The Fade: Lost in Dreams

Lost in Dreams can be fairly confusing and difficult to some players. It also calls on the experience and use of several abilities not available to certain classes. This quest line utilizes mechanics from several Mage abilities, such as Shape Shifting and spell casting. It is possible, however, to get by with a minimal use of these abilities, as they are only required for certain small portions of the quest on the whole.

Background
"Welcome. Welcome Adventurer, to the Fade." After battling through hordes of Undead, Power Hungry Mages, and Over-Zealous mind-controlled Templar, the Warden will find themselves put to sleep with ease by a powerful abomination possessed by a sloth demon. They awaken in the dream-realm known to all practitioners of Magic, as the Fade. Ordinarily the only individuals capable of conscious interaction within the Fade are Magi, however, the sloth demon places the Warden in a realm apart from the rest of the Fade. This is his own small area of controlled space within the fade, defined by his whim, and protected by his power. To get out of here, the Warden must find a way to confront him, and destroy him.

For the Majority of this quest the Warden will be by himself. He will have no support from Party Companions, nor much interaction with NPC's.

Weisshaupt
The Warden will awaken alone within the Fade, with a large fortress seen in the distance. Upon arriving at the Fortress the Warden will be confronted by none other than Duncan, the very Warden that recruited him. He will tell you he wasn't killed at the Battle of Ostagar, and will inform you that you are in the fortress of Weisshaupt, the ancient stronghold of the Grey Wardens.

No matter what the Warden discusses with Duncan, it is important to realize that Duncan is not alive or real. When the conversation completes, Duncan and his two cronies will attack. Once the Warden has defeated them, a Fade Pedestal will appear behind them. Click on this and it will bring up the Travel Map for this portion of the Fade.



The Raw Fade
Upon arrival into the Raw Fade the Warden will see a man. Talking to him reveals that he is, the one and only Niall. He informs the Warden that he has been trapped within the Fade for some time, and during his imprisonment has gained some information about the area. Niall has a very pessimistic outlook on the Wardens' chances of escaping the Fade, but will tell the Warden everything he knows. The Warden will gain helpful insight on where he is, and that in order to travel certain things must be done.

After ending dialogue with Niall the Warden is free to search the area. Behind Niall there is another Fade pedestal and just beyond that is a Fade Portal. The Warden needs to go to the Portal and use it. After transitioning to a new location in the Raw Fade, the Warden will come upon a Rage Demon attacking a Mouse. They must kill the Demon and talk to the Mouse. The Warden now gains the ability to shape shift into the spirit form of a mouse themselves.

Being a mouse has two benefits:
 * The Warden is small and can now travel between areas via "Mouse Holes" scattered throughout the Fade.
 * The Warden is small, and quiet as a mouse, enabling them to use the "Stealth" ability.

IMPORTANT - Remember not to attempt to fight as a Mouse. Also, take note, that after shifting into ANY of the forms, any sustainable buffs the Player may have had active, will be inactive once the Player returns to their normal form. The Player is still able to interact with the in environment as whatever class they are originally, but cannot use abilities granted to any of the Forms unless they are shifted into that particular form, and cannot use any Class abilities while in a shifted Form.

After gaining the ability to change into a mouse the Warden must use this ability to return to the area where they first encountered Niall. Along the way there will be a few demons to fight and some points of interest. Among these things are various cloudy looking doors. These are "Spirit Doors" and cannot be used until the Warden has gained a different shape shifting ability.

Once back to where Niall is, the Warden should talk to him, and tell him about his new found power. Then you should go to the Fade Pedestal and use it. There are now several areas available to the Warden for travel, he is free to take any of them, but certain areas can not be fully explored until other Spirit Forms are learned by the Warden. For this reason this walkthrough will go through a "suggested" order, but you are free to chose however way you wish to go about things.

Behind the Spirit Door

 * Note: This portion is to be completed AFTER The DarkSpawn Invasion covered below.

Once the Warden has gained the Spirit Form, he can access the Spirit Door located here. Behind the door is a Demon named Yevena. Yevena is one of the five Guardian Demons the Warden must kill in order to unlock the Inner Sanctum of the Fade and confront the sloth demon.

Yevena will have two Shades with her. Using Spirit Form and Crushing Prison on her, the Warden is able to take her out of the fight while he deals with the two Shades. Once she is defeated, explore the area (There is a codex entry on the 'Black City' and an essence of willpower) and then use the Spirit Door to return to the Raw Fade and then use the Pedestal to travel to the Burning Tower.



