The Knights of Ferelden
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the OCs and the illusion of a plot I have here.
"Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature." – Flemeth.
The Rain fell calmly, unperturbed by the tense atmosphere.
The Crackling of fire burning through the woods could be heard even from the front lines as the horizon burned with red embers. The scene could have been that of when a battle was done, when the carnage had passed. But everyone there knew better. The darkspawn lurked in those woods, hiding among the trees like a predator waiting patiently for its prey. That was what scared him, these mindless beasts were more organised, more viscious than ever before. It was destruction taken form. And this war machine was waiting for its master to give the word. To charge, to overwhelm and corrupt everything in its path. That was the horror of the blight.
Hispan, was a fallen noble. Not even a generation back his family was among the wealthy with their own estate in Amaranthine.
One morning, City Guards stormed in their mansion. Hispan then six year old watched as the Guard Captain stormed into their hall. One of the elven maids, Aliela was always kind to him, hushed him and slipped him, into the kitchen. But Hispan, knew every nook and cranny of the mansion. He peeped through a crack in the wall, to witness the events outside that would scar him for life.
"Traitor", shouted the Guard Captain, "Ser Dosnier, these papers you have with you have Orlesian seals on them. For an act of Treason there is no room for discussion".
Hispan saw his mother wailing and crying for mercy at the guard who drew his Greatsword, from its sheath on his back. His father now forced on his knees by two other guards, wept quietly as if accepting his fate. With a large swing, the blade came down upon his neck. Hispan shrieked in terror and burst out of the kitchen, into the hall. The maids of the household frantically following him shouting, "Little Master, don't go there".
But he paid no heed. Hispan sprung at the guard captain, colliding harmlessly against his plate armour. The man, didn't care for the brat. He sneered at the maids, and put away his sword.
Aliela, nervously dragged the wailing Hispan away from his father. Snot and tears blurred his vision as Hispan saw the headless corpse which was already drowning in the blood that stained the carpets.
Fifteen years, Hispan couldn't believe that it had already been fifteen years since that dark day. Lord Howe, took pity on the widow and her child, and spared their lives. Hispan was drafted into the army at the age of sixteen and served in the local garrison at Vigil's keep. His mother, had never recovered from the shock, and with their land and property confiscated they were forced to live in a small shark on the outskirts of Amaranthine. Life was hard, but it was not unbearable. He had bread and a roof and his job at the garrison brought in some coin. The elven maid, Aliela never really left them, she always said that she had nowhere to go. And now she took care of his mother, and did odd jobs to help the household. He would forever grateful to Aliela for her loyalty.
But that had to come to an end. King Cailan, had announced for a campaign against the blight. To halt the darkspawn at Ostagar. And so he marched with the rest for the garrison towards Denerim first and then towards Ostagar. The Grey Wardens were to assist the king in his mission against the blight.
The Wardens were legendary warriors. Fierce and almost inhuman if stories were to be trusted, legends told of their slaying the hordes by the hundreds. And Hispan didn't think the reality was far off. As a vanguard on the front lines, he had seen a Grey warden dance through the enemies with two longswords in hand, felling an orge which had just killed a knight company and move on to tackle another wave. They were peerless and with the kings army, victory was all but assured. Thus morale was at its highest.
Right then, the king appeared on the raised pedestal, his golden armour reflecting the light from the distant flames, glimmered as if the maker himself had bestowed heavenly protection upon him. Hispan felt his fingers go numb as he gripped the shield tighter on hearing the horn echo through the gorge. The horde was charging, as the first arrows and arcane bolts flew over him, he knew he had to survive. They had to win, for his mother, for Aliela and for Ferelden. Maker save them, they let the blight break their lines.
An Hour Later
Betrayal.
