Here we go everyone! I'm back! Sorry of the long delay in getting this out all of you wonderful readers but real life has been getting in the way lately and I wanted to get a couple of chapters in before I released this story out to you.

This story takes place about a month after the death of the archdemon and eventually all of the origin characters will be back together in this one. Hope that you all enjoy what I have so far!

Chapter 1

Over a month had passed since the day that the Five Heroes of Ferelden fought and defeated the Archdemon atop the infamous Fort Drakon in the heart of Denerim. After the beast was defeated a new King, King Alistair Theirin, was named by his now Queen Anora Mac'Tir. Almost instantly the young King implemented numerous changes to Ferelden, some of which were greeted with open arms, while others were protested against almost constantly. The most commonly protested changes were those made to the elves. The Dalish had been given their own lands and a place in the Bannorn as a Teryn. The elves who choose to remain in the city found a leader in the newly appointed Bann of the Alienage Shianni. It was sad how many saw the fact that elves had any political powers in Ferelden as a slide backward, as if other the other countries of Thedas hadn't already thought the barbarian country backward enough! But it was a step toward equality for all those that lived in the lands, a place for all no matter how they were born, elf or human.

But even those protests fell far short to those of the Chantry. The Templars, the sword and shield of the Chantry, were prohibited from entering the Circle of Magi. And the once powerful order suddenly found itself devoid of almost all duties save the hunting of blood mages, which had to be confirmed by a Senior Enchanter of the Circle. The Grand Cleric herself made several attempts to persuade the young King; going almost as far as damning him eternity away from the Maker should he not comply, just to change his mind on the subject. But all of these protests fell on deaf ears as the King held his ground in his decisions. It was a good thing Alistair hadn't been completely warped by his Chantry training when he was younger. Else he'd have had to face the wrath of Alim for going back on the boon he'd asked for in the Landsmeet.

Perhaps the one most surprised by the new King was none other than the Queen herself. At the start Anora had thought that the young man would be a sheep unwilling to take the lead. But she was wrong. Unlike his brother, who only wished to lead in times of war, Alistair was proving to be a far better leader than she'd ever thought possible. And while she was glad she was not married to a sheep, she was even more pleased to find that Alistair turned to her experience and leadership more often than not in most matters. It was a beneficial relationship in that respect, two hard backbones and experience in politics as well as war. Just what was needed in Ferelden to hand both any threats on the rule and lands.

Another change that reverberated not only in Ferelden, but the rest of Thedas as well, was when the King gave the Arling of Amaranthine to the Grey Wardens. In turn, this meant that whoever was the Commander of the Wardens in Ferelden was also appointed as the Arl of Amaranthine. In addition to the fact a Grey Warden was on the throne, this was a huge blow at the ideals set about that Grey wardens lost all rank and status in the eyes of the people. The Gray Warden reinforcements for Orlais, even though they were not needed, were given access to Ferelden by Royal Decree and met up with the few Ferelden Wardens at Vigil's Keep. And that is where the newly appointed Arlessa of Amaranthine, Kallian Tabris-Cousland, was currently. The first elf Arlessa was standing on the balcony attached to the master bedroom of the Keep. A blanket of fur was wrapped around her petite shoulders to try and stave off as much of the cold winter air as possible as she watched the sun set below the horizon.

Her husband, the Arl of Amaranthine and Warden Commander Aedan Cousland-Tabris, was due to return yesterday evening. One of the Bann's, Bann Esmerelda, had requested his presence. Apparently she'd found a soldier within her ranks that she felt was worthy to join with the Wardens. And in the interest of keeping the peace with those under his command, Aedan had set out four days ago to test this Knight and see if he was truly worthy of joining the Wardens.

That had been another thing that had completely surprised Kallian. As she was growing up she'd heard tales of the heroics of the Grey Wardens…but none ever talked about truly joining willing. At least not in large numbers. But when they'd arrived at Vigil's Keep two weeks ago, the line of potential recruits had gone from the main halls door out to beyond the wall of the Keep. Of course many were there to just try and join in on the 'heroics' of the Wardens. And while some didn't know one end of a sword from the other, there were a handful that would make decent Wardens. Of the first batch of recruits Aedan had selected only five to go through with the Joining.