The Darkspawn Invasion
Use the Spirit Pedestal to travel to the Darkspawn Invasion area of the Fade Map. Here the Warden will encounter various Darkspawn like Genlocks and Hurlocks. Most of them will engage the Warden in melee combat, though a few will use bows, and there will also be a couple Emissaries for the Warden to deal with.

The Warden should search the entire map, changing into Mouse form whenever an area is explored, and they can go no further. It is not necessary to kill all the enemies in the area, though it will make things easier later on. At some point the will Player enter a room with several pillars in it, and the Spirit of a Templar ducking for cover behind one of them. As the Warden approaches several Darkspawn will attack the Spirit and the Warden will need to help him slay all of them. Once all of the darkspawn are dead, the Spirit will teach the Warden another form. This form is called "Spirit".

Spirit form will grant the Warden several abilities, they are:
 * The ability to interact with "Spirit Doors" and other objects that seem to have an ethereal appearance.
 * The ability to cast "Winter's Breath" spell
 * The ability to cast "Crushing Prison" spell
 * The ability to cast "Regeneration" spell
 * Several Attribute and Status changes, (such as:Armor, health, attack, defense, etc...)

After learning the Spirit Form, another Fade Pedestal will appear in the room. The Warden can use it now, or continue to explore the map, using Spirit Form to open the various Spirit Doors throughout the map. Most Spirit Doors will lead to a room that contains an "Essence." These essences will permanently increase various attributes. When finished, use the Fade Pedestal to return to the Raw Fade and use the Spirit Door next to Niall and face Yevena. (Covered in the Raw Fade section above labeled "Behind the Spirit Door")



The Burning Tower
In the burning tower the Player will find fire everywhere, and most of the enemies are also burning. Use of the cold spells, or damage types is a great way to get through this area. Spirit Form offers the Player the spell Winter's Grasp if they don't have the ability to cast spells on their own. Keep in mind that the use of fire based attacks, via runes or spells, will heal rather than harm. It is possible to search the majority of the map between shifting into a mouse and in normal form. There are several essences here for increasing the Player's base attributes, so it is important to explore as much as possible.

Eventually during their explorations, the Player will enter a room with a "Dreaming" Templar standing between two pillars, there will also be a burning Demon. When the Player approaches they will attack. It is usually a good idea to use Spirit Form to place crushing prison on one of them and while they are incapacitated, take out the other. Once the fight is finished, the Templar speak with you briefly and grant yet another form. The Player may now shift into the "Burning Man."

As the Burning Man, the Player gains these benefits:
 * The Burning Man is immune to all fire effects. Be they spell, or the fire barriers around the various maps.
 * Ability to cast Flame Burst spell
 * Ability to cast Fire Ball spell
 * Various attribute and stat increases.

A Spirit Pedestal will also appear after the Player has learned the new form. They can chose to use this pedestal to move on, or explore the level further using Burning Man to get to locations to open Spirit Doors. (There is one room with two essences, you can then move on)



Mage Asunder:
This is one of the hardest portions of the Fade. In Mage Asunder the Warden will encounter many groups of several mages, as well as some Chantry Priests, and their Golem minions. Scattered throughout the level are some single Golems as well. This area of the Fade has several Essence Fonts to increase the various character attributes, so it is important to keep an eye out for them. (There are 2 Strength, 2 Dexterity, 1 Constitution, 1 Willpower, and 1 Cunning Essence Fonts total in this area)

Burning Man helps the Warden succeed much easier here. The ability to cast Fire Ball and immunity to fire (meaning you can cast fireball on yourself without damage) keeps the damage potential of the Mage groups manageable. Spirit's regeneration spell, and crushing prison also play their part in survivability. Golems hit very hard in melee combat, and have a ranged ability called "Hurl" that will lob a boulder at the Warden, causing area effect damage, and knocking them back.

The Warden must use his various gained abilities and fight their way up to the top of the tower. Once they have reached the top, they will enter a room to find a group of Chantry Priests and Golems attacking a "Cursed Dreamer." The Player must assist the Dreamer in killing off everything arrayed against him. When they have succeeded they will be rewarded with their final form. The ability to shape shift into a mighty Golem.

The benefits of Golem Form are:
 * Increased Melee Pressence
 * Damage reduction
 * Ability to "Hurl" a rock and cause area effect damage and knock an enemy down or back.
 * Ability to "Slam" a target. Slam is a melee attack that does a large amount of damage, and knocks the enemy down.
 * Ability to cause the ground to "Quake" around the Player. Quake stuns everything around the character.
 * Ability to smash open "Massive Doors."
 * Large health increase, and various other attribute changes.

