"Who turned on the damn light?" a body called from it's prone position in the middle of a field, lying face first in the grass.
Tall arched ruins were dotted around everywhere, giving the place a semblance of history; that it was once important to it's long dead users. With a grunt, the young man rolled over to reveal a face of 23 years. Young, but experienced a little ways in the way of the world. The jaw of the man was lined with a slight black stubble. Long enough to be there; short enough to leave for a month or two. Slowly, the man ran a hand through his thick, shoulder length black hair that fell neatly in chopped lines from the centre parting he sported.
The man quickly opened his brown eyes, only to squeeze them shut again when he stared straight into the sun, cursing profusely as he ran a hand over his slightly tanned face. "Great, fell asleep drunk outside. Last time I go drinking with Dan and Clarice…" he muttered angrily, pushing himself up from the ground, only to here the dull clank of metal hitting metal. The man froze in place, lifting his arms quickly to pat his body, his eyes bulged when he heard the dull clank of metal on metal in some places. His head snapped down to his body, only to see a body clad in a lightweight but sturdy leather armour, exposing his upper arms and under his forearms. As he looked further down, he spotted two sword handles, one on each hip.
Further down his body, leather armour protected all of his legs before the leather disappeared into his metal boots. The metal in the armour, seemed to shimmer in the light as it captivated him. Slowly, he leant down a little, reaching out an armoured fingertip to touch the plate. A dull, shifting weight on his back snapped his arm behind him to grasp it reflexively, only to grab onto a pole of metal. As he lifted the object up and over his head, he gasped when he bore witness to the most elegant bow he'd ever seen. Sure, he'd seen pictures of archers in the British museums, even seen a few preserved ones there alongside them; but the last thing he'd dreamed of was a bow that looked as if it could be either a long bow or short bow.
It was somewhere in the middle.
As his dark brown eyes glanced over it quickly, he spotted several noticeable things about it. The metal from his armour seemed to form the shape of it, and an almost invisible string held the two ends together. The ends were drawn into points and tipped with a bright red tip, making the silver and blue metal look as if it were stained with blood. As his hands glided over it, a rattling on his back alerted him to the quiver he assumed he was carrying, and when he reached behind and plucked an arrow, he smiled as he loaded the bow with said arrow and lined up a target in the trunk of an unlucky tree. With a barely noticeable wince, he pulled back the string and held his left forearm straight, aiming the arrows flight.
With a satisfactory twang followed by a dull thunk, the arrow imbedded itself an inch or two lower than he planned, but still sunk deep enough to tell him he wouldn't get that arrow back. With a grin he realised something there and then as the reality of the situation dawned on him. Right now, he wasn't a young man who was all but ignored by most people he came into contact with. He wasn't a gamer anymore. Right now, he could be anyone he wanted to be. Right now, he wanted to be an archer wherever he'd woken up.
The sound of a twig snapping behind him wiped the smile off his face as he spun around and darted behind the tree he shot. Seconds past, the sounds of more twigs snapping froze him in place, breath coming out in quick pants. Maybe these guys might know why I'm in this thing, he thought with sudden realisation. With a small shuffle, he poked his head around the tree slightly to spot zombie like creatures in plated suits of armour, some smaller ones carrying bows and arrows themselves. A taller one, obviously the leader suddenly halted, drawing a closed fist up to head height. The man held his breath suddenly as he watched the creature tilt it's armoured head up slightly and give a few loud sniffs before it slowly looked towards the tree he was hiding behind.
The man was frozen in place through fear, but just as the huge creature took a large step forwards, the tip of a sword erupted through it's chest cavity before the sword was retracted and the creature fell flat on it's face. A number of other creatures around it fell at roughly the same time. Some ran around flailing their arms as they spontaneously burst into fire, some fell to sword wounds and a few fell to well placed arrow shots. The blood drained from the mans face when he laid eyes on the creatures and his saviour for the first real time. These were Darkspawn. That was the Grey Warden from the trailers, tattoo and all.
He was in Dragon age origins.
He was in a video game… that he hadn't even played yet.
Sure, he knew one or two characters and a generalisation of the storyline… but that was about it. With a quick shake of his head, he returned to the problem at hand; certain death. Well, if he was going to have anything to say about that particular subject, it was that he wasn't going down as a coward hiding behind a tree from a bunch of pixels. With a small grunt, he swung around the tree, loading one of the arrows into his bow as he lined up a rough shot; having only ever shot a bow once before in his life, he was pretty much making it up as he went along. The whistling of the arrow flying through the air and the small cry of pain was enough to spread a grin across his face, "I hit one!" he called out unnecessarily, momentarily lost in his moment of triumph.