As Aedan was Commander it was not his position to go out in the field and fetch the darkspawn blood. And Alim had gone to the Circle to help with the mages transition to freedom while Natia took her token force back to Orzammar. That left either herself or Lyna to guide the new recruits. In the end it was Lyna, who'd lost to her at a game of 'Rock' 'Paper' 'Knife' that was chosen to lead the recruits. Within a day Lyna and her charges had managed to track and kill a small band of darkspawn that were still wandering above the surface. The night of their return the Warden Commander and the two elves attended their first Joining Ceremony this time standing on the other side.

Two of the five died during the Joining. The three who lived were a woman Dalish hunter, a Knight of Dragon's Peak, and a small thief who'd been hoping to escape the gallows by Joining. They were the first of the new Ferelden recruits.

"Lethallan, what are you doing out there? You'll catch the cold staying out there waiting for your lath to return. It is not wise to tempt the Dread Wolf."

Turning her head back she looked where her Dalish friend was currently sitting by the small fireplace within the room. The burn marks from the Archdemon were still clearly visible on one side of her face. Instead of being ashamed of the marks though, Lyna almost seemed to wear them as a badge of honor. In her lap was a Dalish longbow, a gift from the Keeper Lanaya after the battle. "I know." She said looking out over the horizon again. "But…he didn't leave here with the…best of farewells…"

Lyna chuckled at that. "That's an understatement. I think there might still be some places were your voice can still be found echoing off the walls."

It was true…brutally so. Ever since coming to this blasted place her temper had for some reason taken a serious turn for the worse. And as the person most frequently around her, poor Aedan was usually her target for venting her frustration. Just before he left however had been the worst. Even more so than when they separated in Denerim. He told her that he had to leave, gave her the reason why, but for reasons that still elude her she couldn't accept that he was going to be away from her. Maker…what was wrong with her?

"The Templar's are also asking to leave again lethallan." Lyna said changing the subject.

Turning away from the cold she entered the room again and shut the doors behind her that led outside. "I don't know how many more excuses I can give them," Lyna told her going over her bow for what must've been the tenth time this night. "Soon they will no longer be willing to stay."

"We just have to hold them here a bit longer, until Aedan can return and deal with them." She said dropping the fur from her person and taking a seat next to her friend.

The Templar's had come to the Keep two days ago with a man in custody. Apparently he'd escaped from the Tower several times, the latest being before Alistair's decree, and they were taking him back to face Chantry justice. She'd heard from Alim just what Chantry justice meant to mages. And she wanted to spare the man that fate. But the only way to do that was if he became untouchable by the Chantry. Basically if he became a Warden. The Templars however barred her from seeing him so she could not make the offer. The only way was to use the Right of Conscription. But as far as she knew only the Warden Commander had the authority to do that. Which is why she was doing everything she could aside from dancing naked in front of the Templars trying to get them to stay in the Keep.

"And that man…Stroud…has asked to meet with you again."

This time Kallian was not able to hold in her sigh of frustration. Stroud was a good Warden, and a decent man she supposed. But coming into a new land, going up to that lands Commander and hero, and saying that he was here to be the 'true' Commander was not the best way to start a good relationship. Granted the man relented quickly after seeing how loyal the Wardens were to her and Aedan and how many recruits just their names brought in. But then he started questioning them constantly on how they all survived the Archdemon. They didn't tell the man of Morrigan's offer, in fact only she and Aedan knew of that, but they did tell him everything they could. In short…they didn't have a clue how they survived, only that they did. Stroud finally accepted what they told him, after the tenth or eleventh retelling, but still the man watched them constantly. Add the Templars, Stroud, and having to hold Court for a day in her husband's absence…yeah she wanted Aedan back for more reasons than just to apologize to him.

About to start up on a new topic she was shushed by Lyna as the Dalish raised her hand. Kallian couldn't hear anything, and just as she was about to say something she felt it. The taint pulsed with the unmistakable sense of darkspawn…and they were close. The two elves barely had time to stand as the door to the room crashed opened. An invisible wave flooded into the room knocking both Lyna and her off their feet and into the wall behind. Kallian was barely able to see through hazy eyes as armored boots rushed towards them and then everything went to black.

"My Lord…are you alright?"

Aedan shook his head and tried to focus in on Ser Mhairi. The woman knight was riding next to him as they traveled from Bann Esmereldas estate back to Vigil's Keep. Something…wasn't right. "I'm alright," he lied to Mhairi while tapping his horse's flanks with his heels. "Let us move. The Keep shouldn't be far now."

