Shards of My Reflection

by Sentinel of the Lakelands

My name is Carl G. Smith and I am one of the four last Grey Wardens in all of Ferelden. If you are reading this, then I am dead and you will have found this journal on my body. Dragon Age: Origins Alternate Universe.

First Journal Entry

Year 30 of the Age of the Dragon

Month of Firstfall

Third Tuesday

---

My name is Carl G. Smith and I am one of the four last Grey Wardens in all of Ferelden. If you are reading this, then I am dead and you will have found this journal on my body.

The reason that I am writing this journal is simple and you may not believe me when I say that I am not of this world or realm. No, I do not hail from anywhere in all of Thedas. I came to Thedas, and Ferelden by an act that saved my life and also cursed me to bear the fate of becoming a Grey Warden.

Why do I speak ill of the Grey Wardens, you may ask? I do not, but I was forced to become one in order to even continue living and now I am a man forced into the role of a Warrior. A defender of man against the Darkspawn threat. The Darkspawn are what remain of the men who in their arrogance attempted to force their way into the Golden City. Which is the Maker's or God's domain within the realm of dreams named The Fade.

The men corrupted the Golden City with their presence and the evil that they spawned twisted and corrupted their bodies and minds. They became the very first of the Darkspawn, the foul creatures that burn, pillage and taint the lands that they travel across in their vast horde. Even just the blood of a Darkspawn is enough to taint another sapient being.

So a normal soldier will never stand a chance in prolonged warfare with the Darkspawn Threat. They will fall under the Taint's sway and begin to serve the Horde as ghoul-like creatures that eventually become Darkspawn themselves. This is also the fate of all those taken hostage by the Darkspawn, if they are not outright killed by the savages.

This is where the Grey Wardens enter the fray. They are an order of Warriors unique in that they are immune to and can even sense the Darkspawn Taint. They are the Sword and Shield of the People of Thedas against the Darkspawn Horde and the legends of their prowess in combat has inspired many a tale and song.

The Grey Wardens have no real restrictions of who they recruit into their ranks, a noble may find himself fighting side by side with a thief or drunkard. Or even a butcher, for that is all that I amounted to in my own world. A butcher from a small town in the middle of nowhere, I wonder if anyone will even know that I am gone?

What I have to tell you is that this will only be the beginning of my tale, this is the first journal that I will write within. This is being written after everything that has happened to me this last month since I came to Thedas. I may not remember everything in detail, but I have something that will help me to try to recall as many things as possible.

That is why I am certain that you will have found several journals upon my body, unless my journey has been cut shorter than I wanted it to be….

All that I ask of you is that if you are one of the People of Thedas, find a way to send this journal and its sister notes back to my own world. You will perhaps find a way to do this in reading about and knowing how I came to this world. I have written my tale as best as I could recall it and how my thoughts were at that time. So I shall await the beginning of my tale no longer, for my time is somewhat limited…..

How to begin…. Hmm, well, the easiest way to start with is that I was a reckless fool, one might think this to be a wrong thing to say about oneself. But, it was just that which lead me into coming to Thedas. For you see, I was like any other citizen, leaving a normal life like everyone else. There has never been anything special about me, apart from my skill with a bow and a good hand at throwing knives and axes.

For whilst I was a butcher, I was also a hunter, I preferred to hunt for the meat that I would prepare. So that is how I found myself stalking a deer during the hunting season, I had managed to nick its leg with an arrow earlier and that had separated it from the others it traveled with. The trail of blood was not much to go on, but the disturbed bushes and broken branches painted a strong enough picture.

I was completely focused on tracking as I moved as quickly as I could whilst making little noise and it was this that led to an oversight on my part. For I managed to track the deer down and had just nocked another arrow when I heard a tiny sound near my feet. There by my feet was a young bear cub and it was currently scurrying right past me as it ran away from me.

Unfortunately that was when I found out that the mother of said cub was directly behind me and oh was she furious. I knew that running was the last thing I should do, as then the bear would most certainly follow me. But I am a reckless fool and I ran as fast as I could, dodging and weaving in between the low hanging branches and the trees. Trying my best to keep as much distance between me and the mother bear.

Yet again my focus was my downfall as I had forgotten one crucial detail about the forest I was hunting within. That one detail is that the forest bordered the ocean and was set on top of a high ridge and that is where I found myself. With the forest having thinned and cleared around me, I was now standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean and the bear right behind me.

So between a bear and the water below the cliff, I chose the water. Even though I did not know just how far below the water was from me. The bear roared behind me and I knew that my time was up and I jumped off the cliff…..

I did say that I was a reckless fool, did I not? All for the sake of a thrill, I now found myself falling from a far greater height than I had thought it to be. The wind turned to a gale as its howling drowned out my every thought. My eyes widened as I saw the surface of the water come rushing up to meet me and I knew in that moment that I was going to die.

I threw up my arms over my head so that my forearms would take the most of the impact and even through all of this, my heart was beating faster and wilder than any other time. My blood singing as it pulsed through my body was all that I could hear and I, in that moment, had never felt more alive.

A strange thought, is it not? To have only ever felt alive just before I was going to die? Or at least that was what I thought at that time. I can remember laughing just before I crashed into the water and the force knocked the air out of my lungs. My body went still and numb, however I did not feel the cold grip of the water dragging me down.

No, what I felt was cold, hard stone beneath me and even as my sight darkened, I could have sworn that I had just heard the sound of glass shattering and clattering as it rained down onto the stone around me…..

---

I do not know just for how long I was out, unconscious. I awoke to pitch black darkness and stale air, something else more disgusting tainted the air, but I couldn't see what. I lay with my face down and into the stone beneath me, my body hurt like nothing I had ever felt before. I honestly cannot say if the pain was enough to blind me or if the cave I was in was naturally this dark.

My body harshly fought against me as I groaned and tried to get up. My efforts were for nothing as I fell back down into the stone, now in even more pain. It was then as I lay breathing heavily that I noticed that I could not feel my left arm at all. It wasn't just numb, I had no feeling of my arm being there at all.

I knew better than to try to look at it, but I couldn't just stay laying down. I had to find out just where I was right now. I slowly managed to force myself onto my knees, using only my right arm to steady myself. Now, my body was upright, but I was swaying heavily and I felt so incredibly dizzy, I was sure that my sight was twisted in the darkness.

My left arm hung limply by my side and as much as I wanted to reach towards it and touch it, I managed to hold back from doing just that. A glint of light caught my eye and I looked down to my right to find a lone shard of purple glass laying beside me. I carefully leaned down and picked it up, I managed to avoid cutting myself on the sharp edges.

