*Peeks out from behind a curtain* Hey, uh, so how about dragon age huh? Great game! ...I'm drowning in Dragon Age hell and I had to write a fic for it okay? Because currently I'm going achievement hunting and it's going just as well as you can imagine. The usual pain and agony.
So, here's my crack at an all origins exist, with a twist, here's the world stuff you gotta know going in:
Only three of the origins become Grey Wardens
The other three are the stories I'm telling
We're starting when things start to go wrong, for all of these stories we're following.
This story goes in tandem with Origins but is NOT a retelling of the game
That's all you need to know kiddies, have fun drowning in hell with me!
Also, quick note, I had a very lovely Beta helping me out with this one, shout out to whitetiger62512 for your amazing skills!
First it had been decided, Oris Brosca would join the Grey Wardens and help defend Ferelden against the fifth Blight.
Lazuli holds the shield of Aeducan in her hands the thrill of discovery coursing through her veins, the ancestors have smiled on her this day. No amount of feuding siblings and vying for the crown will take this from her.
"Shall we head out my lady?" Gorim asks.
"Not yet, I should like to look around a bit." Laz looks up from the coffin in which the shield had been laid. "I'd find it odd if this were the only relic here, wouldn't you?"
"As my lady wishes." He responds with a respectful bow.
"Should we not head back? The shield was your mission, no?" Frandlin Ivo says sharply.
"And we will return when I decide we shall, have I made myself clear?" With a short sigh, he affirms her station. Turning back towards the large shrine she takes in all that surrounds her, walls hardly in proper shape yet not nearly in ruins. The space was not so large as it was impressive, with an intricate assortment of carvings wrapping around the walls and columns. Low hanging ceilings hardly taking away from the delicate essence the room seems to emit.
Having spent far too much time in the shaperate as a child than her tutors appreciated, she finds she is able to read some of the ancient encryptions. Eyes following the ancient dwarven script, the lot of them blessings on her house and their Paragon. Though there is not much left in the Thaig she feels drawn still, unable to name the reason for fear of its true meaning. Something like a faint song, calling to her…
A song not unlike that of lyrium, when she recognizes and acknowledges this, she begins to move about the room. Approaching the crumbling walls, she tentatively places a hand against the carvings, "The key lies in the hand of he who knows the lost song." The words come out of her mouth softly, the translation rolling off of her tongue without her consent. The way the language simply manifests itself shakes her back from the wall which she has been observing.
Lord Ivo again protests against her actions. "My lady, should we not return to your father? He may worry for-"
The song swells, calling her to one particular wall, with great haste she turns to the entourage. "Don't you hear it?"
"Hear what?" Gorim asks, this time stepping slightly towards her
"The melody of the stone." Her words are hushed but her movements are deliberate. In one swift motion, she walks back to the wall and places Trian's ring into a small alcove. With three steps taken aback the group watches the thick elderly wall fall away. With the wall gone, the song has only gotten louder in Laz's ear.
"My lady, we should not traverse unknown caverns, who knows what's in there?" Lord Ivo says nervously.
"Then you shall wait here until I return." She says, turning a sharp eye on the man she had bested in combat not a day prior.
"I'll not allow you to go alone." Gorim takes a step forward.
"Come or stay if you wish, and if your wish is to return to my father's side like cowards. Do so." Turning on her heel she strides into the cavern.
Gorim's heavy footfalls close behind, eyes scanning the blank walls for any semblance of a carving or clue to what lies ahead. Guided by the gentle lullaby and dim lights from sparsely placed torches she and Gorim traverse deeper into the chasm.
"Lazuli is this wise?" He asks her softly, "We really should have gone back, told your father and planned an excavation.
Letting out a gentle sigh she says, "If I know my brothers, Trian or Bhelen, one of them has planned some kind of coup. A time sensitive one, in all likelihood, a small diversion will throw them off to some degree. Besides that, there has to be something here, what it is I haven't a clue… But whatever it is I want to know."
Gorim shakes his head, a grimace plain on his face, "We could come back, bring reinforcements."
"Yes, and we will, but by the ancestors, I hear something. Don't you?" She turns towards her trusted second hoping for validation.
"No, I don't. That's precisely why I'm worried."
"What do you think it could be?" She asks, voice breathless and hushed.
"I do not know, and I nearly don't care. Please, my heart, listen to me." Suddenly at a standstill she remains quiet, "Lazuli?"
"Hush, Gorim." She whispers, the song weaving in and out of her, eyes scanning the vast darkness before her, the chasm fading into emptiness. Instinctively she reaches for her ring, holding it out towards the darkness waits for a heartbeat, then two. Stepping delicately forward she passes her hand slowly over the air before taking yet another ginger step. Hand repeating the same slow swiping motion, only this time grazing something unseen. Taking one sure step forward she lays her palm flat against whatever it is she has discovered, at her touch a dull illumination fills the hall revealing thick carvings in what she assumes can only be a door.
"What in sodding blazes is that?" Gorim asks having taken a step back, readying his blade.
"I… I think it's a door."
"Lazuli stand down, we're done for now. We need to get out of here."
But the song grows louder, more demanding of her, like each swell is what guides her hand through the simple pattern along the carvings, each one growing bright by the warmth of her hand. Abruptly her hand stills and the ring slides into place with ease. The area is engulfed by newly bright lyrium blue light, as the cavern stutters around them, opening the door with a stiff stark motion, falling slack yet still sturdy.
Before she can step inside, Gorim rips her away from the door, grabbing her shoulders he gives her a rough shake. "We are leaving, now!"
