Her feet clicked against the cobblestone streets, followed closely by the pitter-patter of her dog, Pip, jogging happily beside her. She weaved in and out of the people going about their day, nearly unnoticed due to her dulled down outfit. By the age of six, her mother had refused to place her into anymore dresses on the basis that she continually destroyed them with her forest adventures. As a young child, she had a habit of sneaking out of the courtyard to play with the other children in the nearby forest; a habit that almost always resulted in ripped clothing and skinned knees.
That was all gone now, nothing left but bittersweet memories and the overwhelming feeling of betrayal in her mind. Sophia now traveled with a man, Duncan, away from her childhood home that now stood in ruins with her family murdered.
Pondering over the events of the past few days, quiet by nature but more so now by the situation. She'd always dreamed of a life full of adventure, terrified by the prospect of living in the cage of aristocracy – but she'd never imaged this notion to have come with such a price…but perhaps that was her just showing the naivety of her age.
They'd been traveling on foot for a day and a half to reach Ostagar, which gave enough time for the bruises from the previous battle to show themselves. Sophia was very aware that she was running on adrenaline the past few days and it was definitely starting to wear off.
In the distance the big gates to the entrance of Ostagar could be seen with men and women scattered around. Sophia was reminded that she had never actually been to Ostagar before now, though it was a passing thought, as it was quickly overcome with the possibility of a good night's rest.
Sleep would have to wait just a little longer. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by King Cailan and a bombardment of questions to which Duncan mostly dealt with. It seemed to be a day of firsts for Sophia, as she'd never met the King of Fereldan before - just add it to the list. Perhaps under better circumstances she would have understood the appeal for her King, but she only found him to be hazardous with his blatant disregard for the destitutions of war.
He spoke with such certainty. "I'm not even sure this is a Blight. We've seen plenty of Darkspawn, yes - but no Archdemon."
"Disappointed, Your Majesty?" Duncan was hesitant with his words.
Sophia watched, biting her tongue. Although she was generally a quiet person, she was aware of her habits of bluntness and now was most certainly not the time for casual opinions. Instead Sophia waited for King Cailan to leave, before exchanging glances with Duncan. He said nothing but the deep sigh involuntary head shake in disapproval made up for it.
"Come now, you must be tired." His hand momentarily pressed softly between Sophia's shoulder blades, ushering her forward and into the camp.
She was thankful for her exhaustion that night, if not for it, she surely would have stayed up haunted by previous events and the possibilities to come. It was only moments of her head hitting the pillow that she fell into a deep sleep, seemingly dead to the world – only awaking hours later when Duncan finally intervened.
"There is much to be done today," his words filled her ears before she could even get a proper glimpse of him.
She fought with the urge to drop back into the sheets her pillow calling heavily for her. Sitting up, she rubbed her face, desperate to wake herself from the morning haze. Mornings had never been her strong suit. She glanced towards the entrance of the tent where Pip lay loyally at guard. Upon seeing her awake, he happily wagged his stubby little tail, removing all notion of being a dangerous beast. Sophia smiled lightly at the action and lovingly ruffled the top of his head.
"Cousland!" Duncan's voice firmly rang from outside her tent.
Sophia forced herself out of the tent, grabbing her armour on the way and fumbling to put it on. The morning air was crisp against her tired eyes and she had to blink a few times to make them refocus.
Sophia could see Duncan a few feet away speaking with someone else. She ordered Pip to stay by the tent before wandering over.
She was quickly introduced to the other man, "Cousland, this is Alistair."
Alistair stood a bit taller then Duncan and was much younger, perhaps closer to her own age. However, he carried a very mischievous grin.
"As the junior member of the order, he will be accompanying your joining." Duncan voice cut through the air in such a calming fashion. Sophia couldn't help but notice how tired he looked, the bags under his eyes looked like they had been there for generations. She began to wonder just how long he had been a part of the Grey Wardens. "I'm going to gather the others, you can go ahead to the joining area, Alistair will show you the way."
Sophia nodded in agreement, then looked back to her dog – reassuring that he was in fact in the same place that she'd left him. Duncan headed off to gather the other two candidates for the joining, leaving Sophia and Alistair together.
"Alright, whenever you're ready" That mischievous grin bled into his words. It didn't take long for Alistair to start up a conversation with Sophia,
"You know…It just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is?" Sophia just had to take his word for it. Although she was well aware of the Grey Wardens, their actual members were fairly secretive.
"You want more women in the Grey Wardens, do you?" subtly was not her forte, she didn't necessarily see a point in it.
Thankfully her new company didn't seem to mind, "Would that be so bad? Not that I'm some drooling lecher or anything… Please stop looking at me like that"
Sophia smiled to herself and looked forward again to where they were heading. They had hit a small staircase and begun their ascension. At the top it opened into a decently sized area, surrounded by ancient pillars.
Duncan wasn't far behind, followed by two other men. He also came with a giant cup in hand, filled with an unidentifiable blackish liquid.
"At last we come to the joining." Duncan spoke, "The Grey Wardens were founded during the first blight, when humanity stood on the verge of annihilation. So, it was that the first of the first of the Grey Wardens drank of Darkspawn blood and mastered their taint. This is the source of our power and our victory"
An obvious discomfort fell across the three candidates.
Alistair quickly interjected before anyone could oppose, "Those who survive the joining become immune to the taint. We can sense it in the darkspawn and use it the slay the archdemon."
Sophia's surprized eyes darted from Duncan to the taller blond standing beside her. Survive the joining… those words suck foremost in her mind. She was under no illusions that being a Grey Warden wouldn't be perilous, but she'd never expect that the actual initiation was as likely to kill her as the job itself. She knew that she couldn't back down, but she also knew that she couldn't die here, not without avenging her parent's untimely deaths. Her faith really was to be tested today.
Sophia must have lost herself in thought because when she came back to, a small argument had broken out, started by one of the other participants voicing his dismay towards the secrecy of the joining.
"had I known I'm not sure I'd have come. I have a family to support!" Sophia could understand the upset, but ultimately the Grey Warden's were needed, and this wasn't the time to be selfish.
Sophia finally found her voice, "that's probably why the joining isn't common knowledge."
She had a stern tone, like a mother reprimanding a child even though he very obviously had some years on her. It was enough to keep him quiet, for now at least. Duncan took the opportunity to speak a few last ritualistic words.
To add to the contempt of the situation, Sophia was made to go last. She witnessed the death of the first participant as his body rejected the Darkspawn blood. His body instantly falling to the ground and twisting and contorting painfully until he became unnaturally still. Then she was subjected to what was to happen if one was to refuse the joining, when the second participant did so and ended up with a knife thrust into his heart.
Sophia was terrified, a fact that she couldn't hide with the unsteadiness in her breath. The cup was handed to her and she was afraid she might drop it – maybe even involuntarily throw it away. She made sure to gripped it tightly with both hands, momentarily staring into the blackness that would decided the rest of her life. It was probably best not to give herself the time to think it over more then she already had. This had to be done, no matter the cost. The Grey Warden's were needed.
She brought the cup to her lips and drank.
The Darkspawn blood tasted bitter and was very thick, making it difficult to swallow. Upon finally getting the contents of the cup to stay down, she was instantly bombarded with flashing visions. She clutched her head in pain, but managed to stay upright, willing herself not to crumple into a heap on the ground. She could hear words, Duncan's maybe,
"It is finish. From this moment forth, you are a Grey Warden"
That was the last thing she remembered before blacking out completely.
Thanks for reading.