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PS: My attempt after a long hiatus. wish me luck! feel free to vist my dA page viperqueen13 Happy reading! :D
PROLOGUE: ASHKOT SAY HISSRA ('SEEK PEACE WITH YOUR GODS')
She screamed so loud that birds took off in fright, and yet it seemed no one would come to help a young maiden in distress.
Kara, a Dwarven servant of sky hold, was tasked to gather herbs for medicines in the neighboring forests, when she strayed too far and unfortunately stumbled upon a bandit camp dividing spoils from an ambushed caravan. The scattered bottles and bloodied knives were two major signs for the girl to slip away... if only she didn't snap a branch under her boot.
Sodding nug-humpers...
There were seven men in total, including three emerging from tents surrounding the four gathered by a campfire suddenly sneering and chuckling in a drunken stupor. It was quickly apparent to Kara that this all-male troupe had not been with feminine flesh for a long while, and one look in their eyes told her that they would attempt to rectify that... or worse.
Before the Dwarven girl could even turn and run, an eighth appeared out of nowhere and clamped a muddy glove over her mouth whilst pinning her arms to her sides with his other arm. Even with her mouth blocked, to prevent further screaming; Kara's vision was starting to blur from the mix of frightened tears and watering from a disgusting stench consisting of blood, booze and sweat.
The supposed ringleader of the group, carrying more weapons and armor than the rest, swayed as he rose from his spot by the campfire, licking his lips and already proceeding to loosen his belt, much to the Dwarf's horror. He leaned in close to speak and inspect, sour breath threatening to knock Kara out as she tried and failed to escape.
"Well lads," announced their leader with a drunken slur, "Looks like the Maker smiles upon us by sending us a reward! Let's enjoy our fill before we slit her throat!"
Cheers greeted the monster's speech. As his back was turned, Kara manged to wriggle enough to give her captor a decent bite on his finger; the other yelped in shock and automatically let the servant go, who wasted no chance in kicking him in the balls and run as fast as her legs could carry her.
Too focused on running away from the campsite, Kara realised only too late that she was in trouble when she caught her foot on a tree root and slammed into the ground with force, a sharp stinging sensation in her swelling ankle. Scrambling for cover Kara could hear the angry voices of the bandits drawing closer, her hope for getting away safely diminishing by the second. She curled up into a bal and clamped her eyes shut parying to any god who would listen for someone to come and save her.
As if on que, a giant boom-like howl stopped the bandits in their tracks. A thwumping sound on a patch of leaves in front of Kara caused the Dwarf to open her eyes through her trembling hands, and she couldnt help but stare in a mix of fascination and disbelief.
A wolf the size of a bear, steely grey fur, with green markings trailing through its pelt, matching the color of its eyes and claws, was standing raring to strike whilst enveloped in a emerald-coloured enchanted flame, snarling with anger whilst protecting the Dwarf. The bandits looked on as if it were a strange dream; had a God arrived to exact judgement on them, or had they stumbled across the territory of a Demon? Alcohol clouding his brain, the bandit leader stood up straight and threw his head back with a booming laugh, daggers drawn and ready to strike.
"Look lads!" he shouted proudly, "We've got oursleves a rare breed of dog! Sell this pup's pelt on the black market and we'll be rolling in sovereigns, GET IT!"
The eight bandits barely went ten steps when they were enveloped in a dome of pitch black smoke that erupted from the ground, followed by the sound of weapons drawn and strings of cursing. Kara was practically frozen to the spot where she fell, and could only look on as the giant wolf kept its stance in case one the idiots managed to escape their dark prison. Withing seconds, sounds of cut-off screams, gurgling and crumbling bodies pierced the air, combined with white flashes amongst the smoke that imitated blades clashing. After what felt like hours but were in fact seconds, the dome of smoke began to fade back into the ground that it came from. The bandit leader was kneeling with one less arm and bloody forehead that made his eyes go blind from the spurting blood.
The end of his chin hovered over a dagger held by a stranger shrouded in a cloak and a large misshapen hood. They appeared to share a brief moment of eye contact before the bandits' throat was slashed deep and another corpse joined the ground as the cloaked figure turned and began to tred towards Kara and the wolf. His face was hidden by both shadow and cloth, a black piece of fabric covering most of his face; only his eyes could be vaguely seen, orbs of electric blue flecked with gold, casting his gaze over the dwarf, who was trembling with shock.
The giant wolf lowered itself on its front paws as if bowing to its master, replied by a gloved scratch behind its ears before the stranger dropped to his knees to examine her ankle, which blossomed with black and purple bruising. Kara's whimpering made her saviour look up from her injury, just as a green glow that matched the wolf's enchanted flame erupted from both his hands. A blinding flash caused Kara to squint and blink with madness. In a split second, the Dwarf realised her ankle was fully healed and her saviours gone without a trace
A mage? Kara thought with confusion. What kind of mage fights without a staff? It was then she realised that there was an arrow in the dirt, and without question Kara could see the tops of Skyhold's towers in the near distance. Further inspection resulted in finding a piece of parchment. One brief look at its contents made the Dwarven girl smille out of both bewilderment and relief.
Kara began her trek back to Skyhold without completing her original task of gathering herbs abandoned in favour of safety behind sstone walls, message held tightly in hand;
"Those who are in dire need, shall only call a pledge to Liren, and your cries I shall heed "