"But we have to see what's inside-"
"No, we have to go, we don't know what's going on, where we are, what this thing is. We have no back up, and no idea what we are up against. I have a million more reasons, but I'll stop at that."
"This is the Aeducan archive." She says but isn't sure how the words have come out of her mouth.
"How do you know that?" He asks.
"I-… I don't know, I just do." She looks back at the brilliant door, carvings which she had unknowingly traced over, taunting her. Singing and beckoning her to see what lies inside, her eyes gloss over as she stares at the dancing lights.
This time he does not ask, he drags her away from the scene. As they go, the lights fading behind them, they hear a sharp click from behind followed by a gentle whirring. She stills as if by instinct and picks up her ring, looking back towards the door with a saddened yet rapt gaze. Gorim once again takes hold of her arm and drags her back towards the original place of intrigue. Their two companions now missing, the hall feels much larger than it did previously.
"My lady will you be all right?" Gorim asks once they've exited the small shrine. His gaze full of concern and worry, one hand cups her cheek lightly while the other retains its grip on her wrist.
"We must find my father immediately, if that was an archive of some sort, the shaperate will need an excavation."
"I agree." He eyes her warily before the two set off towards the crossroads. Hardly a moment after they've exited the Thaig they are met by Endrin, Bhelen, and an entourage of warriors.
"Father!" She says breathlessly, "Please you must come with me-"
"Lazuli, what is the meaning of this?" He asks sharply, taking in his daughter's frazzled appearance. Her wide eyes and unnervingly lilted voice, in truth he has never seen his daughter quite so distraught.
"Your Majesty there was more than the shield of Aeducan in that Thaig." Gorim answers for her.
"You must come with me." She repeats frantically.
"This is a ruse, father, Lord Ivo told us she fled once she killed Trian." Bhelen says cruelly from behind.
"Trian is-…." She can't even utter the word, shock that her brother is dead. Even more so that Bhelen has managed it, and is now trying to blame her for his crimes. So shaken by this discovery, and the very real desperation she feels from her recent discovery, her heart nearly gives out then and there.
"Dead, by your hand." Bhelen points an accusing finger towards her.
"No… No, you don't understand."
"Seize her."
"Prince Bhelen do not speak for your king." Lord Harrowmont scolds.
"Lazuli, tell me you did not do this." King Endrin stares at her with cool eyes. He is not her father right now, but the uneasiness inside of her seems to override that fact in her mind.
She shakes her head, "Father please, you must listen to me, there's a hidden cavern in the Thaig. There is something in there, I don't know what it is, we turned back before we could discover more."
"Whatever it was, had a hold on you, my lady." Gorim intervenes, "Your Majesty, whatever is down there, I do not think it wise to send her highness back to it."
"The only place we'll be taking her is the dungeon." Bhelen spits.
"She and I have been exploring this cavern, Your Highness, she has nothing to do with Trian's death." Gorim insists.
"That would be a likely story were you not her trusted second." Bhelen continues to snarl.
"Stop this, the both of you!" Endrin snarls. "I would wish to see this cavern, I will heed my daughter's story until proven false."
Bhelen resigns himself to his father's wishes turning back to his wide eyed and increasingly pale sister. "Lead the way then."
Gorim almost speaks out, but she turns and rushes back down the long stretch of cave. The band of nobles and warriors follow, startled by the frantic nature of her actions. In truth Lazuli Aeducan is not one to act out of turn, ever cool headed and with a wit too sharp for her own good. The bright spot in Endrin's heart and all of Orzammar, it's no wonder her brother is vying for her downfall. However, her actions now, with unfocused eyes and bated breath, is a state nearly none have ever seen her in.
She rushes back into the Thaig through the shrine and into the cavern. "Your Highness, slow down!" Gorim calls, but she races back through the cavern, following the will of the song until she stands back before the door. Shaking hand extending before her she traces the patterns as if having always known them her whole life intended for just this task. She hears the whispers of the pattern in her head until the lyrium light fills the cavern.
"Ancestors preserve me." Endrin says in awe, "Lazuli, tell me, do you know this place?"
"Somehow, father, I do. It's like… kin." She says as the door clicks open once again. She doesn't waste time hesitating, instead she pushes the door open and watches in awe as the room begins to glow. Like her presence is bringing this space back to life after centuries of slumber. The song still strong inside of her, there's something here, and she's meant to find it. Be it the ancestors will or the very hand of fate itself, she does not know nor does she care.
This can only be the works of some other worldly being and she names it her ancestors from beyond the stone. Trying to tell her something, lead her towards something, her whole being engulfed by the need to see this through. Whatever this is exactly.
"You've made your point sister, I don't know how-"
"Hush, Bhelen, can't you hear it?" She asks, never once looking back at him.
"Hear what?" He asks harshly.
"My daughter, you have proven your innocence, come now we're leaving." Endrin says commanding her to leave the newly illuminated room.
The princess however looks upon the room with intense curiosity. This must have been a shaperate once, but whatever is calling to her, demanding all of her attention, that is what she is looking for. She continues into the room sees the floor to ceiling shelves, large forgotten tomes still in their dusty coffins not yet alive by her presence. But none of these things call to her, obediently she follows the pull of the song, despite the harsh protests from her entourage.
Without any warning the words are so piercing she wonders how she ever missed them. Letting out a strangled yelp she covers her ears bending nearly in half the sound affects her so.
"Help me?" She speaks the words she cannot get out of her head, stopping dead in her tracks.
"Lazuli, you will come with us now!" Her father's voice almost breaks the song's hold on the young dwarf. Endrin nearly runs towards his daughter but is unable to stop her from reaching towards tomb of which she has deemed the source of the sound.
Everything else falls to silence.