacan, silently examined the scene before her, the stench of blood thick in the air. Five Templars, still clad in their ruined armour, lay dead around the room of the deserted fortress, limbs and necks bent into unnatural positions and covered in wounds. Ariane could almost feel the oppressive power of the magic used to butcher these men; and for this maleficar to have bested the Templars countless times, it was obvious to her that the Divine had deemed Seekers necessary. Ariane knew little about this blood mage, only that she was a danger to Thedas, and as with all maleficarum, had to be dealt with.

Gingerly stepping over the corpse of one of the fallen Templars, Ariane proceeded further into the keep, her longsword held at the ready. After walking through several rooms, each one showing scattered blood or corpses, she entered the main room, which had obviously been inhabited recently.
"Welcome, Seeker," Said a black haired woman, standing at the far side of the room, a short, curved dagger held in her hand. Ariane knew that she was a blood mage, and despite being armed and a member of the Seekers of Truth, she was afraid. Blood mages were powerful, and she was alone. Three other Seekers had accompanied her on the hunt, but they had split up, in the hopes of finding some of the Templars still alive. "I'm almost flattered that I've attracted the Seekers," She said, a disgustingly sweet smile dancing across her lips, "It shows that the Chantry's failed to keep mages oppressed once again,"

"...Ariane..." A voice rasped, thick with pain. Spinning on reflex, Ariane found herself facing another Seeker, a young man named Aedan, covered in blood and wounds, marching towards her. "It's a trap... You need... to kill me," He rasped, as he raised his sword slowly, as if he were underwater. Ariane understood at once. He was being controlled by the mage. She raised her shield, the emblem of the Seekers proudly emblazoned on the black paint. Her heart felt as thought it would rip in two as she deflected the crashing sword blow, and countered with her own blow to his neck. Her friend, frozen on the end of the blade, watched her with his dull and lifeless eyes as the crimson blood flowed along the blade. She removed it, fighting back the urge to vomit, and turned to face the made.

"You'll die for this, mage," She said, her auburn hair partially hiding her face as she turned, shaking slightly as raised her head to see her foe. She opened her mouth to speak again, but was stopped by another voice.
"Ariane!" Shouted her companion, as he and another Seeker entered the room, "We were ambushed by the dead, they killed Marcus, we need to find-" he stopped, seeing the corpse of Aedan and the mage, "-Aedan," He finished, choking on the name. He and the other stood by Ariane's side.

"Three of you and one of me is hardly fair, Seekers," The mage said, her sickeningly sweet voice echoing on the walls, "Maybe we should even the odds," The dagger in her hand flashed across her palm, and the room went cold. Ariane, for the second time, felt fear rising in her chest as she realised what was happening. "Oops," the blood mage said, "I've torn the veil. I think I'll take my leave," and walked away, "Have fun," she said, waving over her shoulder, as the doors slammed shut.

"To the centre," Ariane ordered, as she and her two companions moved into the middle of the room, "No matter what happens, do not break. The Maker is with us,"
"Maker preserve us," One of the Seekers said, readying his shield. A lump rose in Ariane's throat when she saw several Templars approaching, each bearing terrible wounds. Her hands shook as she crouched behind her shield, the tip of her sword quivering slightly. She knew then, that they would die here, slain by their fallen allies.

Within seconds, Ariane's shield was struck with a mace, the dead attacking with strength that men should not have. She struck back, causing a fatal wound, yet the corpse simply struck again, this time almost crushing her skull. As she rolled out of the blow's way, she heard a shriek as one of the Seekers was stabbed, the corpse responsible biting into his throat. The second Seeker was not far behind the first in joining the Maker, falling prey to a greatsword. Only seven corpses were dead again.

Alone and vastly outnumbered, Ariane backed towards a corner, her shield raised in front of her, the Templars following, joined now by demons without hosts. Rage and Hunger and Sloth, she noted as they all eyed her, almost hungrily. Living, they couldn't take her,  her training saw to that, dead was another matter, however. As the first blow struck, she struck back, taking off the Templar's head. She fought as hard as she could, slaying the dead as they approached. Hopelessness began to set in, followed by despair as she saw her friends rise. Minor wounds and fatigue slowed her, which caused her guard to drop. More serious wounds joined the others, cuts to her chest, arms and one on her face that had almost been fatal.

