Author's Note: Just an idea that popped into my head. I hope you enjoy, please read and review. I hope to write this for a good long while, but reviewing will most certainly help encourage me to get it done.
A little background for this story: In this story, the elves of dragonage are assumed to not be native to that world, and instead, came to Theddas through a series of Elfgates. These gates lead to many of the worlds controlled by elves. And one of them, has been found...
"They've found us!" The human knight, clad in main hauberk, shouted deeper into the tunnel after his companions. He spilled out the last of the oil on the floor, then turned and ran after them, hopping to get out of the way of the fireball. Bevil couldn't believe how bad things had gone, and he'd thought they'd been bad when they'd found out that this wasn't the final resting place of Andraste's ashes. As he ran by, Leira, the Dalish Apostate mage they'd picked up, unleashed a fireball at the incoming Darkspawn. As the orb of fire exploded, it hurled the vile creatures in every direction, and ignited the oil that Bevil had poured out.
"That should keep them, at least for a short time." Yensid, the wisened circle mage, commented. "But we'd best make haste, some will not be so smart as to wait for the flames to die." And with that, he turned and lead them off. Theirs was a sorry lot, a band of misfits gathered together simply because they'd nothing better to do, and would all have died if they hadn't. Bevil had left Highcliff to find the Sacred Urn containing Andraste's ashes, but so far the quest continued to grow more and more hopeless. Leria was one of two survivors of a Darkspawn raid on her Dalish clan, and Yensid had taken her in, and they and Thellion had joined with Bevil in his quest. None of this mattered much to the slightly panicked human as he ran through the winding tunnels of the ruin, dodging arrows as he went. He was far more concerned with simpler things, like not getting skewered, or staying ahead of the dead air that would be spreading out from the fire.
In short order, the trio, Yensid, Bevil, and Leira turned the corner and saw their other three companions, Thellion, the Dalish archer, Kolgrim, the disgraced Dwarven noble, and Celia, the city elf cutthrout. "Find a way out?" He pleaded to them.
"No." The Dwarf replied gruffly. "But we found a good place to die, if that will suit you. Nice bottleneck, high ground, great place to make sure they suffer for our blood."
"Show me." Yensid responded. "If you can hold them off, I may be able to find a way for us to escape."
The other's nodded, they didn't have time for much else, they could already hear the howls of the darkspawn as they tried to cross the fire, charging forward though burning and suffocating they'd be. The vile things felt no pain, and desired only to kill.
Celia laid a few traps as they went, not caring where they landed, knowing the darkspawn wouldn't either. Thellion led them through yet another winding corridor, ancient elven gods, forgotten even to the Dalish, watching them as they ran in panic. They soon came to a large, closed courtyard, with a tremendous arch standing atop a raised dias. There were several defensible positions, and Bevil had to admit that Kolgrim had chosen wisely, yet again. The dwarf was a master tactician.
The human heard an explosion behind him as he surveyed the room, and when he turned to look back into the corridor, he saw Leira running coming of from her position in the rear. "That should slow them down." She said in a huff, covered head to toe in dust.
"What did you do?" Thellion asked.
"Collapsed the corridor... not entirely, they'll still get through, but they'll have to dig." She answered.
Bevil nodded, at her, then turned and looked to Yensid, who seemed to be busy examining the arch. He seemed rather intent on it, for some reason. "Find something, Mage?" He called to the old man.
"Silence!" Was the reply. "I think I may have found our way out of here..." The old mage patted the marble white stone, then grinned as he turned back. "Do you know what this is?"
"It's... an... arch?" He replied. "How does that help us?"
"It's not just any arch... this arch contains strong magical energy, a great connection to the fade... I think... and I bet my life on this... that it is a gateway. It requires magical power to use, however."
"A gateway... to where, master?" Leira intervened before anyone else could voice the question.
"Not here..." Was the simple reply.
Deeper down the corridor, another explosion could be heard, and more howling and shrieking voices, Darkspawn. "Damn... you'd 'a thought that'd have lasted longer..." Celia cursed, then pulled her daggers out from their sheaths, slipping down to hide behind some rocks, ready to jump out and take a stab at anything that entered her reach.
Yensid turned. "Give me time to try and power it, my Apprentice, hold them off with the other's, but try and conserve your power, I may need you to assist me."
As the others nodded and made their preperations, Yensid turned and made his own. He'd heard of such things in his studies of the ancient elves, had even managed once to find such a thing, though in ruined condition. This one was perfect, not even a scratch on the finely cut stone. The powerful human mage felt out with the fade, touching upon the stone, then testing it, searching for a connection. Sure enough, he could feel it, like a tunnel waiting to be opened, between this gate, and another, far away. So far he wasn't even certain where it was. But it was certainly far from these darkspawn.