It would have been better for him, had the archer next to the one he'd hit hadn't turned around and took aim. "Oh shit!" he called out, diving through the air as the arrow flew through where he'd been only a moment before. The man landed with a dull thud on his stomach before he flipped onto his back preparing to get back up when a growl behind him froze him in his tracks. Slowly and reluctantly, the man looked up to see one of the more common Darkspawn look down at him, growling dangerously as the creatures 'lips' rippled for added effect. "Come on, seriously? Do you guys actually play fair?" He exclaimed, throwing his bow to the side for a moment and pulling out a short sword as he held it in both hands, horizontally blocking the vertical swing of the creature.
As the two swords came into contact, the man let out an anguished cry of pain. His arms felt as if they'd been shattered, but he held the sword there, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. They held it for what felt an eternity, but the brute strength that the creature had caused the mans arms to shake, his own sword lowering dangerously close. With a cry of desperate desire to live, the man brought his leg in a ninety degree arc, kicking the creature in the face, confusing it. Panting, the man stood up, his legs less than stable. As he drew the second short sword and held one in each, he spun them in his hands, favouring a forward grip. He stood there, defiant. The two stared each other off before they charged simultaneously, the Darkspawn raising it's long sword over it's head. The man was preparing for an embarrassing end when he noticed his enemy had all but disappeared.
With a surprised yelp, the man tripped and slid on his front, feeling a small slice over his right eye. It started at his eyebrow and he could feel the cut go all the way down to his cheek bone. Ignoring the pain in a rush of adrenaline, he spun on his back and expected his enemy to be stood over him, readying the final blow when he spotted said adversary rolling around in the dirt, having a fistfight with the Grey Warden. The fight continued for several minutes before the Warden managed to draw a dagger of some sort before he slashed the creatures neck open, killing it instantly.
The man stood up after a second, shaking the blood off the dagger before he slid it into the scabbard and walking over to the downed man. "What's your name, boy?" the Warden asked.
The man panicked, attempting to find a suitable name for Dragon age. With a wicked sense of irony, he smirked a little when he replied, "Revan. Revan Shan at your service." Revan replied, grasping the Wardens outstretched hand and standing upright. Score one for KotOR references! Revan thought gleefully. "May I ask what yours is?" he asked, retrieving his momentarily lost bow. "Name is Kaiden. Kaiden Cousland." Kaiden returned, looking at his companions to check them over. With a grim smile, Revan nodded at each of the Warden's companions individually before his eyes settled on the Warden once more as he stepped over to what appeared to be something orange. Revan couldn't tell from the angle he was at.
As Revan stood there, leaning against a tree, his bow held lazily in his left hand, he heard a smooth but cold voice speak up from a ramp in the ruins near where he'd woken up. "Well, well, what have we here?" a woman's voice called out. Revan was up and aiming an arrow at her in the blink of an eye, still on edge from his previous encounter only moments ago. He strafed to the right to get a clear shot if it came to it, but when his eyes settled on the woman standing there; he froze. The woman stood there, smirking at his stupefied expression as she sauntered down the ramp.
As Revan's eyes roamed her body and her attire, he was shocked that she wasn't in the slightest bit, well… cold. She had raven black hair with a swept fringe and bangs whilst the rest was pulled into an attractive ponytail. Around her torso was only what he assumed could be a purple scarf with a hood. No bra, nothing. On her left arm, travelling from her shoulder to her fingers was a black and purple feather accessory that was surprisingly attractive on her as well. The same material was used to make the black pants she seemed to be wearing as well. Her face was another thing entirely to her body. Her features were sharp, but to a measured degree. He face held a certain aura to it of independence and power. Her lips were a powerful and lustful red, making Revan wince slightly for a second. Her eyes were a pale yellow, surrounded by an attractive amount of black eyeliner and eye shadow.
All in all, Revan was very attracted.
As she looked back at Kaidon, Revan kept his eyes on her as she continued speaking, "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger picking amidst a corpse whose bones have long been cleaned?" She asked, causing Kaidon to straighten up ever so slightly as he tensed. Revan took this all in with weary eyes. "Or merely an intruder, come into the Darkspawn filled wilds of mine to search for easy prey?" She finished, coming to a stop before Revan, keeping her back to him all the while.