"Ha. That's what you said yesterday 'Commander'."

And there was the center of Aedans current headache. Ser Gheory from Bann Esmeralda, while it's true he was a good swordsman, the man was an absolute pain in the ass to deal with. The man was several years older than Aedan and because of this he almost seemed to refuse Aedans position as his future Commander and his present Arl. It could also come from the fact that Aedan remembered this man. The one time he'd met him was when his father had taken him to Amaranthine several years ago. Ser Gheory seemed to have his lips firmly attached to Arl Howe's backside during their stay.

"Are you sure you're alright my lord? We can stop and rest if you are unwell."

Aedan tried to give Mhairi a reassuring smirk, although the feeling of something wrong was still swirling within him. "No thanks Mhairi, I'm anxious to return to the Keep."

"What? Miss your knif-I'm meant your elf mistr-I mean wife 'Commander'?"

"Watch your tongue cur!" Ser Mhairi hissed turning in her saddle and facing Gheory. "The Commander and his wife, as well as their other companions, are heroes of our land! They deserve respect!"

If Gheory had been planning on saying anything further he wisely kept it to himself. Looking over at Mhairi he mouthed a quiet 'thank you' to her causing the Knight to turn a shade of red he could see even through her helmet. The woman had been a gift from the Maker on this trip. She was sent with him to act as his guard on this trip along with Wolf. But what was unknown to her she was also being tested by him to see if she would be an asset to the Wardens.

But…Gheory was correct. He was anxious to get back to the Keep and the reasoning for that was because of his wife Kallian. The weeks after the battle had been almost like a dream between the two. They slept together in a nice bed and not on the hard ground. They were able to husband and wife, not just Wardens, for a time. But ever since they'd arrived at Vigil's Keep her temperament had taken a turn for the worse. He had no idea what he, or anyone else for that matter, did to deserve her anger. But her temper combined with the duties of Warden Commander and Arl of Amaranthine was beginning to wear him down. He fully intended to get to the root of her problems once they returned. He just wasn't truly sure how to go about it.

"My lord! I see Vigil's Keep!"

Shaking his head he cleared his mind and looked where Mhairi was pointing. The squat structure of Vigil's keep was less than an hour's ride away if he had to guess. But…even from this distance…there was something wrong. "My lord?" Mhairi had pulled her mere to a stop next to him as Gheory joined him on his other side.

He might not have the gifted eyesight of the elves…but his vision was still very good. There were fires within the Keep's walls, but they were not where they should be. And…there were small objects running in and out of the opened gate. His body tensed as the full weight of the taint slammed home.

"Ready yourselves!" He shouted drawing Starmight and booting his heels firmly into his horse's flanks. "Darkspawn are attacking the Keep!" 'Maker, please let Kallian be alright!'

The main door to the Keep was suddenly smashed inwards. The darkspawn that were prowling the room within stopped whatever they were doing and turned to the entrance. Three people and a mabari shot like arrows through the open door way, one with two blades drawn and the other two both carrying swords and shields. The first was all that was needed though. The two blades of the Warden Commander cut down every darkspawn that dared get within range of him.

The last standing darkspawn had tried to make a run for it, but the Commander threw his silverite blade end over end imbedding half the length of the blade into the darkspawn. Walking as if he wasn't surrounded by a slaughter Aedan grabbed the hilt of Duncan's sword before kicking the impaled darkspawn off of it. "Are you two alright?" He asked looking back at his two companions.

Both Mhairi and Gheory were staring at him in opened mouth shock. Neither of them had any darkspawn blood on their armor or their swords. "Yes Commander," Mhairi responded finding her voice first.

Turning away from them he looked distastefully at the direction they needed to go. The inner gate within the keep had been dropped blocking their path. They would need to take the long way around. Turning away from the gate he brushed past the two stunned soldiers and headed towards the upper level not caring if the other two followed him or not.

The taint of the darkspawn was everywhere within the Keep, and there was something else as well. It felt almost like the creature that they fought on top of Fort Drakon…but the taint in this one almost seemed to be more…diluted. It felt through it was only slightly more than an average Hurlock. Praying to the Maker that he was right he opened the door to the second floor-and was nearly burned alive as fire shot forth from the doorway. "Hold yourself for Makers sake!" He shouted as the fire died.