He began to pour energy into the gate, becomind a conduit connecting the arch of stone to the great source of all magical power, the fade. It surged through him, and, within the fade, demons and spirits gathered at the edges of his awareness, only to be pushed back by the barriers he had erected for himself.
As the powerful Mage dealt with that, the others prepared their battlefield. Their remaining traps were laid out, and whatever simple ones could be made in such short order were set out as well. Thallion dipped his arrows in poison to slow the darkspawn down, even if it wouldn't kill the unnaturally resistant monsters. Bevil and Kolgrim moved rocks and rubble about to force the darkspawn to move along the path they wanted, Celia set up her own little nooks to hide and strike from, and Leira gathered her willpower to summon her magics. They worked in silence, each knowing their task and doing it with determination.
Finally, they heard a crumbling of stone and a howl of triumph. Within moments, they could see the darkspawn rushing forward through the tunnel, a handful of Hurlocks and Genlocks leading the charge. Leira gathered her energies for a tremendous spell, sending it forward, through the earth. In great roar of stone, a wall shot up behind those darkspawn cutting off the hord, and crushing a great number. Though the spell depleated her, she knew that it would at least alow them to deal with these few, for now.
With the rest of the hord cut off, there only remained nine darkspawn, four Hurlocks and the rest Genlocks, to fight. Two of the hurlocks rushed forward, and right into a pair of spring traps that crushed their feat. The beasts didn't even seem to notice, save for the fact that they could no longer move. Thellion fired at one of the still targets, taking it in the eye, then at the other, the arrow digging into it's neck.
Two of the Genlocks rushed at Kolgrim's position, roaring in anger. As they reached him, the first swung down in a great chop with it's axe, the heavy blow easily being blocked and deflected by the sturdy dwarf's shield. Kolgrim lashed out with his own axe, chopping across the beasts chest. As the blood of the dieing monster washed over him, the second came across on his axe side. Had he been a novice fighter, he might have been open to attack, but as the darkspawn stabbed in with it's shortsword, the parried the blow with a sweep of his axe, then punched forward, the edge of his shield crushing the darkspawn's face.
Further ahead, Celia leaped out from her hiding place, sinking both her blades into one of the remaining Hurlock's necks, just above the shoulders. The creature fell as she pulled the blades free, ducking under a high chop by a charging Genlock. The blow caught her shoulder, however, and she tumbled to the ground with a groan. Before the beast could strike at her again, the shaft of an arrow materialized in a wash of blood on it's chest, and it gurgled and fell. Celia only had a moment to look over to see Thellion giving her a salute, before she stumbled back to her feet.
The remaining Hurlock charged at Kolgrim, and swung it's huge axe down to chop at his head. Kolgrim only just managed to get his shield in the way before the heavy blow struck, biting into his shield, the axehead sinking into his shoulder, even through the thick wood and metal of his defenses. He gave a grunt, chopping a cross and cutting the shaft of the axe as the darkspawn pulled it back. The beast roared, swinging at him with the wooden stump, striking him in the shoulder yet dwarf stumbled forward with a grunt, trying to chop at it's legs, but the beast merely dodged the blow, kicking at his stomach, lifting him from the ground and sending him a few feat.
Bevil, just finishing the Genlock he'd been fighting with a heavy chop of his own, shouted and ran to help his friend. The hurlock turned and saw him, then dove forward, grabbing the shortened shaft of his axe, lifting the heavy weapon even without the added leverage of a long handle. It swung at Bevil as he charged, but the human ducked under it, raising his sword and thrusting into the darkspawn's belly. The blow was true, sinking into belly flush, opening a flood of tainted blood.
The beast hardly even noticed, pushing forward along the blade. It jabbed it's head forward, knocking the knight back. Bevil looked up at it in a daze as it raized it's axe back behind it's head, ready to strike down at him. Then, the shaft of yet another arrow appeared in a flash of blood, just above the sword, then another, then the tips of two daggers could be seen sticking out from it's chest from a wound in it's back. The Hurlock looked as though it tried to swing it's blade down, but lacking the strenght, merely stumbled to the side and fell in a heap, revealing Celia standing behind it.
The dazed knight merely looked up at the elven woman, quirking his head to the side a bit. "I thought you hated me..."
"Don't take it the wrong way... that darkspawn was just making itself too easy a target to pass up."
The knight, his head still swimming from the blow, looked up at her in confusion, and Thellion laughed. The others, except for Yensid, joined in with a chuckle, the nerves easing out of them somewhat as they did.
"I'm almost finished, Leira, send me some of your magic, lets finish this thing and get out of here." The mage called back, and Leira was fast to his side, lending her own strength to his. The moment she did, it felt as though a great damn had been broken, as though her presence alone were the key. Their power rushed forward, like a drill, clearing the bridge between the gates. "Yes!" The human mage cheered.