Exhausted and half blind, Ariane felt a blade slide in between her ribs and fell.

On her knees and fatally wounded, Ariane could already feel death slowly creeping forwards, her strength gone and her body cold. She wondered why the demons hadn't delivered a second blow to finish her off, she couldn't remember if demons enjoyed watching someone die, or if they could enjoy something at all. Her body had gone numb now, and she realised that her wound hadn't hurt as much as she'd imagined. She was bleeding, she could see the blood beginning to pool around her side, but there was something about how she wasn't dead yet that gave her a hope, however slim, that there was a chance she could escape and survive. She blinked slowly, her head was hazy and any coherent thought was impossible, but using her shield arm, shield still attached, she dragged herself an inch closer to one of the open doors.

Oddly, the demons didn't cut her down. She risked a glance up, and they appeared frozen, just as motionless as they had been when they had remained corpses. She moved again, this time more confidently, but her wound stopped her, loss of blood making her weak. Raising am shaking arm to move again after a few seconds of blackness, Ariane dragged herself, a trail of her blood marking her progress, before she collapsed, the resounding 'thud' acting as her death knell. A final glance at the door that she had so desperately struggled towards, and the world faded from Ariane's view.

Kayden paused, his heart pounding and the adrenaline flooding through his body as he stared at the monster in front of him. The demon in front of him was massive, a pride demon. The Order had known the Veil was torn the minute they had arrived, and had been forced to wait for a group of mages to arrive, so that the tear could be closed. The other Templars in his unit, all but one being more senior than Kayden, were spreading into the room the demon resided in. They were only a smaller force of the Templar army that had marched to the keep after the Seekers had failed, but they were tasked with cleansing this section, and they would.

A man charged forwards, a knight-corporal, his battle-axe flashing in the torchlight as he swung. The demon was faster, and simply batted him away with an arm, as if he were a fly. He struck the wall, and slumped there, unmoving. The others watched the demon warily, and it them. The Knight-Lieutenant in charge of the unit shouted a war-cry, and the Templars charged the demon, working as a unified group to kill it. If one of them faltered, his allies would shield him, when one of them struck, the others prepared to defend him. It seemed to be going well, until the Knight-Lieutenant was picked up by the demon and crushed before them.

After that point, it was disastrous. Templar after Templar fell. One of them, Kayden’s junior, tried to flee but was cut down by the demon. Kayden quickly found himself alone. The demon was barely wounded, he noticed despairingly. He was on the wrong side of the room to flee, the demon in between himself and the door. Uttering a prayer to the Maker, he charged the monster. Deflecting a blow with his shield, he struck with his sword, opening a wound on the demon’s stomach. Another blow struck his shield, deadening his arm. A follow-up blow managed to hit his shoulder, drawing blood. Kayden retreated slightly, glancing at the wound. As he did, the corpse of one of the Templars hit him, knocking him to the ground. His sword skittered along the ground and the body left him pinned.

Discarding the shield, Kayden pushed with both hands, trying to get out from under the corpse as the demon neared. He was lucky, and managed to roll away as the demon stomped. If he hadn’t rolled in time, he’d be dead. Kayden drew his dagger, silently cursing as he did. The demon charged, stumbling as Kayden moved. He took his chance and charged, climbing up the demons back. It roared as it tried to shake him off, while Kayden plunged the dagger into its head again and again.

When the demon fell, Kayden collapsed on its back, exhausted as more Templars entered the room. He was half-carried away as the others began to move the fallen.

Kayden woke in the medical tent, a mage standing over him, using her magic to repair his broken ribs. A guard posted by the tent nodded to Kayden as he sat up, and left to retrieve the Knight in charge of the war party. The Knight-Lieutenant in charge arrived, nodding to Kayden as he did.
"Not many are capable of slaying a pride demon with such minor wounds," He said. The knight was a stern man, long, greying hair on his head, tied back by a braid, "You and three others have received letters. The Divine herself wishes to meet with you in Val Rayeaux,"

Kayden dressed quickly, the war party had been here for three days already, and they needed to return to tend to the dead. Kayden and the three others, however, were given mounts and coin to begin their journey to Val Rayeaux.