I could see my own reflection in the shard, but only the lower left part of my face and nothing more, regardless of how I moved it. I was tired and confused, clearly not thinking straight as I was in a trance whilst gazing into the purple haze that swam within the glass. As I looked into the shard, the reflection of my age started to quickly age.

A long beard slowly grew from my reflection's chin and began to change colors as it grew, becoming white with age, before falling of all together. The weathered skin beneath rotted and fell off slowly as the bone beneath came into view.

The shard clattered on the ground as it slipped through my fingers, my breathing was now even more ragged. But my body was beginning to recover and I was starting to be able to make out the cave that I was in, somewhat. It was then that I saw it, all around me were a whole lot of similar glass shards, all in varying sizes and shapes.

Every single one filled with an inner purple light that lit up the cavern and slowly the purple rays of light all began to move to shine together on a single place. A frame was guarded by two stone statues on either side, both grasping swords in their hands. The frame could only have held a large mirror, based on the shards around me.

My eyes widened in surprise as the rays of light all began to gather in the frame and slowly a recreation of the mirror was being created by the light. The glowing mirror was pulsating slowly and illuminated the room somewhat, revealing thick branches that had broken through the ceiling and reached down to stretch out over the floor.

My eyes were drawn to look into the mirror, I moved in a trance as I got up without any trouble and walked towards the mirror. I could see people walking around in old cities turned to ruins, I could see civilizations rise and fall within mere glimpses, some through war, other through disease. This mirror, whatever it was, held an ageless feeling to it.

I wondered briefly if it was this mirror or portal that had brought me here and I was answered as the image held within the mirror was now of the very same cliff that I had jumped off of. My hand was slowly moving towards the rippling surface of the mirror. Faint sparks of lightning surged across the mirror as I could see myself being chased by the bear.

The mirror shattered again just as the version of myself in the mirror hit the water. The shards of bright purple light all rained down around me and fell into the shards that were already on the floor. Now only the dimmest of purple light was kept alive within the darkness of the old chamber I was in. It was however when I looked to my right that I let out a shout of fright.

Laying there against the chamber's wall was the corpse of a bear, I first thought it to be the very same one that had chased after me. But this, this monster of a creature was almost twice its size and was covered in filthy, shaggy fur and what was most disturbing were the large thorn-like spikes that grew out of its skin.

I could safely assume that it was dead, considering the deep gashes that had been gouged into the bear and the amount of blood on the floor. It still didn't stop me from kicking its side to see if I could get any sign of life out of it. Apart from a muffled thud, the bear's corpse did not move nor stir and I confess to having let out a breath of relief.

My confusion over my situation was about to get even more severe. Considering that I had apparently been brought here by some kind of magical portal and the fact of the monster bear that laid dead before me. For I heard a quiet groan behind me and a somewhat shuffling sound, before the silence settled once more.

I remained still for quite a while, wanting to make sure that there was not another bear like the one before me just nearby or outside of the chamber. However, the quiet sound once more sounded and this time I could do nothing but tell that it was feminine and sounded human. So I turned around and looked for the source of the sounds, peering through the dim light.

To my left I found a sight that I was not expecting, that of a woman with long dark hair and wearing what appeared to be leather armor. I shambled slowly over to her, taking care not to look at my left arm as it dangled by my side. Once I reached her I got down onto my knees and checked if she was breathing, which she was, albeit rather slowly and unsteadily.

I then reached out and took hold of her shoulder and somewhat gently rolled her over onto her back. As though the sight of a woman wearing leather armor had shocked me, it had not prepared me for what happened when her hair fell away from covering her face and most especially her ears. They were long and came to a rather sharp point, she was an Elf!

I reared back slightly as I gasped and my mind went reeling, for you see, my world does not have elves, none at all. They are mere stories and fairytales among my people and I could not be sure that I was believing what I was seeing. Also considering the fact that she had a tattoo engraved upon her face, it reminded me of a tree as it started from the middle of her nose and branched upwards to cover her entire forehead in its branches. No, the disturbing fact about the tattoo was that it looked like she had used her own blood in making it.

But it seemed that my touching her and then the sound of my gasp must have woken her up, as hazy green eyes peered into the darkness after me. Her head was swaying and her gaze was flickering as she seemed to struggle fiercely to keep from losing consciousness again. However it was when her gaze found me that I could see her eyes dilate and narrow in anger.

"Shem!" She practically hissed at me, before she started to cough violently. I could only assume that it was some kind of insult, based on how she directed it at me. Maybe because I'm human?

"Can you understand me?" I asked her as I cautiously approached, but still kept my distance and trying my best to appear to be as little a threat as I could. I needed to know to if she spoke the same language as me, otherwise this could only really go wrong before it got better or even worse. Either or really. I could faintly hear her mutter in a language that I could not understand, let alone recognize what she said. Until she finally nodded to me.

"Good, are there more of your people near here?" The question I asked of her however was apparently the worst question I could have asked as her seemed to fill with fury and I somewhat realized my blunder.

"Wait! Just listen to me." I tried to reason with her. "I have no idea how I got here, I am alone and hurt, but I can still move. You on the other hand seem to be in an even worse state than I am. So how does this sound, I carry you and you show me the way back to your people. You get to safety and your people can do whatever they want to me. It is a deal in your favor, so what do you say?"

I could see the blatant distaste she had at my mere presence, as though I offended her by just being near her. Still I was aware of the fact that she was thinking my words over and however much she disliked my words, she had to see that it would be better for both of us if she agreed. Her eyes suddenly glazed over and then closed completely.

I moved to her side to see if she was alright, but the motion I made seemed to jolt her awake once more. She blinked several times tiredly in a daze before she glared hatefully at me. By now I was getting rather frustrated with this girl, she seemed to be just over twenty years old, but who knows how elves age in this world?

Her eyes seemed to clear slightly, but it was hard to say in the dim light of the cave and she seemed to remember what I had asked of her. She slowly raised herself up on shaky elbows and just that seemed to take a great amount of strength from her. Her skin seemed flushed and she was sweating as though she had a high fever.

"Fine." She spoke weakly without any venom this time. "Know this Shem, if you attempt to do anything against my people, I will kill you myself."

I blinked, surprised and a little impressed that she managed to make an almost convincing death threat in her state.

"Very well." I reassured her. "So, the best way to do this is if I were to carry you on my back and you can just point the way and lead me the right way. I am going to come close to you and kneel down and you can then wrap your arms around my neck. Then I am going to lift you up and put you on my back and then we can be on our way, okay?"

