Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon age, or any of the characters whithin. Radae and Alynna are the only origional things in here, and you're welcome to use them if you ask nicely.

Alrighty then. Mah fahst chaptah! Read, review, enjoy, and tell your friends. As stated above, Radae and Alynna are mine, I made 'em up. For those of you who are still kinda confused, Radae was being trained to take over for the Keeper of their clan, while Alynna was a hunters apprentice. Any questions are welcome.

"You know, it isn't uncommon for Dalish to change their names if they choose enter human society." Radae sighed, brushing his grey locks from his young face. "It helps us blend in."

"I'd assumed that, but why choose such a strange one?" Duncan inquired, "Your original name was much better. Flowed off the tongue a bit better."

"He changes his name because he wishes to forget his past." Alynna answered, deciding her twin would've simply kept the argument going. They were only halfway to Ostagar, and she didn't wish to deal with them jabbering the whole trip.

"If it's to be put so simply, then yes." Radae sighed. Night was falling around them, and the Wilds seemed to command silence. Growing up as a Dalish, First to their Keeper, in fact, had taught him that a forest isn't something to disobey. He and his sister were both weak, the corruption from a cursed mirror having infected them with the darkspawn taint, and neither were capable of being any more than a hindrance in battle. The Keeper-in-training clutched his staff to his chest, the dark, lyrium infused wood giving him some comfort.

"Alestha seemed a fine name for a young Dalish, all the same." Duncan shrugged, dropping the subject. "We'll make camp here for the night, we'll reach Ostagar by midday tomorrow. "

"If we can last that long." Alynna grumbled, her body visibly shaking from the strain of walking. "This corruption in our blood, it is not something one can easily live through, is it?"

"Sister..." Radae started, finding himself at a loss of words. He wished he could comfort her, but that same question had been running through his mind since he'd been told what was happening to him. They'd been cursed, and becoming a Grey Warden was the only thing that would save them. He'd taken it rather well, but his sister didn't. She enjoyed living with the clan, with her friends. She'd never been curious as to what the outside world was like.

"It's rare that those infected live for more than a few days." Duncan answered. "You two have survived for almost a week now, and I'm sure you'll live long enough for us to cure you." Radae took some comfort in hearing that, but Alynna simply sat down and leaned her back against a tree. The rest of the evening passed in relative silence, other than Duncan requesting that Radae use magic to light a campfire. After the fire was lit the twins fell into a deep, weary slumber. Duncan would stay up for a few more hours to keep watch before the days exhaustion would soon overtake him.

The Fade was a strange place. As a mage he'd had some training in it's basics, but he'd never achieved full awareness during sleep. Not until then, at least. He'd always pictured it as a peaceful place, not the random outcropping of rocks and strange plants it was. Radae was taken aback when he first saw the landscape. His dreams never looked anything like this!

"Hello?" The elf called, the lack of echo disconcerting him. He wasn't even sure why he'd called out, maybe he'd expected to find his friends there? It didn't matter. What did matter, however, was what answered his call.

"I simply adore it when a Mage enters the Fade." A voice hissed. A purple mist began forming around him, smelling strangely of honey and sulfur. The mist thickened rapidly, and soon the young elf could scarcely see his own hand. Radae was suddenly aware of a presence nearby, but the strange-smelling mist seemed to make it hard to concentrate.

"Who are you?" He called, holding the sleeve of his robes against his mouth. Instinct told him that this mist was a trap, even in his dreams. The presence seemed to laugh at the question, as though it were a joke. The mist thickened yet again, everything past his nose fading from existence.

"I'm but an entity." The voice hissed, moving closer to Radae. "One that feels it can grant you a wish." That sentence lit up all sorts of warning lights in the Mages mind. Desire demon. Summoning all his concentration, Radae created an ethereal wind that blew away the fog. The landscape had changed, he was standing in a dark stone room. Radae recognized it instantly. A large mirror stood at the far end of the room, images swirling about beneath the glass.

"Come Sister!" A voice called. Radae turned around and watched the wooden door creak open, revealing a young Dalish mage, no more than sixteen years old. "I've found something!" He called running towards the mirror, passing through Radae as though he were a ghost.

"Wait for me!" Called a female voice. Another elf appeared, bow held in front of her with two daggers strapped to her hips. "Alestha, you can not just run off like that!" She scolded, jogging to her brother. They were around the same age, and shared striking grey hair that most likely ran in the family. The twins stood in front of the mirror, the boy known as Alestha staring deeply into it's depths.

