Let loose the bloodhound of war

The origin of Loki Amell

Loki Amell was have a very bad day. First Templars almost found his latest bolt hole – meaning that he now had to move again- leading to a mad dash through the woods, then because of that he missed eating this morning leading him to change into his mabari form to find food. That led him to here with his leg caught bleeding I a claw trap surround by darkspawn about to make a meal out of him. 'if I could shift back I would be fine.' He thought bitterly because shifting with the jaw stuck to his arm would lead to losing the arm.

The darkspawn closed around him. He howled a challenge at them, snapping his razor sharp teeth at them, if he was going down he was taking as many with him as possible. Just as the first spawn got close they all turned as one to face the trees in front of Loki. There was the sound of armor clanking and voices drawing nearer. Then the voices stop and some sound dropped off as if the voice had notice the spawn even though they were out of sight and had yet to make a noise. Suddenly men in grey warden armour leapt out of the trees in to the small clearing. They charged the darkspawn with eyes glowing blue. As the two groups fought a man in leather rouge armor came up to him undetected by the spawn and started opening the jaws. "I need you to stay quiet my friend I am trying to help you." The man spoke in a calm soothing voice. Loki bowed his head to show understanding, he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouse.

Duncan slightly opened the jaws caging the mabari, hoping the hound would stay quiet long enough for him to slip in to the fray and help his comrades. As soon as the jaws fell away the hound removed his leg and looked into Duncan's eyes, a shiver ran down his spine as he realised this was no mabari having known and fought beside many he knew the intelligence of the breed but there were to things wrong with this one. The first being no mabari had swirling sliver eyes or second possessed such a cold looking intelligence. The hound backed up a couple of limping steps and started to glow with an internal light. Duncan nearly fell over from where he had been kneeling as the hound turned into a young man that looked no older than his early 20's but with those same eyes and pure snow white hair.

Loki looked at the man who had freed him, who now wore a look of pure shock. Loki smirked that was a common reaction to seeing shape changing for the first time. Loki turned his attention to the fight still raging the wardens had yet to lose anyone but they were still out number with only ten warden to the twenty some darkspawn, Loki disliked both darkspawn and feeling indebted to anyone decided to help them for saving his life. He raise his arms up and began pulling the power dwelling in his blood spilled from his wound arm, fitting the darkspawn die due to the wound they caused. With a few sharp gestures the blood of his wound float off his arm becoming a fine red mist that surrounded the darkspawn, they spawn shrieked as they felt the blood in their veins start to burn like molten iron. The wardens were shock for the briefest of times as their foes started writhing in pain but were quick to seize the chance to cut them down. When the last spawn fell the red mist moved to surround the warden, they tensed wanting to run but unwilling encase it only made it worse. But instead of pain they all felt the cool soothing touch of a simple healing spell removing a wounds or scratches they received in the fight, when they were a heal the mist moved to wrap loki whose blood it was to heal him and be absorbed back into his flesh. "Help and Healing in exchange for my life, I now consider us even warden-commander, Farewell." Loki spoke in a smooth slightly marcher accented voice, Duncan. With that he turned and started walking away back into the wood to return to his home and prepare to flee back to the north to escape the blight that he had sensed coming recently.

Duncan still shocked that the mabari he saved was in fact a mage -not only a mage but a powerful blood mage with skills in blood magic that were clearly high level-,He almost misses the mages word as the mage started to leave. "Hold a moment please young man!" Duncan called out to the young man. The mage stopped and turned looking at Duncan with an expression of boredom and annoyance in equal measure. "What?" the mage asked in a tone that said he was not happy to be still talking with the wardens. Duncan rising to stand he started to walk towards the mage while talking. "I am Duncan the warden commander of Ferelden and I am currently searching for recruits." Duncan said. "And just what does this have to do with me pray tell?" the mage spoke with a tone now filled with curiosity rather than annoyance. Duncan felt hopeful at that tone and the fact that the mage was speaking not fleeing or attacking a most blood mages would have by this point. Continuing Duncan said "I would like you to join us, the wardens need as much and as we can get and you possess useful skills."

Loki felt just short of shocked. He had thought at best the wardens would leave him alone as he left or maybe of hollow word of thanks while looking at him in disgust for being a blood mage. He had never expect to be offered a spot among them by the commander of Ferelden himself. Being warden came with a great deal of benefits from being freed from the fear of Templars hunting him to access to forbidden and secret magic's and tomes. "Alright warden I will join you on a few condition, one you do not the demand that I stop using my blood magic or other forbidden magic's, two I get access to the tomes the dark magic's the wardens already have. Finally and this is my make or break condition I will be allowed to study you joining ritual and all documents about in find both a cure and a way to improve on it." Loki said with a voice that says that he was not budging on this. He watched the man carefully looking for a hint that the man was going to try and to bargain or lie and found none. Duncan finally spoke after a long silence. "Very well those terms are agreeable, do you need to grab anything before we get under way he are heading for denerim next." Loki shook his head speaking in a normal calm voice now that business was done. "No you go on ahead I will head home a retrieve my traveling supplies and find you when you make camp. As long as you light a fire that a bird can see from the air I will find tonight. By the way my name is Loki Amell." With that Loki melted his form into that of a large red tailed hawk, spreading his wing he lifted into the air. Once above the tree line he circled once getting his bearing then soared off in the direction of his cave. He had much work to do before night fall when he must meet the warden at their camp. He must pack and ready his cave to be sealed until he could return to it next, whenever that would be.

Duncan watch the hawk fly off to the east until it was out of sight. Turn to his fellows he said "let us move if no one needed any rest or bandaging." The warden saluted walking back into the trees to retrieve their bags. One handed Duncan his, when they were ready they moved out heading north to denerim. Duncan had been shocked that the mage not only somehow knew about the joining but wanted to study it and find a cure for it. He wondered how the young man could possibly have known about it in the first place, he supposed he would find out in time. For now he turned his thoughts to denerim were he hope to find a recruit in the daughter of an elven woman he once tried to recruit. He had heard she had moved to Antiva when she was very young living with an old family friend, he knew that she and her father had not spoken since her mother's death years ago. His old friend the leader of the alienage told him that she would be there for her cousins wedding and that he was hopping to mend the burned bridges with the father and daughter and get her to move back. Duncan did not look forward when his old friend found out that Duncan intended to recruit the girl if she was anything like her mother, she would most likely be a skilled rouge and poison maker and user. Shaking those thoughts out of his head he focused on not get lost in this winding woods, idly thinking it was no wonder Loki had picked these woods to hide in.

Fin of part one in the out of the shadows series.

For you information the pairings are as laid out for the upcoming series if they go well any way.

Male Amell/ Morrigan

Female Suranna/ leliana

Female Aeducan/ female Brosca

Female Tabris/ Female Mahariel / zevran

Male Cousland/ Anora