Risking a peak back in the room he saw a lone mage standing in the middle of the room. The bodies of Templars were lying around him along with the charred remains of darkspawn. "Uhh. I didn't do it."

Despite everything going on around him and nearly being burned to a crisp by the mage Aedan almost cracked a smile…almost. "Didn't do what?" He asked as Gheory and Mhairi entered behind him.

The mage waved at the dead bodies of the Templars. "I didn't kill them. Don't get me wrong. I'm not sad to see them gone. Biff there made the most interesting gurgle as the darkspawn ran him through. But I didn't kill them."

"Mages," Gheory spat. "Never can trust them. Be better to end him here 'Commander'."

Aedan cast an eye back at the man as the mage grew defensive. "Be at ease mage," Aedan said lowering the tips of his swords. "We're Grey Wardens. Our enemies are the darkspawn; not mages."

The mage relaxed. "Well then, I'm glad to hear that. My name is Anders, former mage of the Circle of Magi. Which of course is why these fine men were chasing me across Ferelden. Just about gave them the slip too…bloody Templar's are worse than dogs sometimes."

Wolf growled at Aedans heels at the comment. "Whoa…um…sorry about that. Didn't mean to insult you."

Wolf gave the mage a crisp bark and then sat back on his haunches drawing up his full height. "Are you good a healing Anders?"

Anders was focused solely on Wolf making Aedans sudden question catch him off guard. "What? Oh…yes. In fact it's one of my primary areas of study. I know that others think that the Primal side of magic is the one to study but I honestly believe that Restoration is-"

"Then you're coming with us."

Three sets of jaws dropped followed quickly by a simultaneous "What!?" from all three.

"There are wounded men and women within the Keep Anders," he explained walking past the still gabbing mage with Wolf right on his heels. "They will need healing during and after the battle. And unfortunately the only mage Warden we have is currently at the Circle of Magi helping to oversee the transition of power. Your skills are needed here and now Anders."

Anders looked around at the four of them and sighed. "Don't suppose I have any choice in the matter…do I?"

"None what so ever."

Standing up straight the mage smiled at him. "Well then, I guess I'm your man. And do I get the honor of knowing your name?"

"Aedan Cousland." He said walking off down the hall.

"Holy Maker!" Anders said running to catch up with him leaving the other two to run to catch up. "One of the 'Heroes of Ferelden'! By the Maker do I have some good luck or what? Oh yeah…one more question. What transition of power with the Circle are you talking about?"

The darkspawn had infested the interior of the Keep perhaps even more so than outside. The addition of Anders to their group was truly the only think keeping them all going at the moment. Both Mhairi and Gheory had received nearly life threatening injuries at the hands of the darkspawn. And it was only because of Anders' magic that they were both able to continue moving. As for Aedan and Wolf…neither of them had received a scratch throughout the entire fight. And even if he had been wounded, he wouldn't have known about it. His mind was focused on one thing and one thing alone. Find Kallian and make sure that she was safe.

Anders wasn't the only addition to the group as they cut a bloody path through the interior of the Keep. For some reason he still hadn't figured out Oghren had come to Vigil's Keep claiming he wanted to join with the Wardens. He tried to talk him out of the decision, but he dwarf was nothing if not resilient. His mind was made up, and he was going to join with the Wardens whether he had Aedans permission or not.

As the now group of five drew closer to the top of the battlements the feeling of the taint was beginning to weigh heavier on Aedan. It was almost identical to the time at the top of Fort Drakon when they fought Commander just before the Archdemon. Aedan prayed to the Maker that he was wrong and that what he was feeling was just a strong Hurlock and not of the same breed as Commander.

His prayer's fell on death ears however. At the top of the battlements Aedans worst fears were realized. There were three darkspawn before them. Two of them were normal hurlocks and the third was of the same caliber as Commander. Worse yet, the two hurlocks had a prisoner on his knees before the larger darkspawn. The Orlesian Warden Stroud was staring up at the new darkspawn without fear.

"Whatever it is you're planning darkspawn…you will fail. Just like the rest of your kind." Stroud voice was loud enough to reach them even from far across the battlements.

The large darkspawn grabbed a fist full of Strouds hair and roughly jerked it back forcing the Wardens head back. "You think you know my kind Warden? You are pathetic." Letting go of Stroud's head the large darkspawn turned around and faced Aedan as he rounded the bend and marched towards the four.