Remember those "Massive Doors" in the other areas that wouldn't allow the Player to continue exploring the level? Golem form gives the Warden the ability to open those doors, and get to the guardian demons behind them.

The Player should continue on in Mage Asunder now that they have earned the Golem form. Smash open any door that is in the way, and kill the various enemies. Eventually the Warden will encounter Slavren. Slavren is a mini-boss Abomination guarding the Ward to the Inner Sanctum in Mage Asunder. With all the Warden has been through now, killing him shouldn't be terribly difficult. Once he is dead, the Player is finished with this area of the Fade, and a Spirit Pedestal will emerge. If the Player hasn't fully explored the area, now is a good time. Aside from some possibly missed enemies, the area is clear, and they have all they need to gain access to ALL of the Essence Fonts. Once they have explored to their hearts content, the Player should use the Spirit Pedestal and return to the Burning Tower, and the Dark Spawn Invasion to handle the guardians hiding behind the Massive Doors of those areas.



Dark Spawn Invasion: Part Two
Once the Player has learned Golem form, they can finally break down the Massive Door in this area and fight their way to the guardian. There area a few large groups of Dark Spawn to fight through to reach him, so the Player should be wary of becoming overwhelmed. Once they have cleared the way, the Player will encounter an Ogre by the name of Uthkiel. Uthkiel is considerably more powerful than most Ogres and hits very hard. Using Crushing Prison, and a combination of Quake and Slam he can be kept from really hurting the Warden. If he is allowed to fight undeterred, however, he will knock the Warden down with nearly every attack, making it very difficult to fight back.

Once the Player has killed Uthkiel, this area of the Fade is clear. They should explore those areas of the map that they were unable to before, and get all the Essence Fonts available.

The Burning Tower: Part Two
With Golem form, break down the Massive Door in this area, and again, fight the way to the Guardian. Burning Man is exceptionally powerful in this area, as the Player is immune to the majority of the damage used against them. After fighting through the burning Templars, and Shambling Corpses the player will reach the guardian of this area. Rhagos is a Rage Demon. Even if he is more powerful than most, if the Warden fights him in the form of the Burning Man, he will be extremely easy. All of Rhagos' damage is fire damage, and as Burning Man the Player is immune to anything he may do. He is also immune to fire spells, but the Player is still able to cause normal melee damage to defeat him.

As with the Invasion, once the Warden as killed Rhagos, the area is clear, and one more seal to the Inner Sanctum is destroyed. They should search the level for anything they may have missed, and then continue on to the final Main area within the Fade, and the Final Guardian.

Templar's Nightmare
Templar's Nightmare is a good area to save until last. It has several of the hardest encounters, and the Player cannot access the entire area without using three out of the four spirit forms. (author note: I did this area before attaining the spirit form for Golem on my first play through and regretted it. The first fight killed me three times.). Just like any of the other areas, shifting between the various Spirit forms is how the Warden must negotiate the Nightmare. To move out of the starting room, the Player must use Mouse form. Be ready. Once the Warden comes to the other side of the mouse hole, they will find an Arcane Horror standing behind a table in the center of the room. Not only does the Arcane Horror attack immediately, the Player will trigger a very potent poison trap. There area two options here. First: The Warden can shift into Golem form, trusting in it's greater Nature Resistance and massive melee presence to see them through. Second: Use Spirit to cast "Regeneration" to cancel out the effects of the trap, and then deal with the Arcane Horror.

The first encounter sets the stage for the remainder of Templar's Nightmare. The fights are normally smaller encounters with much stronger enemies. For example: the very next fight the Warden will have after dealing with the trap and the Arcane Horror, will be an Ogre. The Warden must continue fighting, surviving and exploring the Nightmare. They will discover a couple of Essence Fonts, and eventually find the final Guardian to the Inner Sanctum. Her name is Vereveel, and she is a Desire Demon. Equipped with enough spell power to make the Warden's life miserable regardless what form they choose to fight in. Luckily, like most of her kind, she's fairly weak in the health department. The Warden should hit her as hard as possible, as fast as possible. Crushing Prison is again one of the best go-to spells, paralyzing her for a short time, as well as doing damage. Once she is dead, the Warden has succeeded in destroying all of the wards protecting the Inner Sanctum.

There is however, still something to do before the Warden can kill Sloth. Where are all the Warden's companions? Weren't they ensorcelled along with the Warden? What are those "Nightmare" areas along the outside of the Fade Map?