She let out an annoyed breath and seemed to admit some kind of defeat to me. She nodded her assent and I moved to her side and knelt beside her before leaning down towards her. Her long slender arms came up slowly and linked themselves around my neck. I then tried to as carefully as possible to maneuver her with one arm so that she came to rest upon my back. I heard her hiss in pain directly into my ear as I stood up.

"Sorry." I apologized to her. "I will try to move smoother, but then we won't get anywhere fast."

"Just walk, Shem." She ordered me. "I am not some weak shemlen woman that you need to shield from the world."

"Sure, sure." I told her, just slightly condescendly. She growled weakly before I felt her head fall down onto my shoulder and shortly after, I could hear her breathing calm. Well, better that she was asleep for now and unable to feel her own pain. Her body was almost unbearably hot, I could feel it seep into my own body through both my own clothes and the armor that she wore. It was almost like it was bleeding over into me.

I assumed that since she just told me to walk that this chamber we were in only had a few ways to go through to get to the exit. So I naturally started to walk out of the cavern we were in, leaving behind the shards of the mirror and the carcass of the bear. I soon left the portion of the cave we had been in and my eyes were now starting to get more used to being in the dark.

I could make out mountings for torches on the walls of the cave and I could see that the stone beneath my feet had been placed there to form the floor of the ruins we were apparently in. Skeletons laid with their bones scattered over the floor, old chipped swords and rusted shields lay just as spread out. Hopefully they wouldn't come to life again like some kind of Necromancer was nearby.

Ah, a Necromancer is a mage that can use the bodies of the dead to do his… or hers bidding. And considering that I was apparently in a world of what I thought to be only fantasy, well it could very well be possible that magic exists in this world.

My steps echoed eerily in the darkness of the ruins as I moved through its corridors, nothing but statues near me. That was until I came into a series of larger rooms filled with pillars. Pillars coated in webs, spider webs to be precise. But that was not all that strange, it was to be expected of such old ruins.

No, what I greatly disliked was the size of the spiders that created the webs. The creature was thankfully already dead and its carcass was laying with its back to the ground. Even so, the body of the spider easily reached up and over my knees and its legs would have most certainly been taller than me if they were to be fully extended.

Not to mention the massive pair of pincer-like fangs that the spider had for a mouth. I shivered almost unconsciously at the thought of seeing one alive and my steps were being a lot more quick in their direction. What was strange however was that through my way of the ruins, there were several opened doors. All having been pushed inward towards the room with the mirror.

Was it this elf girl that had killed all of the spiders that I saw? Was she an adventurer of some sort? Or maybe a treasure hunter. Either or could be just as likely. I felt a short flicker of pain go through my head and I staggered slightly. I thankfully steadied myself before I could fall over. I was beginning to fear that I might have some internal injuries that I was not aware of. My body was still quite numb and I could still not feel all of the pain that I should have been in.

I breathed deeply to settle my rapidly beating heart, its thumping rang loudly in my ears and my vision started to spin and swim again, just as I could see sunlight pouring down into the ruins. I staggered with the weight of the unconscious elf on my back and even though I could hardly see I managed to get us up and out of the ruins.

I could hazily make out that we were in a great forest and with various trails to lead around the rock formations that created hazardous drops, that I would most likely not want to fall down from. I noticed that there was really only one path that I could take that would lead me away from the ruins and I began to make way cautiously.

My hike was draining me rapidly, but I pushed forward, I had no real idea what had happened to the elf girl. Maybe she had gotten poisoned by those giant spiders? Or maybe she caught some infection from the bear she must have killed? My thoughts were as sluggish as my steps, but I still remember them clearly.

Even though I felt that my pace could have been outrun by a snail, I somehow managed to get us safely up out of the rocky cliffs and edges, covered in moss and vegetation. And now I found myself facing nothing but wide open forest, with no discernable tracks or paths leading anywhere… I decided that there really was no other way.

"Hey. wake up." I somewhat shouted at the elf girl whilst I jostled her with my right elbow to wake her up. From what little I could hear from her, it seemed like it woke her up, but she still seemed even worse than I felt at the moment.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea where I should go." I told her slowly, pausing for breath ever so often. "Could you just point where I should go?"

The songs of birds were all that answered me and the other sounds of the forest, a small river was running nearby, I could hear the faint splashes of the water coursing over the rocks in the creek. I honestly thought that she had fallen unconscious again and that I would have to find my own way, when her arm stutteringly came up to point in a direction to my right, away from the creek.

"Thanks." I told her sincerely, I could faintly make out that she called me 'Shem' again. I shook my head to clear it and I continued my arduous hike in the direction she had given me. I walked through the woods for what felt like an eternity, nothing but the serenity of the lush green forest surrounded me as I walked over old fallen trees and hills.

My hope was only kindled when I could smell the scent of food being cooked as it was carried over the winds to me. I could see the smoke rising into the sky in the distance and I could somewhat see the silhouettes of what appeared to be small houses or cottages with large wooden wheels carrying them. How strange…

I must have made quite the sight as I stumbled into the camp of the Dalish Elves, a human carrying one of their own on his back. I blinked as I noticed that I had no less than four bows with arrows nocked trained on me. I only sighed, probably the wrong idea, but then, I was completely exhausted by then and honestly did not care at all if they shot me or not.

I heard one of the elves call out something as they recognized the elf on my back. 'Mahari' something and they rushed to my... well, her side and carefully pried her off my back as I leaned down to let them take her from me.

"I told you that I would get you to the safety of your people." My words were slurred out as my gaze dropped down to my left arm and I saw the blood dripping from my shredded sleeve and it was at that moment that I too lost consciousness and I remember only that I was falling backwards as the darkness claimed me.

---

Once again I have no recollection of how long I was out, but I was told later on that I had been out for five days. So when I awoke with a pounding headache, I was not expecting to find myself inside a wooden cabin and in a comfortable bed. I could only let out a pained groan as I lay back against the bed and tried to remember just what had happened to me.

Had it all just been a dream and I had been rescued by someone that had pulled me out of the water? Yeah, that seemed more likely, it had to have all been just a dream. Well, my answer came when I heard the sound of someone sharpening the edge of a blade near me. And when I looked up it was to see a young man wearing a full set of plated armor and sharpening his sword.

"Finally awake, are we?" The young man asked of me, his gray-blue eyes looking me over disinterestedly and his head was covered with short black hair. I tried to get up and answer him, but as I tried my ribs protested the movement and sent a sharp pain through my body.

