Elana was screaming at the top of her lungs.

  Anri gasped when he recognized corruption resonance tainting the walls of her room like dark, oily paint. He pushed through to her bed and grabbed her writhing body to his chest, with hopes of calming her down. But she keep screaming, kicking and writhing in his hold to knock him about.

  "Maker!" Dorian gasped as he stepped inside.

  His hands moved with a grand flourish, casting healing magic that flowed over Elana. He then cast a barrier upon her to dampen her fits; calling upon a Peaceful Aura to calm her spirit.

  Anri heaved with breath and heightened concern when the girl finally became still in his arms and the signs of corruption fled the room. He pulled her into a protective hug and kissed her forehead. All his fears of losing her, and in turn, losing himself, poured out of his tears that were delivered on heavy and violent sobs.

  "I have to save you," he whispered to an unconscious Elana as he wiped his raw eyes.

  Dorian saw then that Anri was struggling to hold onto his identity, which was gradually being eroded because of the removal of titles and residual fade energy still running chaotically within his body. He calmly eased down next to Anri and pulled him into a hug.

  "Please don't leave me." Anri weeped as he held Elana tight.

  For the first time Dorian had no witty remark, just an honest and weary answer. "I won't."

  The three of them slept in a tight huddle until she stirred in Anri's arms. He woke and smiled when he saw Dorian asleep with his head on his shoulder. He carefully skewed around and pulled off a blanket to cover the three of them.

  Dorian's eyes fluttered open as he stared at the flicker of dawn emerging from the window. "You're changing aren't you?"

  Anri sighed. "The anchor is gone but the fade energy remained like the taint only... I don't know. I know you worked so hard to bind it with the array, but the energy is evolving beyond it."

  "In what way?"

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  "I..." Anri sighed, not sure how to start to explain that he was on a no-return path to immortality. The very thought frightened him and made him sweep the concept to the back of his mind.

  Dorian sighed, it was enough for Anri to admit that he was metaphorphing into something. He would research his condition more deeply and see how he can resolve it. For this reason, he had to return to Tevinter as soon as the Wycome situation was neutralized. He glanced at Elana, who was stirring in her sleep.

  "We'll save her." He kissed Anri's cheek, "I'll save you."

  They laid in a huddle, relishing each other's warmth until Elana woke and was confused to see her Babaes hugging her and each other.

  "Baba?" she said to Anri.

  "Are you okay, not hurt?" Anri smiled.

  "No," she frowned, looking puzzled, "Why are we on the floor?"

  Her innocent question caused the men to chuckle and feel more positive about the morning.

  They rose and ready themselves for the day. It was when Anri had a cloth map of the Wycome district laid out on the kitchen table for him to mark his corruption sightings, did he learn an unnerving fact about Elana.

  "Baba, bad men there." She pointed to a location of forest on a grid. This forest was about ten miles out of the city outskirts.

  Her mage detector worked on seeing the map as well. Her resonance must've evolved to visual-sensory detection. But she began to whimper like she was having a headache.

  Anri handed her a healing vial, which she drank and said she felt better. He folded up the map to take it out of her view and felt his villa become lively when Lantina made a bold entrance into the room, stirring laughter and joy from the girl.

  "Bro, can we take Mellana for a walk?" Lantina grinned with a suspicious wink to Elana.

  "If Mellana doesn't mind, but I warn you she bites because she's not one for stupid pranks."

  "Stupid pranks? I would never." She embellished with false modesty.

  Anri chuckled and shock his head as he gave them the okay, he felt calmer seeing the girls leave the kitchen.

  When they were out of sight, his expression lapsed into one of business and he unraveled the map. He mapped his corruption sightings, having recalled his imagined map. After all was noted, he made a ravensky call to Alistair and Leliana, updating them with the coordinates.

  "Got it. I see targets at map point..." Leliana responded with her targets that she had painted to form the fixed points.

  The men updated their maps and the call ended. Anri, dressed as a noble, folded the map once more and made his way to the council chamber's war room with it.