"Sister, look!" He enthused, "It's an ancient, elven city! I think it may be Arlathan!" Radae knew it wasn't. It was an ancient city built by elves, yes, but this one seemed to be more... Warlike than the peaceful citizens of Arlathan.

"I do not like this, Brother." The girl warned. "It feels wrong, like this thing may be cursed." Alestha brushed it off as his sisters paranoia, leaning in even closer. The walls of the city were beautiful, built high and strong enough to withstand almost anything. There was a royal palace in the center, gold stairs leading up to the large gold-inlaid doors.

Before he could stop himself, Alestha reached up and placed his palm on the glass. A ripple emanated from where his flesh touched the mirror, as though he'd disturbed a body of water. For an instant, the image cleared to reveal a group of elves. Each one wielded a black staff, though they swung the tools of magic about as though they were weapons. A few were capable of focusing magic into their staffs and creating blades of pure magic along the wood. Alestha knew what they were, the mirror providing the knowledge.

Arcane Warriors. Mages capable of channeling their magic inward to grant immense strength and speed. All their techniques were suddenly inlaid in Alestha's mind, as though he'd learned them thousands of times. He knew how to create the black staffs they all wielded, how to infuse them with lyrium without killing himself. He even knew how to cast more spells, ones that had likely been lost for centuries.

The instant ended, lasting no longer than half of a second. Cracks formed along the glass, radiating from where his hand rested against the cool surface of the mirror. Then, as suddenly as the image had appeared, the glass shattered. An explosion of magic threw the young elves across the room. There they lay, unconscious and vulnerable, with small streams of blood running down the boys face. Unbeknownst to his sister, flecks of the magic glass no bigger than grains of dust had embedded themselves in his eyes.

Radae watched the two lay unconscious as black spiderwebs began spreading across their skin. For nearly an hour he watched as the twins suffered, their unconscious faces contorting in pain. Soon, a dark skinned man with two blades strapped to his back walked in. The scene before Radae began to fade away as the man, Duncan, rushed to the aid of the twins.

A purple mist once more obscured his vision, the honey-sulfur smell assaulting his senses. "Such a shame that it happened, don't you think?" The hissing voice asked. "Especially the girl. If you'd simply listened to her warnings, neither of you would be in this mess. She'd wanted to leave, she'd even said the mirror was cursed, but you wouldn't listen. Now, you're being dragged across Ferelden to become Grey Wardens. "

"Make your point, demon!" Radae called, snapping his fingers. Another gust of wind swept in, casting the mist aside. Radae was now floating in an endless black space, a lone figure slowly fading in. She had flaming purple hair, with horns adorning her brow. She wore very little, pierced purple nipples standing out against her grey skin. A gold chain connected the piercings, but other than that there were no clothes to speak of.

"My point being, mortal," The demon hissed, sauntering towards him, "your sister is being punished for a mistake you've made. Is that fair? Do you think you can survive it? Do you really, truly believe you can survive the darkspawn taint, one which has killed thousands far stronger than you?" The demon pressed her chest against the elfs torso, her pierced nipples easily felt through his shirt. "You've lived almost a week, longer than ever recorded, your time must be coming soon, right?"

"My sister and I will survive the taint." Radae stated. "We've survived this long, we won't die now."

"Ah, but what if you don't live long enough?" She whispered, resting her head on his right shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him, her hands sensually rubbing up and down his back. "I can ensure you both live long enough to get the cure."

"And what?" The mage interrupted, "you want my soul in return? Or is it my sister you're after? Maybe you wish that I allow you to take my body and run wild with it?" The demon chuckled, still rubbing her hands along his back.

"Nothing of the sort." She whispered into his ear, "What I wish, is for your favor." Sensing that he didn't understand, the demoness elaborated for Radae, "Favor is something a higher rank demon will bestow upon a lower rank demon. It means that I become your servant, in exchange for you protecting me from other demons."

Radae placed his hands on her chest, pushing her away from him. "I am not a demon." He stated, "I'm an elf, a mortal, a mage. Not a demon, therefore I can't give you this... favor."

"You saw what happened in that room." The demoness stated, placing her hands atop his. "That mirror embedded all of it's power inside you. Those mirrors, Eluvians is what I believe ancient mortals called them, were direct connections into the Fade. The mortals simply thought one mirror was connected to another mirror, but they actually passed through here before they reached each other."