"Ah Hell!" I cursed as I fell back down unto the bed. This time when I tried to get up, I did it far more slowly and I managed to sit up and slide my legs over the edge of the bed. I noticed that the, well, knight most obviously had now rested his sword in his lap and was looking at me curiously instead.

"What is 'Hell'?" He asked of me. "And why do you swear by it for your pain?"

I settled my forehead against the palms of my hands and just tried to regain my grip on reality, or what I thought was reality and not just an illusion. Still, what harm could there be in just answering a question.

"Hell is a place for punishing sinners." I told him as I slowly started to wake up completely. "It consists of nothing but flame and torment. A fitting place for some to burn for all of eternity. So, really I swear by it because of the fact that my pain is nothing compared to that."

"I understand." He told me stoically. His gaze however was far off and his eyes seemed almost haunted by something for a moment. "Yes, that would be a most fitting punishment for many that I know off. Is there a way to send someone there?"

"Only the dead are judged for their sins." I said as I reared my head back at his tone.

"Ah, a shame that." He more spoke aloud to himself it seemed. "I will just have to make sure that I am the one to kill them then… Unless you have something else to say?"

"Nothing special that I can think of." I shrugged in honest. "If it is revenge that you are after than maybe you would like the quote 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What you have done to me, I shall do to you."

Ignoring the fact of what I had just discussed with a young knight and who was by now in seemingly deep thought over what I had told him. It dawned on me that I could feel my left arm again. Nothing really seemed out place with it, apart from the many bandages that were wrapped around it, as well as what looked like herbs bound within the cloth that made up the bandages. My head was heavy and still my sense were lulled, but I knew that I had to ask one particular question.

"How long was I out?" I looked to the knight as I asked him, whilst resting my arms on my legs.

"We, Duncan and I, arrived here four days ago." The unnamed knight told me. "We were told of the Keeper of this clan that you had come bearing one of their own, Mahariel and then you had collapsed afterwards. The First of the Keeper had then been attending you for three days. You have been… out for nearly a full week."

I honestly had nothing to say to that so I only shook my head in disbelief, I did notice the Knight's pause at saying 'out' as in unconscious, was he unaware of that phrase? Besides, I now know that this clan, as he said, has some kind of leader called a Keeper in title, as well as a First, most likely an assistant or the like. Wait, Mahariel, was that not what the other elves called the one I carried with me?

"The woman I brought to the camp, how is she?" I tried to keep my voice from sounding too hurried or worried.

"Showing concern for a Dalish?" The knight looked at me funny as he asked that of me. I felt anger stir within me and I must have glared at him. "My apologies, but the Dalish and we, humans, have a long history of… dislike and hate. You were only helped by the Dalish because of that you cared for one of their own, nothing else."

"And the woman, Mahariel?" I pressed him slightly for the answer.

"Unconscious and barely alive." He told me directly. "The Keeper has been using all of her strength and old forms of magic to keep her alive, but she has yet to even stir from her deep slumber. It would seem that even though you both shared the same illness, she was far worse off than you."

So, she had had been in a coma for over a week? Just what had taken over her to affect her this badly? I felt a faint tinge of pain come from my left arm and it felt almost like something was moving beneath the bandages. It had to be my mind playing tricks on me and that whatever wounds I had were healing and thus irritated.

"You are quite the odd one, do you know that?" The Knight asked of me. I merely glanced at him dubiously. "You awaken from recovering from severe exhaustion and wounds, in a Dalish camp and you show next to no concern for your own self. You even wake to an armored man with a sword at your side and what do you do? You converse civilly with a man that you have no idea of what he could do to you. I just… I can't understand you, at all."

I laughed shortly at the situation I now found myself in.

"I honestly thought that I was dead or dying already." I shared with him. "What difference does it make to tell a dream of vengeance?"

He actually snorted at my attitude.

"Don't let any mages hear you say that." He told me somewhat seriously. "Don't you know that demons come to them in their sleep? The Fade holds many kinds of spirits and those of vengeance could very will be the sort that you would be better of never having trusted or spoken to."

Hah, so demons are real here as well, magic is also apparently quite real, it seems that I have truly died and awakened alive in a world of fantasy and dreams. I might just start believing in the old myths if they are the truth in this world, but I am not yet fully convinced. I would also need to hold my tongue, lest they discover that I am not of this world. It wouldn't do to ask too many questions.

"What about yourself then?" I asked him in return. "With your thoughts, would you not be a pleasing target for such spirits or even demons?"

"Hah, I am no mage." He dismissed me completely by that statement. "Only mages are truly awake in the Fade and we common folk are far too… insignificant for such spirits to even notice us. So no, my thoughts are of no concern to them, nor to you."

His words turned quite cold and his commanding stare made feel fear as I shuffled away from him. His mood however lightened at the sight of me then and there.

"I say it again, you are an odd one." He repeated. "You show no fear in asking questions, but the slightest sight of consequence has you scurrying like a rat?"

His mocking words made me grit my teeth in anger.

"I have no need to fear you," I mocked him. "It is merely the first time that I have met someone like you, a knight."

"A 'knight'?" He asked me curiously. "No, I am no such thing, I am the son of Teyrn Cousland, the Teyrn of Highever and I am no longer bound by my family's honor. But I shall avenge my family and all those that served us honorably."

So not a knight, but the son of a Teyrn, must be something like nobility judging by how he mentioned the title. Maybe a Lord in status? So the son of a murdered Lord, by the sound of it. Set for revenge against whoever wronged him and I must say, with the presence that this young man had at his age, I actually felt sorry for whoever he was after.

"I now realize that I have neglected something." Cousland told me. "I have yet to ask your name nor given you my own."

"Malcolm Cousland." He introduced himself as he reached out with his left hand towards me, was he left-handed? "Someone as interesting as you may call me Mal."

"Carolus G. Smith." I introduced myself with my full name as I also reached out with my left hand for a handshake. Ignoring the pain of my body for the moment. "You can call me Carl."

"A pleasure." He said just as simply before our hands touched and when they did a fierce glow of purple shone from beneath the bandages of my arm. And from underneath crawled out tendrils of light in that very same shade that struck the forearm of Malcolm Cousland and latched on to him.

Next thing we both knew, the light grew brighter until it blinded us both, my right hand had come up to shield my eyes and when I put it down, I found myself standing in a dull brown void. There was no sign of the Lord's son anywhere near me and I tried calling out his name, but no one answered me.