"Ah. And now the Warden Commander comes to greet us in person." The darkspawn drawled walking towards them. "You are here…just as the Father foretold."

"Maker…did that thing just talk!" Mhairi cursed stepping in between him and the darkspawn.

The darkspawn didn't seem to notice her comment; its eyes were solely focused in on Aedan. "You do not seem as surprised as your comrades by my presence Warden Commander."

Tightening his grip on his swords he kept his eyes focused on the talking darkspawn but made sure that Stroud was still in his sight. "You're not the first of your kind I've encountered. We face and killed one of yours named 'Commander' just before we killed the Archdemon."

The darkspawn suddenly looked at him differently. It almost looked like the darkspawn was looking at him with…respect. Was it possible for darkspawn to even be capable of respect? "So you killed Commander…you have my respect for killing one who betrayed the Father."

'Who is this father?' Aedan thought keeping his eyes trained on the darkspawn. 'It speaks of him with such reverence. I thought that the darkspawn only followed the Archdemon. Could this 'Father' be the traitor that Commander mentioned?'

"But while you may have my respect for killing that traitor…that doesn't change what I am to do." The talking darkspawn turned back to the others with it. "Kill the others! But leave the Wardens alive for the Father!"

The creature let out a shriek much the same as the Commander. But whereas that attack was enough to throw furniture, this attack was barely powerful enough to force Aedan to take a step backwards. Not giving the creature time to attack again Aedan lashed out with Smite. Painful cries erupted from both the darkspawn and the mage Anders behind him as all magic in the area was suddenly nulled by his power.

Not giving the darkspawn a chance to recover Aedan pounced, his two blades swinging down in arcs and rending the armor of the darkspawn. The two hurlocks pushed their captive aside as they saw their leader being pushed back. Two shields held the two at bay as Gheory and Mhairi suddenly appeared on either side of him keeping the hurlocks from interfering with the fight. A ball of black armor and red hair rolled by, its form unfolding itself behind the darkspawn. Before the darkspawn had a chance to react Oghrens heavy axe cut deep into its legs.

Crying out in pain the darkspawn fell to its knees before Aedan. Starmight arced up slicing through the wrist and severing the hand of the darkspawn removing its sword from its body. The edges of Starmight and Duncan's sword rested against opposite sides of the kneeling darkspawn's neck. "Who is this 'Father'?"

The darkspawn looked up at him with unconcealed hatred. "Our salvation…and your demise! Your kind will not stop the glorious work of the Father again! Your kind will fall!"

His grip on his swords tightened. "Not before you."

Metal scraped against metal as the silverite and star metal blades scissored through the neck of the darkspawn, its headless body falling to a heap on the battlements moments after its head rolled away.

"Maker! Didn't realize you were a Templar! Give a man a warning next time before you do something like that!"

Ignoring the mage who'd fought with them Aedan approached Stroud and helped the Orlesian Warden to his feet. "My thanks Commander," Stroud said wincing as he stood. "Had your interruption not been more timely…I shudder to think what would've happened."

"What happened here Stroud? How did the darkspawn get into the Keep?" He asked as Mhairi and Gheory approached the duo having finished off their darkspawn attackers. "And where is Kallian?"

Stroud didn't meet his eyes. "I do not know how they did it. But we Wardens didn't sense them until they were within the walls. I believe there is a connecting tunnel into the Deep roads beneath us. Your wife…"

The sense of dread he felt on the road came back tenfold. "Stroud." He grabbed the Orlesian and forced him to face him. "Where is Kallian!?"

"I do not know Commander. The darkspawn…they took your wife and all of the other Wardens save myself down into the tunnels from whence they came…Commander are you-" Aedan didn't hear anything else as the world went black around him. His last recollection of what was happening was him running and jumping off the edge of the battlements to the ground below as cries from his comrades followed his pursuit. "Kallian!"

Well there we are after the long delay chapter 1 of my Awakening story is finally out!

If you enjoyed it, even the slightest, please leave a review! I am currently have a major case of writers block with this story were I'm at and your reviews always help motivate me into writing more! So please, if you have any comments, thoughts (both positive and criticism) please leave them but if it is the later please be polite.

More to come soon my fellow readers! Hope that you all enjoyed this! I'm trying to take a slightly darker turn on this story when compared to The Five Wardens (which will become apparent in a chapter or two). And if you liked it outside of leaving a review please alert and favorite this!

See ya all in the next chapter!

ffdrake