"Your point?" Radae asked, attempting to remove his hands from the demoness' chest only to find that she was holding them in place.

"Your soul is connected to the Fade now. You can pass freely between your realm and this one, however you are fated to become a demon when you die." She explained, "A very powerful demon, at that. I think you may even become a Demon of Sin."

"Demon of Sin?" Radae asked. The demoness grinned, moving closer to the mage yet again.

"Rare demons that reside in the Black City itself. We call them Demon Lords, and they're capable of squashing a Pride demon with a whim." The demoness moved his hands out of the way, once again pressing her chest against his. "Which is why I think it would be in my best interest to gain your favor."

Radae frowned. He felt as though there was a catch here, but he knew that a Desire demon wouldn't lie outright. They preferred to offer something so irresistible that the mortal had no choice but to accept. "...You'll guarantee that both my sister and I will live long enough to cure ourselves?"

"Of course." The demoness assured, "You're to be my master, I wouldn't want you to be displeased with me already. However, you should know that, once your favor is given, you can't revoke it."

"...This won't steal my soul or anything, right?" Radae asked, still unsure about trusting the demoness.

"The opposite, in fact, you will quite literally own me. All you must do is offer me your protection." She answered, "Do we have a deal?"

"...Yes. I will give you my favor in exchange for your guarantee that my sister and I will live long enough to take the cure." Radae agreed, praying he wouldn't regret this decision later.

"Excellent!" The demoness enthused, "I'll show you how to give me your favor now." She grasped Radae's hand and guided it between her legs. Her pussy was dripping wet, and the heat it gave off felt like a fire.

"This is how I bestow my favor?" Radae asked, hand cringing from the intensity of her body heat.

"All I need to be marked by you is something implanted within me. Your seed will serve as such a strong marking that it might as well be burned into my skin." The demoness whispered, "Now, lets begin, yes?" There was a shift in gravity around them, and suddenly Radae was below the flaming purple figure. The demoness was straddling his now bare waist. He wondered briefly where his robes went, before remembering that he was in the Fade and the demoness could easily make them disappear.

The demoness leaned forward, placing her lips on Radae's in a kiss. Her tongue darted out and danced across his lips, as though begging for access. He opened his lips slightly, allowing their tongues to intermingle. Her saliva tasted like honey, a quirk Radae found he rather enjoyed. Her scent began to fill his nose, the honey-sulfur smell becoming the most alluring thing in his world. His penis began to stiffen, eventually arriving at it's full length. The tip prodded gently between the demoness' plump buttcheeks.

The demoness gasped in surprise, breaking their kiss to turn and look at what had poked her. "Maker!" She gasped. His cock was nearly the size of her forearm, and almost as thick! Were all mortals like this?

"The taint did it." Radae explained, "I don't know why, though. I wasn't nearly this big before." He seemed almost embarrassed at his size, but she brushed it off.

"I think you're ready now." She purred, leaning back down on him. Her breasts were squashed between their bodies, the chains making slight tinkling sounds as they moved. Her nipples hardened from arousal, pressing against Radae's skin. There was another shift in gravity, and Radae was suddenly on top. "Take me." She moaned, spreading her legs for him.

Not needing to be told twice, Radae positioned his dick at the entrance to her vagina. He gradually slid into her waiting passage, her heat feeling as though he was dipping his cock in a fire. A sense of dominance suddenly overcame his thoughts, as though this demoness beneath him was nothing more that his fucktoy. She was, in a sense. After all, he owned her now.

The elf pulled his cock out of the demoness, resulting in a questioning look from her. Radae flipped her over, so he was facing her back, and pulled her back down on his cock. He was balls deep in one thrust, eliciting a moan from the demoness below him. This was how demons mated, dominance was asserted. Radae didn't give her time to grow accustomed to his size, quickly pulling his dick out until only the tip remained before thrusting it all the way back in. The juices from her pussy began to drip down, falling into the endless expanse of blackness around them. They provided just enough lubrication for Radae to be rough with his demoness, any less and she probably would've began bleeding.

Radae pulled the demoness closer to him, pressing his chest against her back. He placed his hands on the backside of her knees, drawing them up to her chest and lifting her up and down as though she was weightless. Her moans of pleasure rang around them, disappearing into the echoless space. Radae took this as an encouragement, now lifting and slamming her on his cock as though she were nothing more than an inanimate object. She loved it, of course. Being dominated like this was so thrilling, not like the other mortals she'd pleasured. They'd all wanted to be lovey and kissey.