Then from the silence it came, the screams of fright from fleeing people, as I now was standing on the wall of a burning castle. I saw men in armor slaughter servants and guards alike, no one was spared in this brutal assault to take the castle. That was until I saw Malcolm, donned in a far finer form of his armor fighting through the soon to be ruined castle. Slaying men after men and trying to save as many as possible. I could only assume that the older woman next to him firing arrows was his mother, for they shared some of the lines of their faces.

I saw a large warhound loyally follow Malcolm and it fought valiantly and savagely against the invaders by his side. Howe, the void whispered the name of the man who had sent these soldiers. It was this man Howe that was responsible for this wanton massacre of innocents.

My sight in this dream-like state of what could only be memories of those slain in the battle was limited. I could only follow certain paths that Malcolm took through the castle. But I did make note of the fact that he retrieved a sword and shield from what could only have been their family armory. Heirlooms perhaps?

But in the end, Howe's men seized the castle and I could only assume that Malcolm was one of the few that managed to escape from it all. I could understand him far better now than before. Most likely he lost both his mother and father that very same night.

With my realization the vision blurred and I was left in the dull yellowish brown of the void once more and I remember feeling the sensation of falling before my eyes opened again. Only to find the edge of the Cousland family sword pointed straight at my throat.

"You." The surviving Cousland growled at me. His eyes narrow with fury. "What are you, Maleficarum? Or should I ask what kind of Abomination you are, creature of the Fade?!"

He actually roared the question at me angrily. I began to sweat nervously and I feared that I had no clue what he meant. Nor did I know anything about what just happened.

"I swear to you that I had nothing to do with that!" I exclaimed hurriedly.

"Is that so?" He spoke dangerously as his sword's tip dug into my throat slowly. I hardly dared to breath at the sight of his furious eyes and snarling face. "You mumbled in your state, your eyes clouded and white. You saw it all, didn't you?"

I could only dare nod to answer him.

"And still you claim that you have nothing to do with the Fade?" He demanded to know of me. "Even after you rip my memories from my mind, Blood mage!"

"What the hell does that even have to do with this?!" I shouted out. "Look I know nothing of what just happened and for what it is worth, I'm sorry."

"For what, exactly?" The dangerous tone was in his voice again and the sword that slightly lowered was again digging into my throat.

"For both what has happened to you." I told him sincerely. "And for whatever it is that I just did to you, I cannot ask your forgiveness for this, but I can say that I am sorry for what happened. No one should have their pasts torn from them. When only they are allowed to know it. I'm sorry."

His gaze was long and hard as he searched my eyes for what I could only guess was falsehood. I hoped that he could see that I was not lying.

"You will tell no one of what you saw, understand?" He clearly didn't ask of me, but commanded.

I could only nod weakly in reply, I was already tired and exhausted still and now this? I was barely staying awake. Thankfully he stepped back and sheathed his sword upon his right hip, most likely confirming my thoughts that he was left-handed. Yes, my thoughts are weird in that way. It should have been the last thing on my mind at that time.

It was however at that time that we could both hear footsteps rapidly approaching and the door was almost torn open and a man rushed in. His hands grasping the sword he had behind his right shoulder and the dagger that was behind his left.

"Malcolm, what is happening in here?" The man questioned the Teyrn's son. "The Dalish told me that they heard shouting coming from here."

The man was quite tall and had a darker skin tone, his short black hair joined with a full beard and his tone was calm. Despite the fact that he was ready to arm himself in that very same moment. His armor was slim and form-fitting and silver in shade.

"Just a minor disagreement, Duncan." Malcolm said as he folded his arms over his chest. "Nothing more."

So this was Duncan then? The man Malcolm said that he came to this camp with. Based on the fine armor that the man wore, even though it was scarred and showed signs of travel, it was clear that he was a warrior of renown. For it showed in his way of carrying himself, no one could just have donned the armor of this man and be able to hold the same presence as he did. I actually felt a minor amount of respect for him just from seeing him for the first time.

"A minor disagreement that required raised voices?" Duncan said after a moment, clearly not convinced.

"Yes, it has all been sorted out between us." Malcolm said with a forced smile. "Ah, but where are my manners? Duncan, this is Carl, a smith by trade."

Apparently Malcolm did not think too highly of this Duncan and I had no idea why.

"Actually." I interjected as calmly as I could. "My forefather was a smith of renown, we kept the name to honor him. I am a butcher by trade and a hunter of my own meat."

"A hunter? So you have some skill with a bow then?" Malcolm asked me, for some reason ignoring Duncan in favor of showing his interest in me. It was hard to say if it was genuine or not.

"Ah yes, I am a fair shot with a longbow." I told him whilst eyeing Duncan who had relaxed and was now surveying our conversation. "I've hunted for over ten years now and I have never truly missed a single shot since I learnt how to properly shoot."

"And what do you mean by 'truly'?" Figures that Malcolm would pick up on that and question me.

"I have missed what I was aiming for specifically." I answered him. "But I still hit my intended target."

"Impressive." Duncan commented simply from the side. "So you have not failed to strike your prey as a hunter for over ten years?"

I blinked slightly at the warrior, but I nodded briefly and answered him. "Yes, that is true."

"See Duncan, nothing to worry about." Malcolm cut into the conversation, apparently wanting the man to leave.

"Very well then." Duncan said after a moment. "Be certain of that you do not have any more… disagreements in the future."

I could hear the displeasure and perhaps disappointment in Duncan's voice as he calmly exited the cabin. Malcolm immediately just let out a breath and sat down again in the chair near my bed, a table was right next to him and he was using it to rest his left arm on it.

I thought it best not to intrude any further into Malcolm's personal affairs and my gaze lowered to my lap. It was then that I noticed that my bandages had been soaked in blood. Against my better judgement, I took hold of the cloth and quickly unraveled it all, what I found beneath was not a pretty sight to behold. I could hear Malcolm suck in a breath of shock as he took it all in.

For you see, my arm had blackened and seemed almost rotten, with burst skin seeping fresh blood lazily. But that was not what drew both of us' attention, no that was the shards of the mirror that had been lodged into my arm. In different sizes and shapes, they all looked extremely sharp and gleamed as they stuck out in various ways from within their different depths of my arm.

All the way from the base of my hand to my elbow were most likely hundreds of shards. The smallest of them glittered like gemstones in the faint light of the sun that came in through the lone shaded window. The largest were ominous in the swirling haze that drifted within them, almost like it wanted to be released upon the world.

"And what exactly is that?" Malcolm asked shakily from my side, he had apparently approached me and held my arm still to look at it himself.

"When I woke up, I found myself laying on a stone floor with shards like these all around me." I told him. "I guess that I now know why I couldn't feel my arm, haha."

