"We are, we are
We are, we'll always be
The wronged"

The Broken

A scream of pure rage fled from her lips as she watched her brethren fall, and it was with little thought that Max caused the earth to rip asunder, raising a large boulder from the ground and hurling it at the encroaching shems. Her people cheered, rallied by their First's quick thinking, and soon their own blades were unsheathed and their arrows loosed as they prepared to fight against the humans that dared threaten their safety.

Soldiers, the lot of them, all wearing gleaming silver armor and bearing sigils on their shields. It mattered not to Max, they would die all the same. Energy coursed through her as she raised another boulder, and it was with a satisfied smile that she watched the large rock crash into several of the heavily armed humans, crushing them, the snapping of bones and their pained death cries filling the air.

"Good job, lethallan!" A voice cheered beside her. Pride coursed through their tone, setting Max's soul aflame with joy. She was still so young, face still stinging from the vallaslin that covered her cheeks, even though it had been weeks since she had come of age and earned it. She would not let them down, even if it ended in her own downfall.

Dropping to her knees, Max began to incant, begging the earth to do her bidding. Screams of confusion and fear pierced the foray as large, gnarled roots shot from the ground, haphazardly impaling several of the knights and either killing them instantly or making it so they would slowly bleed out in agony. A fitting end, she decided, for such savage creatures who wished nothing but the destruction of her people.

The young elf grinned as she rose to her feet once more, thrusting her staff forward, directing the earth to shudder and quake beneath the enemy's feet, causing several of the heavily armed shems to topple over, making them easy pickings for the elves. They quickly dispatched the humans that were ensnared by Max's magic, choosing to slit their throats as they passed by, a quick, efficient death.

As the battle continued, Max felt her stamina quickly depleting. She wasn't used to battle; it wasn't often she used her magic other than when the keeper asked her to or when she was training. Such long periods of exertion soon had the young elf puffing for air, sweat beading on her skin as blood filled the warm spring air.

Her vision started to blur, blackening around the edges. Her knees quaked, threatening to give out any moment, but her clan needed her to be strong, needed their First to help protect them. Gritting her teeth, Max took a knee, still incanting, still fighting.

But her people were dying, the skirmish quickly turning into a slaughter as the bigger, stronger humans made quick work of the elves with their superior weapons, shields, and armor. They cut through the elves with little care, almost seeming to bat them away like flies before sinking their blades deep within their bodies, ending their life.

Creators, Max thought as she watched another child die before her. There won't be any of us left at this rate.

Scarlet filled her vision, and it was with a shriek of unadulterated rage that the brunette rushed forward on leaden legs, lashing out with her staff and bludgeoning the shem that had killed an innocent before he had the chance to get away. She was fighting tooth and nail now, casting her spells and lashing out with the blunt end of her staff, hitting any human that dared get close to her.

But exhaustion quickly started to take hold of her, causing her swings to lose their power after a few mere moments, the hits doing little more than stunning rather than incapacitating her opponents. Before too long gloved hands found their way to her wrists and a well placed fist had her seeing stars. Shaking off the blurred vision, Max weakly scrabbled against the smooth surface of the cuirass the soldier wore, trying in vain to push them away. Another punch was given, blood quickly filled her mouth and pain shot through her nose and teeth.

She would be sporting a black eye and a broken nose come tomorrow.

Her vision swam, blurred, growing dimmer as the human kept punching and kicking her, another quickly joining in until all she felt was unbearable pain lancing through her body from the beating.

I've failed you, Keeper, was her final thought as she finally fell unconsciousness, the agonized screams of her people a distant noise that faded to nothing.

When she awoke, Max was bound and gagged, practically tied to the back of a horse she was slung over. It was with little thought that the brunette began to fight her bindings, struggling to free herself and return to her clan, or what was left of it. Anger, guilt, sadness, all these feelings flowered through her, but the biggest one was guilt.

I could have saved them, she thought as she continued to struggle, unmindful of the angry shouts the humans tossed her way. I could have used my power to save everyone.

Twisting on the back of the horse, Max fell hard to the ground, the air knocked out of her and her tongue only spared from being bit in half by the unknown fabric that was shoved deep within her mouth. A groan of pain left the elf as she rolled onto her back, her previous beating having not yet been healed.

Hands were on her, dragging her to her feet before she was cuffed on the ear, a ringing pain shooting through the delicate appendage. She was forced to walk from then on, a guard on either side of her. It was humiliating.

For days the group traveled at a breakneck pace, stopping only for short meals and to sleep. Max was largely ignored, only given scraps of food to eat and sips of water every now and then so the elf wouldn't die during travel. As time wore on, all the fat reserves the small woman had melted away, leaving the elf looking even thinner than usual, almost sickly to a degree as she stumbled behind the horses.