A tingling of Revans skin made him lose his concentration on the woman as he looked down and around his surroundings, wondering just what that sensation was. "So what say you, hmm? Scavenger or intruder?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest in a sign of authority. "Intruder? And just how are these your wilds?" Kaidon asked, he too crossed his arms in defiance, slightly spreading his legs as if he was preparing to fight. A cold chuckle escaped the woman's lips as she replied, "Because I know them only as one who owns them could. Can you claim the same?" She asked, brushing a dark bang out of her field of vision as she glanced behind her to view Revan momentarily.
"I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go?' I wondered, 'Why are they here?'" She drawled, walking forwards a few steps towards the unflinching Grey Warden. She stalked past the Warden as all eyes followed her until she came to the edge of the cliff, "And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?" She asked, more out of curiosity than an actual demand. "Don't answer her, she looks Chasid, and that means others must be nearby." One of the armoured companions muttered to his leader.
He was a blonde man with shortly cropped hair wearing a defiant and slightly ill looking expression. His armoured hands balled themselves into fists on more than one occasion in his small sentence; his weight shifted from side to side as he fidgeted. All in all, Revan assumed he was a mere raw recruit and was extremely surprised he wasn't doing the same but brushed it off as shock. "You fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" The woman asked amusedly, lifting her arms up and making a swooping movement for added effect.
"Yes, swooping is bad." The recruit replied quietly, squinting his eyes at the woman. "She's the witch of the wilds, she is! She'll turn us all into toads!" Another young man called out, his back was to Revan so he couldn't make out which one it was. Suddenly, all humour in the woman was lost as she stood there, hands on hips, looking down at the gathered assembly of men. "Witch of the wilds? Such idle fantasies, these legends. Have you no minds of your own? You there, handsome lad. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine. Let us be civilised." She demanded, looking at Kaidon, who Revan was stood behind.
"My name is Kaidon Cous-" He began but was cut off rudely, "No not you, the man behind you." She said quickly with a wave of the hand.
Revan was at a loss for words, and began to open and close his mouth as he looked towards the Warden before him who merely encouraged him. In a small voice he called out, "Revan. Revan Shan." With a small, a barely perceptible smile, the woman called out, "And you may call me Morrigan, if you wish. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest? Something that is here no longer?" She finished, looking around at the small group before her with a single raised eyebrow.
"'Here no longer?' You stole them didn't you? Your some kind of… sneaky… witch thief!" The young blonde man accused, causing Revan to snicker a little from behind. "How very eloquent. Tell me, how does someone steal from dead men?" Morrigan wondered, teasingly tapping her forefinger against her bottom lip. She was enjoying this, that much was evident. "Quite easily, it seems. Those documents are Grey Warden property and I suggest you return them. Immediately." The rookie edge to his voice was completely lost now, causing Revan to do a double take for a moment, but he none the less stood at the back quietly watching the whole ordeal.
"I will not, for it was not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer, if you wish. I am not threatened." Morrigan replied equally as defiant. "Tell us who, or face the consequences." Kaidon demanded, gripping the handle of his sword. "T'was my mother, in fact." Morrigan called out immediately. Revan wasn't sure if the threatening thing was a bluff on Morrigan's part or she just wanted to tell him, either way it didn't matter anymore. "Is this some kind of joke?" Kaidon demanded, crossing his arms once more as he took a step forward.
"If so, it seems the truthful rather than funny sort, no?" She asked, amused once more. "Though not all in the wilds are monsters. Flowers grow, as well as toads." She said quickly, aiming it at a man who had just opened his mouth to speak until she cut him off. "If you wish, I will take you to my mother. 'Tis not far from here, and you may ask for your papers, if you like." Morrigan offered, earning a group nod from the team, with Revan in the back. When the team of Warden's began to move out, Revan was just left standing there, wondering just what the hell to do.
"Kaidon!" He called out, placing his bow on his back. When the Warden turned to look at Revan, he asked, "May I accompany you? I have nowhere to go." Revan requested, holding his arms out at his sides for added effect. When Kaidon smiled and nodded, Revan ran to catch up for all he was worth. This would be… entertaining.
AN: Okay, so I thought I'd post this, I wrote it recently when I fist started watching Dragon age video's and reading the stories... So i guess you can call this a test? :) Tell me what you think.
If it continues, the romances whill be like this;
KaidonXLelliana (or however you spell it)
MorriganXOC
OCXOC
Other's may come in time... buut, yeah, that's all I've got, :3
RnR!