A Sorcerer's Heartbreak (a short Dragon Age story)

[Lehcar]

Yeah I know this isn't very good, but it's only a rough start that I threw together rather quickly, so go easy on me please... constructive criticism always helps. :turned:

 

 

***

 

He sat alone by the window, lost in thought, staring out into the gloomy, pale grey skies over Lake Calenhad. A cold breeze grazed his face; no doubt a sign of coming rain. Somehow, it only added to his sadness.

 

"Corbin?" a voice behind him spoke.

 

He knew the voice of his dearest friend, but he did not acknowledge her presence, or even turn around to face her. He simply continued to gaze out into the clouds, stretching out into the distance as far as the eye could see.

 

"Please talk to me, Corbin... we have known each other for almost as long as either of us can remember. You need not hide anything from me."

 

There was a moment of silence before he spoke. "There is nothing to talk about," he said. His voice was empty and expressionless, and yet she could sense a touch of sadness in it. "I've already confided everything to you. There are no more words to be said."

 

"But you're so quiet up here, all alone. Everyone is so worried about you. They can't understand why you're so sad, Corbin - this is a happy time. The Blight is over, you have saved us all from certain death... and now, now we can begin to rebuild what we have lost. There is at last, brightness in the future," she said encouragingly, even though she knew all too well that nothing she could say would make him feel better.

 

Another moment of silence. He listened to her words, and she was very right. This was a joyous time... at least, for everyone but himself. Indeed, he had many reasons to be happy, but no, nothing, nothing in the world could take away his sorrow.

 

"They don't need to know why... they would never understand," he said quietly. "Perhaps there is a bright future for all of you. But what is there for me? I have nothing in this world. My existence is without any purpose, and my life is nothing but... emptiness."

 

Those words deeply saddened her. "Please don't say that... that isn't true! You're still young, you still have so much to live for!"

 

"No." Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Without her... I am incomplete. I am... nothing."

 

There was more silence as she tried to think of something to say. She felt like such a fool.

 

"I... I... I know how heartbroken you are, Corbin..." she spoke with a sad voice. "It's almost unbearable for me to see you in such pain. You're my most beloved friend on this whole Earth; I care for you so much, and I dearly wish there was something I could do to make it all better."

 

"No... you need not say that, Neve. This is nothing less than what I deserve. I wish had listened to Wynne, like I should have. She tried to save me from this... she tried to warn me about what was going to happen... but I would not listen to her. Oh, what a fool I am. Wynne was right, all along... all along..." he trailed off in a near whisper.

 

She walked over to an empty chair and sat down beside him. "No. You loved her, Corbin," she said gently.

 

"With every particle of my being. But I should have known better. I should have known she cared nothing for me. I should have known she would never feel the same about me. I should have known she was just... just... just... just using me. But I simply couldn't help it. I fell helplessly and hopelessly in love with her before I could even stop myself."

 

"Please, my friend, don't be so quick to give up... perhaps you will see her again someday?"

 

A tear rolled down his cheek. "No. I'm never going to see her again. She never wants to see me again. She cares nothing for me. There was only one thing she wanted from me... and... and..." His voice began to break. "And... she got exactly what she wanted. So... she... she... has no use for me any longer."

 

Yes, all she had wanted from him all along, was... a demon baby. That was the only reason her mother had salvaged the Grey Warden's treaties, and protected them. That was the only reason her mother had rescued he and Alistair from the top of that tower the night all of the other Grey Wardens died. That was the only reason she had even followed them to begin with. The only reason she'd pretended to like him. All of it, everything, was just for a damned baby.

 

Yet despite how much she had hurt him, despite his pain, despite how heartbroken, betrayed, and angry he felt... he still loved her. He loved her, and he knew, he would always love her. Nothing would ever change that... even if he knew she did not love him back. His heart felt heavy, like it was sitting at the bottom of his chest. It ached with sorrow, for there was a large hole at the very center... a place in his heart where she should be, the void that she had left behind. A broken heart was something that even the most powerful magic could not heal.

 

But, that wasn't even the main source of his grief. No... the one thing that agonized him more than anything else, was the fact that they shared a child. A child he would never see. That knowledge weighed on him like a crushing wall of stone. He could not understand why, why she would do this to him, why she was determined that he never, ever get to see his own child. Why would she do this to him? He kept asking himself. Why? Why deny him his own blood?

 

Every day, the thought tortured him. He was a father; he couldn't help but care, and he cared very deeply. What on Earth was that woman planning to do with their child? Obviously she was planning something... and obviously, whatever that something was, it couldn't be good. What kind of a life was it going to have, with that kind of a woman for a mother? He worried so much for its safety and well-being. It tore at his heart, like a vulture tearing at the flesh of a dying beast.

 

Finally, he broke his gaze from the sky, and looked at her, tears rolling down his cheeks. She was the only person in the world he was not ashamed to cry in front of.

 

She looked directly into her best friend's eyes. They were sad, defeated eyes.

 

They didn't even notice that it had begun to rain.

[Maharg67]

Very well written though I do not know the story it was based on, I gained a good strong idea of the gist of what was going on. I look forward to reading more of your writing.

 

What is the origin of the story?

 

Oh, yes, kudos!