Exhaustion, starvation, and dehydration were daily things the elf suffered now. Her stomach stopped growling days ago, her mouth felt constantly dry, and her legs and feet ached nonstop from the march they were on. Her gag hadn't been removed often enough and now large sores covered her mouth from the damp fabric constantly rubbing against her. The humans merely laughed as she tried to eat their discarded foodstuffs without her sores bleeding when it was offered to her, but that had been three days ago.

They had been travelling for over a week now. Each time she tried to ask one of the humans where they were headed, she was harshly cuffed, sending her scurrying away, murder clear in her eyes and a spell on the tip of her tongue. But the shem were smart, and often beat the young girl into submission before shoving the dirtied cloth back into her mouth and moving on once again.

In truth, Max didn't know where they were going. While she was Ferelden born, the brunette knew very little outside the Brecilian Forest. They had passed through cities, where people gawked and often pointed at her, yet she still held her head high as she passed through these small towns and villages, her pride not wavering even as half healed lacerations and bruises coated her visage. But nothing held clue as to what their destination was.

Finally, after nearly two weeks of travel, the humans' demeanor seemed to change. They had a certain jovial edge in their conversations, even going about feeding Max real food for their midday meal, which she ate with gusto, as starved as she was, and even undoing the gag and applying a poultice around the raw edges of her mouth where the fabric chaffed her skin.

They even "allowed" Max to bathe in a cold river they passed by, stripping her of her clothing and tossing her bodily into the water. It was one of the most degrading things Max had been forced into as the men leered at her naked form. Rough hands grabbed her, rubbing her skin and hair with a bar of soap before forcing her beneath the surface, where she choked and sputtered on the water that filled her lungs until they let her up. Stumbling to shore, she fell to the ground, a weak, shivering mess as she coughed up the water in her lungs. A soft woolen blanket was placed around her shoulders as one of the humans rubbed her back, whispering gentle words against her ear until she was able to breathe regularly once more.

She watched as said human then stood, starting an argument with the others who had held Max beneath the water, nearly drowning the elf. When they came back, they made a promise to never let that happen again under their care.

Still, Max wasn't grateful for their sudden change of heart, in fact it only made the elf nervous, and she lashed out with tied hands and teeth as she tried to bite and claw at the exposed areas her captors left open when they tried to dress her. But they were stronger than an emaciated elf, easily knocking her to the ground with a laugh and kicking her squarely in the stomach, knocking the air from her lungs again and again until she could do little more than gasp for breath and tremble under the unrelenting assault.

"Had enough, knife-ear?" They jeered, giving Max one final kick to the stomach before relenting. They laughed, a noise that grated on the brunette's ears, as they walked away, back to their camp for the night.

They left her naked on the ground, covered in dirt, blood, and bruises, and that's where the humans found her the next morning, curled into a ball, sleeping lightly.

Once again did they bathe her, scrubbing roughly at her skin until the alabaster skin turned red from their furious work, clothed her, and once more did they feed her, giving her hard bread and hard cheese to break her fast.

Talking, however, was kept to a minimum, and before Max had the chance to finish her meager meal, it as taken from her, thrown to the ground as one of her captors stood, shoving her and encouraging her to start walking.

How far would they walk today? She wondered, already stumbling over blistered and weary feet as she trailed behind the horses. The gag, as usual, was set in place in her mouth, preventing the small girl from asking questions. They traveled at a brutal pace, not once stopping to eat or drink, forcing the elf to continue walking, even whilst her legs trembled, often giving out during the long journey, which earned her quite a thrashing each time.

As they walked, the looming form of a tower sat on the horizon, slowly growing larger the closer they approached it. The scent of murky water greeted her senses long before she even saw the mist ridden lake, and finally, to Max's great relief, they reached the docks, where the soldiers dismounted their steeds and began chatting with another heavily armed and armored man.

Max didn't care for their words, simply choosing to collapse on the soft grass and rest. Her feet ached, as did her body, but as she sat on dew dampened grass all she cared in that moment was that she had a chance to stop walking for more than a few minutes.

"This 'er?" The man asked, walking over, crouching down, and visually examining Max.

Max frowned, disliking the scoffing tone the man took. She gnawed at the cloth in her mouth, eyes narrowed, a low growl seeping from her throat.

"Can she even speak the common tongue?" He asked, unmindful of the girl's threatening posture and attitude, turning his gaze back towards her captors, who merely shrugged.

"We kept the gag on her to keep her from casting spells," One of them explained gruffly, almost seeming to challenge the other man for their actions.

"Best to keep 'er gagged for now," The man sighed, bringing a gauntleted hand up to rub at short cropped hair. Standing up once more, he walked over towards the group, digging in a pouch on his side before pulling out some gold and placing it in their hands. "The Circle thanks you for bringing in this apostate."