"How can you be calm right now?" Mal asked me incredulously, my nervous laughter had not gone over well with him.

"I'm not." I said to him.

"Stay here and lie down." He ordered me. "I am going to find the First, stay here."

Like I had any other choice, I thought as I lay back, to me it was hardly a moment before he returned with another elf behind him. This one was also a woman and also with black hair, it seemed common in this world to have that shade. She as well had a tattoo over her face but in an entirely different pattern and a much more paler shade. It reminded me of roots and branches as they spread over her forehead and her cheeks.

I must have fallen asleep whilst she tended to me, for I awoke to her telling me that she was all done and that I should be more careful. She wouldn't want for her care to go to waste. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. I now had fresh bandages wrapped around my arm, but the sight that rested below had not left my mind at all.

Just how had so many shards been lodged in my arm? Even if I braced myself my left arm above my head, there was no way that breaking the mirror would have done this. I was unconscious for a while before I awoke in that chamber, but I know for certain that I was in there before I passed out. Could someone have done this to me?

No, that wouldn't explain the state of my arm and there wasn't a trace of that anyone but Mahariel had been down there with me. Well, the mirror was clearly magical, I thought whilst I rested on the bed. Malcolm had stepped outside for some fresh air. Or so he said, I guess that he did not want to be near me right now.

I tried to rest, but I found that I could not do so at all and I grew all the more restless. Something that was not aided in the least by the itching wounds of my left arm. It almost felt like they were trying to guide my arm in a certain direction, ridiculous. But the more I lay there, the more certain I got of the impression that I had to go somewhere.

So I slowly got to my feet and dressed myself in the fine light green and faintly yellow tunic that had been laid out for me. It almost ran smoothly over my fingers as I felt the fabric and it was so light that I could barely feel it against my skin. It was strange how well my body felt as I stretched my arms, my left far more carefully and still it did not show any signs of bleeding.

As I was sated with staying indoors I walked out of the cabin and even though there was a cloth hanging over the entrance to bring shade from the sun. The sun was still enough to blind me for a moment. After I had regained the ability to see regularly, I could for the first time see the Dalish camp. It was strange in a way, for every building or cabin could not truly be called that.

For whilst the housings were big enough to be called that, they showed that they could very quickly be mounted down into smaller parts and the wheels on them made certain of the fact that their housing were mobile. Add to that their camp did not show signs of that they intended to stay in this location and you could be fairly certain of that these elves were a traveling people. Strange. Well, at least not what I would expect of them.

The elves that passed me took notice of me and whilst most completely ignored me, some nodded to me and quietly thanked me. They could only be thanking me for bringing back Mahariel to them and that gave me the impression that they were a closely knit people, everyone was precious to them. Within reasons, I'm sure.

One even stopped me and asked if I had seen Tamlen when I found Mahariel, when I asked who that was and replied that I had not seen anyone else within the ruins, the elf had become quite distressed. His words to me in parting was that they would have to send out even more of their hunters to look for him. Apparently Mahariel had not been alone in exploring the ruins, strange that I did not see any trace of this Tamlen.

I hope that he was not someone special to Mahariel, for what excuse could I have that would sate her if that were the case? I sighed as I walked towards one of the larger housings, my steps were surely being guided by something. A feeling in the back of my mind together with the strange itches in my arm told me that I had to go there. The closer I got to the mobile housing, the heavier my head felt and it started to hurt.

My breathing was becoming labored as my steps grew unsteady. I felt so good just a moment ago, had my body been lying to me again? No, the feeling and the pain was clearly getting stronger the closer I got the large cabin. Something was urging me closer and as black spots started to dance in my sight, I still moved forward.

Just as I reached it, I felt as though my breath had dried and fallen apart in my throat and lungs. I couldn't breathe at all and I collapsed against the smooth wood and panted feverishly. My body was burning hot and I couldn't focus however hard I tried. Slowly but surely the pain and fever began to abate, but it was leaving me in a weak state. It didn't feel like the pain was lessening, but rather, that I was quickly getting used to it.

I felt something cool and wet upon my forehead and someone lifted my head and placed a cup of water against my lips.

"Here. Drink." A sagely, calm voice told me and I obeyed as I drank slowly and the water felt divine as it soothed my parched throat.

Once I could clearly see again, I gazed over towards where I was sure that the voice had come from and there, crouched down upon the steps of the housing was an old elf. Her white hair stayed above her shoulders and her tattooed face was framed by two braids. Interestingly her braids were also connected into a larger braid that moved in a circle around her head.

"I thought that Merrill would have taken better care of you." The older woman who I assumed was the Keeper of the clan told me sadly. "Whilst I have sent her out to collect more herbs to better treat Mahariel, I thought that she had already tended to you, twice, no less."

"Sorry, for being so bothersome." I weakly joked.

"Your life is already short as it is, Shemlen." She told me calmly. "Why must you try so hard to shorten it even further?"

"That's the third time someone has called me that." I talked slowly to the old elf. "Twice by the same woman and now once by you. What, what does it mean?"

"In your tongue, it would mean 'quick children'." She answered patiently whilst still holding the wet rag to my forehead. "Your lives, as humans, are so much shorter than our own, so to us, you are quickly aged and gone. Whilst we remain to see your passings over and over."

I laughed weakly, I don't know what I found humorous in her statement, but I felt that it was needed, I think.

"I take it that you're the Keeper, then?" I asked of her.

"I am." The Keeper of the Dalish answered me. "I am called Marethari and I am the Keeper of ancient lore for this clan. Why did you wish to know this?"

"Malcolm, the other human besides the warrior, told me that Mahariel was being treated by you." I told her in earnest. "I wanted to know if she has gotten better than what he told me of her."

"I wonder how many times it has been heard of one of your kind speaking in concern for one of the Dalish," Marethari mused to herself with a faint, worried smile. "Lyna, Mahariel awoke mere moments before your collapse. She seems to be finally be recovering from her illness, for a while I feared the worst would happen to her."

"I'm happy to hear that." I whispered as I lay back again against the smooth wood.

"And if I may ask, why is it that you care for Lyna's fate as you do?" The Keeper wondered. "Many would still remain resting if they were as ill as you are. Why go to such ordeals for someone you do not know?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged as I answered her."I told her that I would bring her back to her people and I did. I guess I just wanted to see it with my own eyes to believe it. I couldn't rest while not knowing if she was alright or not."

"I know not what dark power held her, but it nearly bled the life out of her." The Keeper confided in me. "Even my greatest of magical efforts were nearly not enough to keep her alive and now, just as you approach, she becomes better. I do not believe it to be a coincidence. Come, enter with me. Lyna should trust you if you are in my presence."

