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 Player will find themselves put to sleep with ease by the powerful Sloth. 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 Demon Sloth places the Player 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 player must find a way to confront him, and destroy him.

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

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

No matter what the Player discusses with Duncan, it is important to realize: Duncan, is a Lie. When the conversation completes, Duncan and his two cronies will attack. Once the Player 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 Player will see a man. Talking to him reveals that he is, the one and only Niall. He informs the Player 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 Players' chances of escaping the Fade, but will tell the Player everything he knows. The Player will gain helpful insight on where they are, and that in order to travel certain things must be done.

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

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

After gaining the ability to change into a mouse the Player 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 Player has gained different shape shifting ability.

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

Behind the Spirit Door

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

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

She will have two Shades with her. Using Spirit Form and Crushing Prison on her, the Player is able to take her out of the fight while they deal with the two Shades. Once she is defeated, explore the area 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 Player will encounter various Darkspawn like Genlocks and Hurlocks. Most of them will engage the player in melee, though a few will use bows, and there will also be a couple Emissaries for the Player to deal with. It is important to remember not to attempt to fight in Spirit form Mouse, and that after shifting forms, any sustainable buffs the Player may have had active, will be inactive once the Player's normal form is returned to.

The Player 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 enter a room with several pillars in it, and the Spirit of a Templar ducking for cover behind one of them. As the player approaches several Darkspawn will attack the Spirit and the Player will need to help him slay all of them. Once all of the darkspawn are dead, the Spirit will teach the Player another form. This form is called "Spirit".

Spirit form will grant the Player 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 player 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 the various player Attributes. When finished, use the Fade Pedestal to return to the Raw Fade and use the Spirit Door next to Niall and face Yevena.