The elf was unsure how long he and the demon were like that, a writhing mass of tan and grey skin. In the Fade, time is hard to tell, so it could've been an instant or a decade. The demoness' had reached her climax a few times whithin the eternity/second they'd been doing it, Radae now working her at a speed that appeared almost painful. The mage could feel a tightening in him, signifying his own approaching orgasm. As a final measure, he reached his right hand down to her crotch, pinching and twisting the small purple nub just above her vagina. The mix of pain and pleasure sent the demoness over the edge, the flames on her head turning into a small inferno as she called out into the void. Her pussy clamped down on his shaft, milking it for every drop it could get. The added tightness sent Radae over the edge as well, his cock letting loose a torrent of spunk into her depths. The feeling of his seed filling her up caused one last moan of ecstasy to pass the demoness' lips before falling limp in the mage's arms, spent.

"Thank you, Master." She sighed, pushing her back against his chest. "I will keep my end of the deal as well, you and your sister shall live to find the cure." The demoness reluctantly pulled herself from Radae and floated off his cock, a wet popping sound the result of his tip slipping past her pussy lips. Not a drop of his semen was spilt, marking her as completely his. The demoness began to fade away, a sign that Radae was waking up. "Oh, and Master." She said, just before she was completely gone, "Be sure to drop in every once in a while, I don't think I'd mind being 'favored' again."

Radae was woken up by Duncan, who insisted it was time to start traveling again. Alynna was already up, her bow in hand and daggers at her hips. Sitting up in his sleeping bag, Radae came to the realization that he'd cum in his sleep, his spunk now decorating the inside of his robes. He muttered a spell under his breath, the ejaculate quickly disappearing.

"Did you say something?" Alynna asked, having just barely heard the whispers under his breath. Radae shook his head in response, slipping out of the leather sleeping bag and rolling it back up with a spell. Duncan was eager to continue to Ostagar, saying that he needed to report back immediately.

Alynna seemed to have improved greatly from the night before, her having disappeared overnight. Radae could feel it too, as though a great weight had been lifted from his body. He could almost hear the demoness' voice in his mind, 'Did you not expect me to keep the bargain?' it chuckled.

The trio began walking once more, the forest around them becoming more sinister as they continued on. When Duncan announced they'd be arriving at Ostagar within a few hours, both of the Dalish twins grew happy enough to start a conversation.

"What did you dream of, Brother?" Alynna asked, glancing at her younger brother. "You made quite a lot of noise last night."

"Oh... I dreamt of the ruins." Radae responded. That was part of his dream, after all. He asked her what she'd dreamt of, but didn't listen to her response. The dream of the ruins had stirred up memories of what happened afterwards, including their traveling with Duncan.

_Flashback_

Alestha had woken before Alynna, recovering from the blast much faster despite being much closer. He was relieved to be back in camp, however he felt horrible. When he'd asked her, the Keeper told him that he'd been infected with the darkspawn taint somewhere whithin the ruins. The Keeper forbid him from leaving his bed until she deemed him fit enough, but he snuck out later that night. Something the mirror had shown him needed to be tested.

Any Dalish knows that heading into a forest, especially at night and alone, is a ridiculous idea. Alestha hadn't even dared to do so before then, always taking his sister with him for company. This night, however, he knew he'd need to be alone. He journeyed deep into the forest, to areas where werewolves were often sighted, looking for one thing. A tree that has been possessed by a demon.

They were difficult to spot, for the simple fact that they blended into their surroundings so well. However, nearly an hour into his trek, he found one. More accurately, he was attacked by one. The tree he passed simply appeared to grow limbs and begin swinging at him.

Alestha dove under a swipe from the Sylvans arm, the power of the swing causing a *whoosh* sound as it flew over him. The mage knew what he had to do, not bothering to counter any of the Sylvan attacks, and instead dashing straight for the trunk. He scurried up the body of the possessed tree, climbing into the gaping hole in the front that served as a 'mouth'. Seeming happy with such an easy catch, the Tree closed the mouth and trapped it's prey inside, while razor sharp wooden teeth began tearing at the mage. Alestha cast a shield around himself, just in time to avoid being sliced up by the carnivorous plant. Taking a deep breath, he cast a steady stream of fire down the Trees 'throat' and into it's core, burning the monster from the inside out. The screams of the demon trapped inside echoed around the wooden prison he'd trapped himself in.