"Very well." I agreed as I got up by pressing myself upwards against the wall behind me. I seemed to have recovered enough to stand on my own and I took in the sight of the Keeper. She wore a robe of teal color with gold linings and black fur covered her shoulders. A wooden staff was held in her hand to support herself.

I followed her into the housing and saw the elf that I had tried to save laying in the bed on the far end of the cabin. Her skin was pale and I couldn't tell if the liquid on her skin was her own sweat or water from the cool rags that rested on her forehead. She was moaning in pain and murmuring in her sleep, her body tossing and turning as she did so.

"As you can see for yourself." Marethari said quietly behind me. "She has not recovered, but she has gotten far better within mere moments of you coming closer to her. She was awake for a moment before she fell asleep once more just before I went outside. It is my wish that you move closer to her and we shall see what happens."

I acknowledged her wish with a nod and cautiously moved to her bedside before sitting down next to her. I felt a wave of nausea wash over and I gagged slightly, but nothing more thankfully happened. And when I looked to her once more, her skin had regained a lot of its proper color. I doubted it at first, but it did really seem as if I was taken her sickness into myself to make her better. Bizarre.

I reached out and removed the rag from her forehead and felt for her warmth with my hand. She no longer had a fever and I could tell that she had stiffened under my touch. She was still wearing her leather armor, which I found highly strange, but seeing as whatever sickness she had was being treated by magic. Well, I don't know what difference leaving the armor on would do when such healing was taking place.

I moved my hand back and as I did I noticed that the bandages on my left arm had been stained slightly by blood once more. Was all of this the mirror's doing? Was the reason that my arm looked rotten this disease that had taken hold in, Lyna? Had I now gotten worse as she got better? What would that even do to me? Would it spread into my body now?

I sighed tiredly as I looked over to the Keeper.

"She is better now. No fever at all." I told her the good news. I could see that the old elf was relieved and also the fact that she had been taking care of her charge for over a week. She was exhausted. "Why don't you get some rest for a while? I will be sure to watch over her for you."

"I never thought that I would entrust a human with something like this," Marethari spoke for her mind. "but you are right, I will take my leave and find rest. Know that we are close."

Her parting words as she left the cabin unnerved me. Did she mean that they were close at hand if something went for worse, or did she mean that they were close if I were to do something to Mahariel? Either way, there was something that I needed to do at that very moment.

"I know you're awake." I simply told the 'sleeping' elf.

Her response was far quicker than I thought that she would be able to move, her hand came away from her side and clearly something that she had hidden from the my sight was the knife that she was holding to my throat. I admit that I was getting quite tired of being threatened like this and I wanted to do something to even the odds, perhaps. I faintly thought of pointing something sharp at her in return.

And apparently something answered that desire, as her hateful glared turned into a stunned blink before her gaze locked onto something above my left shoulder. And as I turned my head to look at what had her so captivated, I found one of the larger shards that had impaled my arm hovering in midair, it was even slightly vibrating creating a clearly heard sound. It conveyed a feeling of eagerness as I looked at it dumbfounded.

I blinked twice and the shard was still there, ready and waiting for my command to impale the threat to me.

"Know this, Shem," Mahariel hissed warily. "I have a debt to you for saving my life, but if your life is not one worth saving…"

I did not like her tone one bit and I could hear the ringing sound getting louder in my ear and as I looked over my shoulder, ignoring the steel pressing into my neck. I found that the shard had started to rotate like a sawblade and it was spinning faster and faster. The singing sound of the sharp shard actually sent a cold calm into my mind.

It was a certain fact in my mind that I would be able to kill her far faster than she could even slit my throat. I was in no danger, no matter what hatred she held for me and I could feel something darker rise up from the back of mind. What it would be like to actually see the shard shred the elf into pieces, for I knew that it was most certainly strong enough to withstand such treatment. What it would feel like to have her blood splatter over me…

I grit my teeth and suppressed those thoughts, I could tell that they were not my own or at least, from some part of myself that I didn't know about. The shard had stilled once more and was in fact completely still as it hung statically in the air. I imagined that it would return to its place in my arm, somehow I knew exactly just where that particular shard was meant to be fastened to me. Beyond freaky.

The shard obeyed my mental command and flew down and slid in under the bandages and I could feel it connect to my arm once more, all the way down into the bone. It didn't hurt at all, strangely. It even felt like some part of myself had returned from being missing.

"Mind getting that away from me?" I said coolly as I look down at the knife.

She grudgingly removed her blade from my throat and I let out a quiet breath.

"Twice today have I been threatened with steel." I told her. "It's getting old really quickly."

She merely scoffed derisively at me and turned away slightly, still sitting upright.

"Why are you here?" She asked quietly.

"Apart from the ever pleasant company?" I joked to an unappreciative audience of one that glared angrily at me from over her shoulder. "Apparently I am the reason that you got better so quickly, you've been unconscious for nearly a week."

She did not say anything as she closed her eyes and seemed to think over my words, or perhaps she needed time to think of what had happened in the time she had been out. I took a moment to look at her dagger, I had not noticed earlier, but when I looked closer, the blade did not seem to have been made out of metal. It had the rings and markings of wood, but its shape and sharpness made it pose as being of the finest steel.

"The mirror…" I heard Mahariel mutter to herself. It was then that the door opened once more to the cabin we were in.

"Ah, Da'len, finally you are awake." Marethari said as she entered.

"Keeper Marethari." Mahariel bowed her head respectfully, it was day and night it seemed as to how she was to her own people in comparison to myself.

"It is good to see you so well, Lyna." The Keeper expressed her gratefulness. "We nearly lost you, had this man not brought you to us, I fear that you would not have made it… It is to my own regret and shame that I have to ask this, but what is your name, human?"

"No, it is my lack of manners that should be shamed, Elder." I said with respect. "My name is Carl Smith and it was my forefather who held the trade, I am merely a hunter."

"Merely a hunter?" Lyna repeated, clearly deeply affronted.

"Yes." I simply stated as I met her gaze, refusing to back down on this subject. "My forefather was a man who with great skill created masterful pieces that could be called art regardless of what he made. I, on the other hand, can only end the lives of animals to feed my own people. I have skill, yes, but I cannot compare myself at all to my forefather Jonathan."

It seemed that their customs revolved around hunting, perhaps? Maybe they hold a philosophy of living closer to nature? Perhaps even about being one with nature itself? It seemed that while I had been lost in my thoughts for the moment, Mahariel had apparently addressed the Keeper without me noticing.

