Alistair backed away, three of them left, was that all? He looked at the two much younger than him, the girl, Rose, was the tallest, her body donned in fine armour splattered with dark spawn blood, she smeared it across her face. The other was a mage, he shot a blast of fire at the the large group of Darkspawn, Duncan ran his fingers through his medium length strawberry blonde hair.
"Father we have to retreat!" Duncan shouted. "I have no energy left to fight with."
Alistair refused to give up, especially when it came down to the act that it was his own family left, Rose ran fast him a cut through the Darkspawn only to be struck down, she fell backwards and cried out in pain as the blade stuck her side. Alistair cried out and went to run forward to protect her when something moved in front of him. He stumbled back as he stared at the bear, it's coat golden and white in places, it charged into the Darkspawn tearing through them. The horde that had wiped out his body guards and nearly killed his family was now flying into piece as the bear tore through them. He quickly joined the fray killing of the stragglers before nearly next to his daughter.
The bear snapped the neck of the last Darkspawn an, the bear turned and approached him and the twins. He lifted his sword ready to strike it down should it attack, the bear stood up on it's hind legs and roared, and then in front of his eyes the bear changed, it's paws became hand, it's fur became robes of green. Soon it was a hooded person that stood in front of them, splattered in blood.
"Who are you?" Alistair said as the hooded figure knelt light and magic oozing from her hand and into Roses wound, the girl cried out in pain for only a few moments before the wound healed.
"You can call me Artio, although my mother mostly just called me girl, twas the name she gave me after birth I'm told." Artio slid er hood back, pulling her long garnet coloured hair free and sighing softly.
Alistair raised an eye brow, there was something oddly familiar about her and that accent. "Have we met before?" He asked still trying to place that face.
"I doubt it very much, I was raised out of Feraldin, this is the first time I have travelled here." She smiled and looked past Alistair to his son, Duncan shrunk back. "you need not be scared of my circle mage, I am what you call Apostate, but I am not an abomination. " He still didn't look comforted by that.
Alistair helped his daughter to her feet. "I thank you Artio, I have not seen Darkspawn like that in many years." He frowned. "I really think I know you from somewhere. What has brought you to Feraldin?"
Artio was twirling a piece of hair around a finger making eyes at the boy Duncan who was bright red as a beet and trying to avoid looking at her, she smiled and looked bback at Alistair. "I am here to find the king, there is much I must discuss with him. Although my mother told me it would be unlikely he would ever see me." She shrugged. "I thought I would ask him myself, which reminds me, do you have directions to Denerim?"
Alistair chuckled. "you have never seen the kind before have you? He's a handsome devil you know." He was laughing now, his daughter elbowed him in the ribs. "Alright alright." He bowed to the mage. "King Alistair, I humbly thank you for saving the lives of myself and my heirs."
Artio's eyes widened, and she suddenly went bright red herself. "Y-you're the king?" She bowed deeply. "Forgive my casual attitude, you are not as my mother described you." She looked at the two with him, oh dear, she hadn't been told he had other children, but perhaps her mother didn't know. "It is probably best we don't speak in front of them." She said straighten up and pulling her hood back up.
"We are heading to Redcliffe, it's about another day's journey from here, travel with us, we can talk when we get there perhaps." His son and daughter began to protest but he hushed them, he didn't not trust the mage as much as they thought, but as king he could not turn away someone who had just save the line and the kingdom from yet another civil war.
Artio kept to herself that night, she didn't set up a tent or even sit with them by the fire, she made her own fire not far away, she had taken off the large loose fitting green robes and hung them on a tree. She sighed and poked the small fire with a stick before adjusting her under robes. Her under robes where more like Feraldin mage robes, a deep red, lined in gold thread. Around her waist was a thick belt made of skin, the fur of whatever beast turned in against her abdomen. Duncan strayed away from the safety of their camp to hers, he sat opposite her. "Why do you sit alone?"
Artio raised her eyes from the fire to the boy. "I was taught not to trust anyone, my mother raised me alone for fear I would be killed." She smiled weakly. "My mother was a hard woman, she fought in the last blight before I was born. She knew your father, or so she claimed." Artio's eyes saddened a little.
Duncan smiled. "So many fought against the Darkspawn, all where great heroes, it was the first time in many years our country was united."
"You should return to your camp, friend, I fear you will not see me with such intrigue tomorrow night after I have spoken with the king." Artio had not expected others her age, maybe younger ones, her mother never prepared her for siblings.
She watched him bow his head and retreat to his tent, she sighed and lay back and stared up at the sky until the fires burned out, she was practicing what she would tell him when they arrived at Redcliffe.
During the journey she didn't speak much except to perhaps ask questions about Redcliff. She gathered they were visiting the twin's mother who was celebrating her 9th wedding anniversary to Bann Teagen. When the Redcliffe castle came into view she started becoming fidgety, normally she would be cold, hard to read. But now she was nervous, as soon as she was allowed she asked if she may be excused, she was taken to her guest room as the kings guest.
She paced around, or fidgeted, twirling her hair around her finger now and then. She actually jumped at the heavy knock on the door. "Erm...come in?"
Alistair opened the door a notch. "You're decent aren't you? you're not a going t try and seduce me are you?" He chuckled opening the door and stepping in.
"Believe me far from it..." She muttered under her breath. She straightened up. "You might want to sit down." Once Alistair had taken a seat, she nervously sat down herself. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. I was born 9months after the arch demon was slain." She paused. "I was always told I was a special child by my mother, a powerful child. I always thought that was simply mother's love, but my mother had little love to share, only power." She thought carefully about her next words. "I believe I may be you daughter."
Alistair raised a brow and laughed. "Oh did Teagen put you up to this?" His laughter faded when he realised she was being quite serious. "I only ever had...err well with one person."
She frowned. "My mother was Morrigan, and she told me that I was born of a ritual to cleanse the old god from the tainted arch demon."
Alistair narrowed his eyes. "I knew this would come back to bite me in the butt one day." He stood up. "You can tell your mother that I have no intentions of making you my heir."
Artio's eyes saddened. "That would be quite impossible, my mother left this world two years ago." She closed her eyes and sighed. "And I have no interest in the throne."
"Then why did you come? There is most definitely nothing here for you, I should strike you down where you stand, you're a demon!" He immediately regretted those words, her eyes weld up with hurt though he could see her trying to hide it.
"I'm sorry, I just wished to seek out the only thing left I can call family, Mother raised me to be a cold hearted bitch. Told me why I wasn't accepted among normal society." She took in a deep breath. "I had hoped that maybe I could find peace in thinking my father would accept me with open arms." She stood up and picked up her over robes. "I understand that she was right, I should not have expected such from you." She passed him and he tried to call her back, but she was gone.
In that moment he remembered how it was when he tracked down his half sister, they way she had turned him away, cursed him for being alive. He sat down again and rubbed his temples, he remembered how much it had hurt to hear his only family say those things and realised how much hurt he had probably just caused. Demon, old god or human, whatever she was she had just sought out someone call family, he imagined her life was probably as about much fun as his early years. Hopefully she wouldn't have travelled far, he would track her down eventually.