This is a retelling of the human noble story in the video game Dragon Age: Origins. All of which is property of Bioware and David Gaider. I'm simply putting it into words and taking a few liberties here and there. No copyright infringement intended. I do not claim to own any of the characters, direct quotes or the bulk of the story. If you're bothered to read it, enjoy! If not, no worries. Feel free to leave reviews. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I do want to better my writing, after all.
Chapter 1: Darling, go with Duncan.
"Lady Cousland?"
The sound of Duncan's voice pulled Samantha from the dark thoughts that had plagued her for the past number of days. She was unsure of how much time had passed since she and the Grey Warden had left her home in Highever. The days seemed eternal and the night's longer still with little sleep to offer her comfort. The guilt she felt for leaving her mother and father behind to die was drowning her. She found it difficult to escape the images that had been burned into her mind. They would flash before her eyes without warning, leaving her gasping for air as she tried desperately not to succumb to any more tears. Her mother, hovering above her father on the hard ground, wet with his blood. There had been so much of it. Maker, she would never forget the sight. Nor the fear that had clutched her chest when she and her mother had burst into the room and found him like that. Oriana and poor, sweet Oren had suffered a similar fate. Her nephew, only a child, run through without a thought. She could not rid her mind of his lifeless face, eyes unblinking and empty as they stared towards her until her mother bent to shut them. She could only pray that he had not suffered long. What heartless creature would do that to an innocent child? Anger boiled her blood and she longed to wrap her fingers around Arl Rendon Howe's throat and squeeze until all life drained from him. No, more than that. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to know what it must have felt like for that little boy. She wanted him to know nothing but terror before she took his life from him.
Darling, go with Duncan. You have a better chance to escape without me.
Those were her mother's last words to her. She shouldn't have listened. She should have remained, insisted that she would rather die with them then be apart. She would never forgive herself for leaving them. Perhaps if she'd only stayed they might have had a chance. Perhaps she could have done something to save them. Of course, Duncan had not given her the option to. He had pulled her with him out of the servant's exit, despite her struggles. She knew she should be grateful to him for saving her life, and she was, but she also hated him for it. He needed more Wardens. That had been his priority. He had said so himself.
What is happening here pales in comparison to the evil now loose in this world.
Perhaps to him but she was not so convinced. How could there be anything worse than what she had suffered? There could be no worse pain than this. In one night she had lost everyone she held dear. Almost everyone. She longed to see Fergus again, though she dreaded telling her older brother what had happened in his absence. How could she break the news that his only son was slain by order of the very man they had all considered a close family friend?
Tell Fergus what has happened, her father had pleaded. See that justice is done.
She would. She had promised him and she would not break that vow. She would not stop until Howe lay dead at her feet. She would find Fergus and together they would get vengeance for what had been done.
A wet nose brushed against her hand and Samantha glanced down at the mabari war hound pressed against her side. It was a relief to have him with her. Hunter was a mischievous hound and often created more trouble than she would have liked but he had been with her for as long as she could remember and she held him dear. He was a fiercely loyal and loving companion that she could not bear to be parted from.
Smiling sadly, Samantha tugged affectionately on the overgrown animal's ear and then turned her attention towards Duncan, who had been the one to call for it in the first place.
"Hmm?" She had not the strength to pull forth many words in the last few days. The sorrow and anger she felt inside seemed to grip her throat every time she had tried to speak, making it difficult to keep her words coherent. Eventually, she had settled for simple, quick answers and Duncan had been gracious enough to keep from pressing for more.
"We have arrived at Ostagar," he informed her, his dark eyes studying her carefully. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Perhaps he was beginning to rethink his decision to recruit her into the Grey Wardens. She supposed she couldn't blame him. She had been consumed by her emotions since they had departed Highever and even she was unsure that she would be fit for battle if she remained that way. There were important things to do, she knew that. She would have to pull herself together and focus. She wanted to. She longed for a distraction from her thoughts. Walking left her too free to get swallowed up by them and she was ready to be put to work.
"The Grey Warden camp is on the other side of the bridge." He lifted a gauntlet covered hand to gesture and Samantha turned her gaze forward. She had been staring down at her feet for so long that she hadn't even noticed that they were approaching the large fortress. It was impressive to look upon. The stone walls were built high and thick, good for defence in battle. She had to agree that this was the best place to take on the darkspawn threat. If they failed here, she was unsure what would happen. She could only hope that they would succeed in keeping the monsters from invading the rest of Ferelden where so many lives could be lost.
"Ah, finally!" Daveth's voice made her jump as he moved eagerly past her towards the entrance, his arms raised above his head as he stretched. "I thought we'd never arrive." Ser Jory joined him as he hurried forward, though he seemed less excited about what lay ahead of them. This was, after all, where they would battle the darkspawn. Samantha could not blame him for being a little reluctant. She had never encountered one herself but she knew well enough that they were the stuff of nightmares. She was not eager to look upon one much less send an arrow through its head.