Nightmares
After all the fighting, and struggling to bring down the protective wards keeping the Warden from defeating Sloth, and returning to reality, it's nice to take a short break. Along the outer edge of the Fade Map, The Warden will notice three areas labeled "A Nightmare." The Warden's companions are trapped in these nightmares, and they need to be freed. Each nightmare contains a single party member locked in a dream. All the Warden has to do is convince the person there that they are NOT in some Utopia, but rather, are trapped in a dream manifested by their own desires, and the Demon Sloth's power.


 * Wynne will believe that there are dead mages around which is her fault and will try to bury them, the Warden must convince her that she is in the Fade.
 * Morrigan will be talking to her mother, Flemeth, and will not believe it is her and will tell the Warden to kill the spirit. (She will comment that the demon is even more annoying than her mother and that it cannot even create a good impression of Flemeth.)
 * Alistair will believe he is with his sister and her family. He invites The Warden for food, The Warden may persuade Alistair it's all a trick, or talk to his sister and kill "his family."
 * Lelianna will be praying with a revered mother, finding "peace," she won't remember the Warden. The Warden need only remind her of her "Dream," and because of the Demons' response she will realize something isn't right.
 * Sten will be with the soldiers he came to Ferelden with. If you play on his honor and the fact he has to obey you, you can even get some approval out of it.
 * Shale will be frozen as a statue again; no battle necessary to wake Shale up.
 * Dog will only be asleep; no battle required to wake him up.
 * Zevran will be on a rack being 'trained' by the Antivan Crows. If you can convince him he is already a Crow, you can fight the two false Crows but Zevran doesn't help as he's terrified.
 * After getting the companion to see reason, whatever dream they were having attacks, and they are freed from their nightmare. Once freed, the companion will disappear and the Warden moves on.

'''BUG: Sometimes after you defeat whatever spirit, the cutscene will not play and if you talk to your companion, the conversation will start over again. Walk towards the Fade Pedestal and then back to your companion to fix it.'''

The Warden must do the same for all the Companions, and once they are all freed, travel to the Inner Sanctum, their Companions will meet them there. If The Warden hasn't done so, now is the time to travel throughout the Fade and make sure ALL of the Essence Fonts have been received. Once The Warden defeats Sloth, it is impossible to return.

The Demon Sloth
Finally, the Warden has made it into the Inner Sanctum and can face the Demon Sloth. When Sloth is approached he will initiate a dialogue with the Warden. It doesn't really matter what is said, there is only one way this can end. Sloth must be slain. Once it is obvious that a fight must ensue, the Warden's companions will suddenly appear and help the Warden defeat Sloth. This is contingent on the Player saving them from their personal nightmares however, if the Warden decided not to bother, they must face Sloth alone.

Sloth is a very tough fight. In fact, he is really four fights. Sloth will transform into something new once each form is defeated. His first form is that of a very powerful Ogre. Stronger, and faster than any Ogre the Warden has faced before. Sloth will do a fairly good job of keeping the Warden off their feet and lying on the ground. Once the Ogre form is defeated, Sloth will let a burst of energy lose and become a Rage Demon. Though more powerful, a Rage Demon is a Rage Demon. Cold attacks, and fire resistance are the best way to handle one. When the Rage Demon form dies, again there will be a burst off energy, and Sloth will become an Abomination. There really isn't anything special about this form. Tougher, and with more health, but relatively easy to bring down. It's death will bring yet another burst of energy, and Sloth will enter his final form. Sloth's final form is his own, or that of a very powerful Arcane Horror. He will favor cold spells, and will attempt to cast Blizzard on the party. If at all possible, he should not be allowed to complete the cast on Blizzard. It will freeze the entire Party, and cause quite a bit of damage, in most cases spelling disaster for the Warden.

Note: If the Warden's relationship with the various companions is low enough, or they use certain dialogue options with Sloth, it is entirely possible that they find themselves facing the Demon alone despite having rescued their companions. Be wary of angering ones allies. (Thanks to MiyuEmi for this input.)

Defeat Sloth, and the Player is finally free of the Fade. But before the Warden leaves, Niall will have some things to discuss with them.

Result
After Sloth has fallen, Niall will speak with the Warden and their Party. He will tell them about Uldred, and the Litany of Andralla, making them promise to collect it from his body upon their return. He, unfortunately, can no longer return to his body. He has been in the Fade too long, and even were he to return to his body, he would die shortly after. This is his final sacrifice.

Once the dialogue with Niall is over, the player will return to the real world, in the Tower of the Circle, to finish the job of ending the catastrophe that has befallen the Magi.


 * Return to the Broken Circle walk through.