Mage and Demon stayed like that for nearly an hour, the possessed tree taking an abnormal amount of time to burn down. When finally it did, Alestha crawled from the ashes, his shield having held up just enough to keep him from frying. After catching his breath, the elf began digging through the ashes, eventually finding a small scarlet crystal no bigger than his thumb. The Heartcrystal. Every tree possessed by a demon had one, however only burning the tree to ashes would leave the crystal intact. Alestha clutched the crystal in his hand and dashed back to camp, thankfully encountering no resistance along the way.

When he arrived back at the camp, Alestha was glad to find that he still had enough time to finish the ceremony. The teen snuck over to the supplies boxes, searching through them until he found the refined lyrium dust. The keeper kept it for making mana potions, but she probably wouldn't miss a small pouch. Taking the pouch of lyrium and a vial, Alestha rushed immediately to the nearby stream. After filling the vial with water and lyrium, he whispered a few words in ancient elvish to both the crystal and lyrium water. The crystal began pulsing with a faint magenta light, signaling it was prepared for the ritual. The vial began to glow an iridescent cyan color, also signaling preparedness. Picking a spot well hidden behind a few trees, Alestha pulled a small knife from his robes, cut across his right hand, and allowed the blood to drip into the vial. No more than seven drops of blood. He then put the stopper on the bottle and shook, the cyan lyrium/water mixing with the crimson blood. As the final step, he dropped the Heartcrystal into the mixture. The crystal seemed to h He buried the vial under a few inches of dirt, whispering a few more words in ancient elven. If all went well, he'd have an Arcane Warriors staff by morning.

_End_Flashback_

Radae looked at his staff, the black wood humming faintly in response to his touch. The staff would only work for him, having been bound to him through his blood. Alynna had questioned him that morning where he'd found it, and he'd responded by telling her that it'd been a gift from the Keeper. She seemed happy with the explanation.

Duncan came the next morning and informed them that they were dying. He then invoked the Right of Conscription, and explained to them that the only way for he and his sister to live would be for them to become Grey Wardens. A few days of travel and one name-change later, and there they were. Radae had left without a word to the Clan, but Alynna had taken a few hours to give her goodbyes. She'd always been more accepted than him, a mage was hardly trusted even among the Dalish.

The reminiscing brought his mind back to the demoness from his dream that night. It was obviously real, as both he and his sister were feeling much better, although he couldn't help but wonder if he'd made the right choice. The demoness had told him that he'd need to protect her, would that indicate that he'd need to make frequent trips into the Fade just to fend off some random spirit? What if she interfered with the Mages Guild? He didn't like the prospect of fighting off a hoard of Templars. Then there was always the chance she was attacked by a larger demon. Would he even be able to handle something like th-

"Brother? Are you listening?" Alynna questioned, staring quizzically at her twin. "You seem a little absent today." Radae hadn't realized it, but he'd been staring at his staff for nearly a minute straight.

"Huh? Yes, yes of course." He responded, looking apologetically at Alynna, "Forgive me, Sister, I didn't sleep well last night. What was your dream?"

"I dreamt that we were Grey Wardens, fending off droves of Darkspawn from a small village." She repeated, "We were amazing! I moved like a blur, glittering daggers in each hand as I struck down foe after foe. You were slaying dozens at a time, blast after blast of magic flowing from your staff like shooting stars!" Radae smiled, liking the idea of mastering such magic. Alynna was definitely feeling better, which also made him happy. The demoness had kept her word, which made him pleasantly surprised.

The day passed quickly, and they arrived at Ostagar right on time. Duncan had matters to attend to, so he left the two Dalish to wander about the camp. Alynna found a troop of Ash Warriors right away, and spent nearly an hour talking with them about fighting styles and which ancient hero they thought would win in a duel. Radae didn't mind, though. He was accustomed to dealing with his sisters fascination with battle, at least now she had someone outside the clan to talk to. The Ash Warriors soon left to hunt Darkspawn, forcing he and his sister to wander about some more.

"Perhaps we will find some Mages here." Alynna pointed out. Radae shrugged in response, realizing that any Mages he found would be from the Circle, and would likely think of him as an 'Apostate'. Alynna insisted, however, so they spent the next few hours wandering about in search of the Mages. They found a group of large men standing before a few tents and asked them for directions. As it turned out, the men were Templars. Radae nearly fainted.

"The Mages have sent their spirits into the Fade." One of the Templars said, gesturing to a few people standing in a circle behind him. "We are under strict orders not to allow any interference, especially from an Apostate such as yourself." Surprise, surprise. They called him an Apostate.