The pair had joined them just outside of Highever and Samantha had learned that they had been recruited before her and had been waiting for Duncan to return before they journeyed to Ostagar. Daveth was a cheerful fellow and had done the majority of the talking on their travels. He had explained one night over dinner that he had been a thief in Denerim and Duncan had found him when he cut his purse and was caught. Ser Jory, on the other hand, was a cautious man who worried over everything. He had offered his story the same night, explaining that he had secured Duncan's approval when he won a tourney in Highever the previous month. Samantha had been unable to attend, much to her disappointment. Her mother had insisted she would be of better use attending some formal affair in an attempt to find a man willing to secure her hand. She had had little interest in her mother's attempt to marry her to some upstanding nobleman and had spent most of the time she should have been socialising, chasing the children in attendance around the room. It had been good fun until a table was knocked over and the refreshments were devoured by her mabari.
"The king's forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself," Duncan explained as they stepped through a tall archway and onto the sturdy stone bridge that made for safe passage over the deep valley, beneath. "There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment but all of us are here. This Blight must be stopped, here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."
"You really believe this is a Blight, then?" Samantha asked, watching Hunter as he hurried ahead, sniffing everything in his path and almost tripping Ser Jory in his excitement. The knight swore and threw her an unimpressed glance. She clicked her tongue to call the hound back but scratched behind his ears instead of scolding him. The man had been getting on her nerves, anyway. He had been more than respectful upon learning that she was the youngest Cousland but his incessant complaining had grown more than a little irritating considering she had so much more to be upset about and had kept her feelings to herself. Or had made a considerable effort to, at least.
"I do," Duncan replied with a firm nod. "I know there is an archdemon behind this." He looked very tired, she suddenly noticed. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and she wondered if he had been getting as little sleep as she had. Perhaps the darkspawn threat was worrying him more than he had revealed. Of course, she hadn't exactly been the most attentive. Her grief had taken priority over her concern for those she had been travelling with.
"In any case, we should proceed with the joining ritual without delay." Duncan came to a stop and motioned for the three of them to wait while he spoke. By now they had reached the other side of the bridge and stood just outside of the camp. Samantha's attention was drawn away from all of the goings on around them at this news and she lowered her pack to the ground while her companions spoke.
"A ritual?" Daveth repeated, tilting his head curiously. "Nobody mentioned anything about a ritual." It was true. Duncan had not told them what would await them in Ostagar. She had presumed that they might have to take vows but from Duncan's tone it was clear that there was more to it than that.
"I had no idea there were more tests after getting recruited," Ser Jory agreed, his eyebrows coming together in a worried frown. "What exactly does this ritual entail?" Samantha was eager to hear more, too. She didn't like being unprepared or kept in the dark about something that would affect her, personally. Clearly this was something that warranted some level of concern or surely Duncan would have spoken of it during their time travelling to Ostagar.
"I will speak more of it soon enough but I must first meet with the king and inform him of our arrival. For now, Daveth, go to the mess tent and find something to eat for the three of you. Ser Jory, I would like you to visit the mage's camp and secure some healing supplies; bandages and the like. Tell them that you are a Warden recruit. They will know what to give you." Duncan turned his gaze to Samantha and she realized with bitter disappointment that he did not plan to take her with him to meet with the king.
"I need to speak with King Cailan," she insisted before he could instruct her and he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.
"I will inform the king about what happened to your family, do not fear. Howe will be punished for his treachery."
Samantha crossed her arms over her chest, barely resisting the urge to pout, or worse, cry. It wasn't the same. She was the one that needed to tell him. He wouldn't understand just how devastating an attack it had been unless he spoke with her.Saw the pain in her eyes. Duncan could sense her tantrum brewing, no doubt, because he hurried to speak before she could interrupt him again.
"Have patience, my lady. The darkspawn will soon be upon us and we must be ready to face them. There is another Grey Warden somewhere in the camp by the name of Alistair. Seek him out and have him find you new armour." Samantha glanced down at the leather she currently wore. It was light and easy to move in but it had been made for her to wear during her weapon training lessons and not fit to properly protect her in a real battle. She was lucky that she had made it through Howe's men without more extensive injuries.
"Once you are ready," Duncan continued, "We will meet back here and I will reveal what is expected of you." Daveth and Ser Jory nodded their agreement and departed. Duncan still had his hand on Samantha's shoulder and he patted it once more before lifting away.
"Should I find your brother, I will inform him of your arrival. In the meantime, try to focus on the task at hand. I understand how difficult this has been for you but you must be strong now. If you are to be a Grey Warden, you must act like one."
Samantha sighed heavily and let her arms fall to her sides. She knew what he said was true and that it was time for her to push past her personal feelings and offer her aid to the best of her ability. She had promised her father that she would do her best for him and feeling sorry for herself would only hinder her.
"I understand. I will do my best," she nodded, lifting her gaze to his. He smiled reassuringly at her before turning away. She watched his retreating back for a moment before Hunter's impatient barking got her moving.
"Alright, I'm coming," she sighed, her fingers moving to the worn leather collar around the hound's neck. "Let's go find this Alistair."
A/N: I figured it would make more sense for Daveth and Ser Jory to actually travel with Duncan rather than waiting around at Ostagar for weeks on end. I will be changing little things here and there so the story better fits what's going on in my head. Hopefully that won't bother people too much. If there's anything you'd like me to include in future chapters, feel free to suggest things and please do review! It helps me to understand what people are enjoying and hopefully I can become a better writer in the long run. We will find Alistair in the next chapter so hopefully it'll be a little more entertaining than this one. Thanks for taking the time to read this, whoever you are.