[center][b]Lucio - Fereldan Circle Tower[/b][/center]

The next few days were spent adjusting to life in the Circle. A templar, a young man named Cullen, was assigned to guard him most hours of the day. He was kind enough, but seemed to always be on edge around Lucio. It made the Antivan grin any time he jumped, which he did any time Lucio acted like he was going to cast a spell. Probably a dangerous thing to do, since Greagoir was convinced he was a threat and the rest of the templars believed anything he said like it was the sacred words of Andraste herself. One of the things that bothered Lucio about this place. Greagoir's word was law, and other than the First Enchanter and a few others, no one questioned it.

While he was busy reading one of the many, many tomes on the School of Creation, Greagoir burst into his room, hastily followed by Cullen and another templar. "Get up, Antivan," Greagoir ordered. Against his better judgement, Lucio remained seated. Greagoir glared at him, then added, "It is time for your Harrowing. Unless you'd rather go through the Rite of Tranquility."

Lucio had heard bad things about the Tranquil, and most of what he had seen of those few around the Tower. They were so stoic and serious, it made Lucio sick just thinking about how they were able to go through every day. Rather than risk turning into one of those things, Lucio slowly rose, and followed Greagoir out of the room. Cullen and the other templar stood on either side of him, acting the ever vigilant guards that they were supposed to be. The Antivan gave the other one a disdainful look, then turned to Cullen and gave him a small smile. Even if he was just one of the Knight Commander's lackey, he was a good kid.

Like a prisoner - which, technically, he was - Lucio was lead up the Tower, passing through the library and earning a few unsavory looks from the mages gathered there. Or, perhaps, those were aimed more at the templars than at him. Either way, he merely gave them a wide smile back. He also noticed some that looked more of sympathy, to which he gave no response. He despised being the target of sympathy, and wouldn't dare to acknowledge it. Instead, he held his head high, and marched on through the rest of the Tower, ignoring the rest of the mages and templars he passed. Though, he did shiver a bit when the eyes of the tranquil landed on him.

Finally, they arrived at the top of the Tower, which Cullen informed beforehand was the Harrowing Chamber. Just a large, empty room with a pedestal in the middle. The First Enchanter and another mage stood by it, along with yet another templar. Greagoir stood next to Irving, and the templars took up positions around the middle of the room, Lucio effectively surrounded by the Circle. He folded his hands behind him, and waited for one of the mages to speak. After nearly a minute of uncomfortable staring, Greagoir spoke again.

"Magic exists to serve man, never to rule over him. Thus spoke Andraste as she cast down the Tevinter Imperium, ruled by mages who had brought the world to the edge of ruin. Your magic is a gift, but it's also a curse. For demons of the dream realm, the Fade, are drawn to you, and seek to use you as a gateway into this world."

"This is why the Harrowing exists," Irving said, continuing from where Greagoir left off. "The ritual will send you into the Fade, and there you will face a demon, armed with only your will."

"Know this, mage. If you fail, we shall perform our duty. You will die. Now, prepare yourself. The Fade is a realm of dreams, but know that you will be able to defend yourself," Greagoir finished, gesturing for Lucio to step forward. Without hesitation, the mage from Antiva walked right up the pedestal, and dipped his hand into the lyrium. The power of that essence of magic coursed through him, and he could feel himself slipping away from reality. Only once before had he purposefully entered the Fade, and doing so a second time did not frighten him.

As his spirit shed its mortal confines and began to change worlds, he could hear something hit the ground heavily, and a gasp from one of the people gathered. And then he was gone from the mortal world, thrown to the wolves in their own territory.