"Sorry for bothering you." Radae replied, clutching his staff to his chest. "We'll be on our way." He turned and walked a few steps away, only to realize Alynna wasn't following him.

"My Brother is as much a Mage as those people in there!" She argued, looking up at the silver helmet of one of the Templars. "He deserves to be with them!" If she weren't his sister, Radae may have fried her on the spot. He hurried over and placed himself between the Templar and Alynna, hoping to stop the fight before it began.

"An Apostate has no rights." The Templar argued, pushing Radae aside as though he were a piece of paper. "You'd better watch your tongue, elf."

"Alynna, don't -" Radae began, only to be cut off by his sister.

"He is no Apostate!" She fumed, stepping closer to the Templar, "He's the First to the Keeper of the Lyna Clan! Next in line to inherit the secrets of-"

"Save your titles." The Templar interrupted, "In the real world, he's just an elf Apostate with a preachy sister." Radae sighed in defeat at this. There were very few things that made his sister angry, all of which the Templar had just done. He'd interrupted her, insulted her brother, and then insulted her. He wouldn't be able to stop the fight between the two, so he instead chose to prevent the other Templars from joining in.

"Sorry about my Sisters conduct." He said, approaching one of the other Templars. Templar Two shrugged in response.

"Elric is always like that, hates Mages with a passion he does." He sighed, removing his helmet. The man was human, with ebony hair and light blue eyes. A light beard framed his face, giving him a slightly unkempt appearance. "The names Alphonse, nice to meet you." Alphonse held out his hand to Radae, startling the Mage for a moment.

"I'm Radae," He responded, shaking the Templars hand. "it's nice to meet you as well." Hopefully all the humans in the camp would be as friendly as Alphonse, he didn't want to deal with any more fights.

"So, your sister mentioned you were Dalish, right?" Al asked, crossing his arms, "I didn't know Radae was a Dalish name." Radae smiled in an attempt to hide his disappointment. He'd overlooked that the name Radae didn't sound remotely Dalish, and would probably attract even more attention. A Dalish is only permitted to change their name once, however, so he was stuck with it.

"I changed my name when I left our clan." Radae said in response to Als question. The Templar nodded, content with the answer. He and Radae spent the next few minutes pulling Elric and Alynna away from each other, not wanting either to get injured. Radae said farewell to his new friend, but not before the two had a chance to plan out the next night. Al wanted to introduce Radae to the rest of the Mages, so he arranged for the elf to gain access into the Mages area. However, he was only permitted when the sun was down, during the day they tended to be very busy. Alynna swore at Elric in Dalish until they were out of sight, at which point she began fuming over being pulled away from the fight.

"Maybe we should just wait for the Ash Warriors to get back, you seemed to get along with them better." Radae pointed out, laughing slightly. "They might even show us around camp."

"They are not expected back until tomorrow." Alynna sighed, absently tapping the dagger strapped to her right hip. "We'll just have to wait around here until then."

"Well... We could go find them." Radae suggested, earning a look of fake shock from his sister.

"Brother! To do such a thing would be to disobey an order given to us." She stated, feigning disappointment, "I am ashamed that you would even suggest such a thing."

"I know it well, Sister, but how shall we survive?" He replied, dramatically placing the back of his left hand against his forehead, "Two elves, lost in a world of humans, our only friends vanished into the wilderness?" Alynna wiped a fake tear from her eye.

"Dearest Brother, perhaps you are correct. Perhaps we indeed should search for the noble Ash Warriors and their faithful canines."

"T'would be the only way to thank them for their kinship." Radae agreed, he and his sister breaking out of their act and dashing toward one of the walls.

The gate into the wilderness was guarded, so the twins were forced to find a way over the sharpened barrier. Luckily, they were both excellent climbers, and were able to scurry up one of the old columns near the fence. Just before they were able to make it over the wooden barrier, they heard a deep voice.

"I thought I told you to stay within the camp." The twins froze, slowly turning their heads toward the voice. Duncan stood a few feet below them, hands clasped behind his back and humorous smile on his face.

"...We miss the trees?" Radae attempted, realizing it was in vain.

"Come down from there, I have someone I want you to meet."

Whoo! First chapter posted! Any comments or criticism is welcome. I'm also looking for a Beta reader, if anyone is interested. You'll get to read the stories first! Yaay!... Anyhoo, review, and stay tuned.