A cheer that was cut short as a beastly roar, greater than any that could be caused by the more common darkspawn, filled the chamber, and was quickly followed by a great thump against wall Leira'd erected. Another, drum like blow, landed on the wall, unsettling dust and causing cracks to form in the magically raised stone.
"Right, still gotta escape, lets go!" Ceila called, rushing up the dias. "You're sure this thing'll work, and wont just kill us?" She looked to Yensid.
"Not entirely, but I'm sure we will die if we stay and fight the darkspawn."
"It's settled, then." Bevil called, sheathing his greatsword behind his back. "We go through." Without any other words, he walked forward between them all, and right into the open portal.
"Never one for caution, is he?" Ceila said. "Then again... neither am I." And with that, she followed after him. Kolgrim, not one for unnecessary words, simply grunted and went in next.
Whump!
Yensid looked to Leira. "Go, my aprentice, I don't know how long this portal will linger, and someone should hold them off until it is about to close."
Whump!
"But..."
Whump!
"But nothing." The old mage sighed. "If they begin to overwhelm me, I will follow."
Whump!
"If they overwhelm us you mean." Thellion said, coming back up from recovering his arrows. He stepped toward Leira, taking her head in his hands and giving her a kiss on her forhead, stiffling her protest before she could word them. "Go... we'll be fine..."
Whump!
Tears streamed her eyes as she looked between them, then she nodded, turning and running through the portal after the others. As she left, Thellion's soft expression fell into one of resignation, and he readied his bow. "So... what's the plan?"
Whump!
"Destroy the gate... make sure they can't follow." Yensid answered curtly.
Whump!
"Can't do that from the other side?" Thellion counted his arrows, sixteen left.
Whump!
"No. The exlposion would be great enough to level anything on the other side."
Whump! Crash!
The barrier broke down, and darkspawn surged forward as many as they could. The first one to try and run though immediately found an arrow in it's neck, however, and it fell back against the others. 'fifteen'. Thellion mentally counted, as Yensid gathered his strenth to destroy the gate.
"Don't let them harm me, if my concentration breaks, this is ruined." The mage called back.
Thellion merely offered a grunt, letting two more arrows fly into the ranks of darkspawn, aiming to slow the mass of monsters down. The huge Ogre wich had beaten down the wall bent low and roared through the hole, taking an arrow in it's mouth, then it's eye, for the trouble, stumbling back and falling atop the horde.
Three more arrows flew forward, sinking into the chests and necks of the darkspawn who tried to crawl over the huge corpse. Another, a Hurlock, glanced over the hill of flesh, then ducked down out of another arrows path, elicting a curse from the elf. He could hear the gutteral grunts that passed as language for the beasts, and soon saw that they were trying to drag the body out of the way. 'Not if I can help it.'
He bid his time, waiting for one of the beasts pulling at the huge corpse to show itself, his keen eyes detecting the movement, and let fly. He heard another gurgle, and smiled in smug satisfaction. A few more grunts and shouts. 'Your move, darkspawn filth. What are you going to do now...'
Three more darkspawn peaked up from the corpse, but only one of his arrows got through their helmets. 'shitshitshitshit!' He got one of them in the neck with a fourth, but he knew that there was going to be trouble now. He could hear the darkspawn retreating back from the Ogre's corpse.
The hair on his neck stood up as his warrior instincts told him trouble was coming. Then the ogre exploded, gore flaming guts flying everywhere. Darkspawn surged forward. Three arrows flew out to meet them, catching them in the narrow tunnel, slowling them down. On the fourth and last, Thellion took an arrow in the leg, and the bolt shot wide. 'Damn!'
"Mage! I Hope you're ready!" He took out his sword and shield, and brought them to the ready.
Yensid didn't even turn, engrosed in the titanic effort he'd set before himself. He had wrapped his energies around the portal, then had begun to crush it, bringing those energies in as tightly as he could. As he finally felt the supports of the stone arch weaken, he gave a final push, and the entire thing collapsed in a great uproar.
For a few moments, nothing happened, and the darkspawn continued their charge. Then the space where the portal had been flared white, and a torrent of energy rushed out, engulfing everyone in it's path. The explosion shot upward, drilling through rock and stone to blast out of the top of the mountain. Yensid and Thellion didn't even feel it as their forms where incinerated by the energy...
Then, everything was quiet... save for the few spirits that managed to survive the blast and come into the mortal world, and the portal, wherever it lead, was gone.
I hope you enjoyed. As before, please read and review, as it always helps to know how my writing is liked, and also helps to know what mistakes I may have made. I DO correct mistakes, after all. A little clarification, for those who may be curious. The elves of Theddas are, for the purposes of this story, going to look like the elves of Gallroion. This means that they have longer ears, and also have irises so big that one might think they have no whites to their eyes. Their eyes are also reflective. I hope these changes make sense to people. If not, Too bad! :P