"Damn that weasel", said Hispan coughing out blood. A genlock rushed at him, swinging its mace in a wide arc. Hispan brought his shield up, and clenched his teeth as the weapon made contact with the shield. Drawing upon his willpower he thrust his shield at the monsters face, and swept his sword under the shield, sweeping the genlock off its feet. Rising up quickly, his breathing still heavy, Hispan repeatedly bashed the face of the monster with the hilt of his sword. Shouting and cursing as he vented his frustration at the corpse. By the time he was done, he was drenched in darkspawn blood.
Looking around him, Hispan saw the tower with its beacon burning strong. Mages and archers flung bright arcane bolts and flaming arrows at the enemy from higher ground. But there was no denying it, the battle was lost, their reinforcements led by the hero Loghain was nowhere to be seen. It was indisputable, Loghain had betrayed them.
"Orge!",he heard a nearby archer shout. Turning his gaze in that direction, he saw a massive beast with horns charge towards the king himself. No that could not be happening, he had to save the king. Running full sprint towards the Orge, with his shield upfront to block stray arrows, he hurried to intercept it.
"Hey, you ugly son of a witch!", he shouted at the beast in an attempt to taunt it. But the beast, in the frenzy of it charge paid no heed, its horns collided with the king's shield, flinging him away like a ragdoll.
"No", gasped Hispan and bashed the bashed the monster with his shield while simultaneously driving the sword into its hide. The beast growled in rage, and swung its claws frantically at the vanguard. Hispan skilfully evaded, often rolling away and trying to put some distance in between them. But, just then, his entire body froze as an emissary targeted him with a 'paralysis' spell freezing him in place. The orge picked up the paralyzed human with its large claws and laughed in an animalistic gravelly tone as it hurled him into a tree stump. Hispan's vision turned red, his shield arm was unresponsive and his legs unable to move. He saw the lumbering beast, approach him slowly getting ready to make its final blow.
Hispan, prepared to meet his death, looked up at the heavens, 'Maker, forgive me'.
Amongst the ruckus and chaos of the battlefield, a man lay on the ground staring at the sky with death looming over him, but fate had other plans. From the heavens, a thing fell clad in a golden aura crashed into the emissary, squashing the darkspawn before it could even squeak to its master. The ground wet from the rain steamed from the fiery impact, creating a thin veil of mist around them. Both the vanguard and the Orge stared into the mist, waiting for something to emerge. Was it another darkspawn, a demon or maybe an angel. For another few seconds the clatter and sounds of war, muted until suddenly the orge was sliced into two, halfway through the waist, a blade of light materialised and led to its wielder, who appeared out of nowhere. Its armour graceful yet intimidating was colored in black and grey, with arcane light dotting its surface. It looked human, yet unfamiliar in a weird way. Its helm had so slits or holes, but a visor which looked opaque. Hispan couldn't even be sure if this thing was human at this point or if that was his face. Maybe it was a golem, a construct of steel and stone said to guard the Dwarven cities of old.
Shaking off his surprise, Hispan suddenly realises the situation. He looks around him, ignoring the pain in his spine that came with every single movement. He saw the king, a little further away, unconscious and lying on the ground unattended.
"Save the king", he said, "Please" and pointed at the man in golden armour. The supposed Golem looked at him and looked at the direction of his finger once. Its motions so smooth and agile he could almost take it for organic, it nodded once and left for the king.
Hispan satisfied. Closed his eyes, preparing to leave this world. The mages he met in the camp always spoke of the fade. The realm of dreams, the world of dreams and spirits. Maybe there, his life would be more forgiving than it was in this realm. Slowly darkness took over and the world came to a standstill.
Hi, everyone. This is my second attempt at writing a story here. After my last attempt it is clear that I lack sufficient insight and dedication to continue my project. Well, the fact that I finished playing the hell out of Skyrim is also a reason, there is only so much modding you can do to make a game entertaining. So, that's when Dragon Age came up, I played Origins and Awakening with all the DLCs and I was hyped. I loved the characters I made and see the story unfold with every decision making its impact on the story as a whole. So yes, one boring college lecture inspiring me enough to write a fanfiction chapter behind my notebook was all the motivation I needed. I hope I can make this into something bigger.
Teleri.