"...-and what of Tamlen, what happened to him?" Lyna asked quietly, apprehensively.

"I believe that question should be asked of the man who rescued you, Lyna." Marethari diverted the question to me. "Tell me, Carl the Hunter, was there another member of our clan down in the ruins with Mahariel?"

"...No, there was not." I said uncomfortably under the sorrowful gaze of the Keeper and the hateful glare of Lyna. "It was dark down in the caved in ruins and after I woke up, I tried to look around the entire chamber that I was in. Apart from Mahariel, I found only a bear-like abomination, nothing else. Even on the way out I did not see anyone else. I am sorry."

"There was nothing more that you could have done without knowing of Tamlen's presence." Marethari absolved some of my building guilt. "But this abomination you speak of, can tell me of what it looked like?"

"It was a perversity of nature, Keeper." Lyna cut in somewhat disgustedly. "It had once been a creature of the forest, but its flesh had become rotten and putrid and strange spikes grew from under its skin. There were also giant spiders that attacked Tamlen and I as we entered the cave. Even the dead were not kept that way down in those cursed ruins."

"I see, it is as I feared then and Duncan was right." Marethari muttered distastefully.

"Forgive me, Keeper, but who is that shem and why do you trust him to remain with our clan?" Lyna's tone was polite, but held an undertone that was rude. Her gaze flickered over to me. "I can understand him remaining here, but why do you allow those two others to remain?"

"You would not know, Lyna." Marethari told her. "Duncan I spoke several times whilst I was caring for you, but that man is a Grey Warden and the other young man is to become one."

"I...understand, Keeper." Lyna grumbled, mollified. As though the title of, what was it, a gray Warden? appeased her for some reason. Curious, what was so special about them, then? It sounded like it should be common knowledge, so it would be unwise to ask at this time.

"Speaking of which, Duncan and his charge are planning to return to the ruins." The Keeper informed her, but looked at me as she did so, before turning back to Lyna. "I would like for you to guide them there and I will send Merrill with you so that she may also see it. When you are well enough to travel, I shall inform them."

"As you wish, Keeper." Lyna accepted and swung her legs onto the side of her bed and tried to get up on shaky legs. As she lost her balance, I reached out to help steady her, but she angrily batted my hand aside and staggered, but otherwise remained on her feet. "You may inform them that I shall be waiting for them at the edge of the camp."

And with that she slowly walked out of the cabin, her steps whilst unsteady, still held far more grace than my own did before. I found my eyes drawn to the way her body moved before I lost sight of her. The Keeper just sighed and shook her head, apparently used to seeing her behave in such a manner.

"I take it that you would also want to find answers?" The Keeper asked of me. I was surprised but answered her quickly.

"Of course and I would be thankful for the chance to do so, Elder." I expressed my, eagerness, for some reason, at the opportunity.

"Well then, come with me and we shall see what my clan can offer to part with for the moment." She asked of me to follow her out of the cabin.

She led me over the camp to meet with another elf who gave me the equipment that I needed, as well as a few pieces of leather armor to strap over the tunic I had been given. Giving some form of protection, should I need it.

After I had been armed with an elven shortbow and a quiver of wooden arrows, I joined the group that had been formed near the edge of the camp. I was apparently the last one there and I nodded quickly when Duncan asked if I was ready to leave to search the ruins. We set out as group into the forest and as we walked I noticed that the forest had become far more silent from what I remembered, too quiet.

And as we crossed over the hill that I remembered would soon lead us down on the path to the ruins, was when I for the first time beheld the twisted creatures. The pair of them were short barely reaching up to my stomach, but their skin was ugly shade of yellow, green and brown. They reminded me of a mixture of an orc and a goblin, tales of fantasy from my world.

With long pointed ears and a wide mouth filled sharp teeth and without lips. Their eyes were held in sunken sockets that shrouded them in darkness. The creatures wore simple armor, but it was coated in spikes and one even had thorned wines wrapped around its chest. They apparently made use of what was close at hand and both were armed. One with a mace and the other with an axe, both looked just as crudely made as their armor.

I took a calming breath as I drew an arrow and placed it against the bowstring. I held the breath as I drew back the bowstring and took aim. And as I released my breath just after I let loose the arrow and it flew through the air and burrowed into the eye of the creature. The arrow went in deep and with an agonized wail, the small monster fell over dead. My shot must have struck its brain.

And the second one of the pair had fallen just before its partner, a similar shot having created the same result with other one. I turned my head to look at Mahariel and found her looking at me in turn, her eyes slightly surprised. Before her eyes narrowed as she studied my closely, perhaps reevaluating me.

"So these are Darkspawn then, Duncan?" Malcolm asked as he had walked forward and kicked the one I had felled in the side with his armored boot. "They don't seem like much of a threat to me and I must say that they are far uglier than I thought they would be."

"What you see before you is a Genlock." Duncan instructed us. "You would be wise not to underestimate them. For while they may appear to be weak, they are the most numerous among the Darkspawn and you will quickly find yourself facing more than you can handle, if you are not careful."

"But what is a Darkspawn doing here of all places?" Merrill asked of Duncan.

"The Darkspawn Taint lies heavily in the air around this place." Duncan spoke more to himself than to the First. "It has already started to twist the life around it and it would be my guess that these Darkspawn were drawn here by whatever spawned the Taint in this place. We must move with haste before even more are drawn here."

With that the group moved forwards towards the ruins and I took one last look at the, Genlock, as I took back my arrow and I found to my surprise that I did not feel anything for having killed it. Only a faint sense of pity filled as I looked upon the twisted creature. Perhaps it was a mercy to have taken its life?

Now however as we traversed the ruins, the torches I had mentioned earlier had been lit. By the Darkspawn? Were they intelligent, or is there something else down here with them? There were more Genlocks down in the ruins and I fired an arrow into them whenever I could safely do so. But mostly it was Duncan who dispatched them so easily that I was envious and in awe as he danced with his blades in battle.

It was however when we reached the final corridor before the room that contained the mirror that we found something new amongst the Darkspawn. My first thought upon seeing it was to call it a Genlock Shaman. For it had donned a weird headdress and was wielding a wooden staff. Which with a garbled squeal it used to launch a bolt of energy towards us. So, magic was real in this world.

Which was further proven true as Merrill stepped forth and swept her own staff in front of us and created what appeared to be a shield of energy. The shield took the hit and then disappeared as it faded away and Merrill quickly followed it with raising her staff. The Genlock Shaman was quickly frozen solid as a cloud of frost and ice rose in a pillar around it. The creature was shattered by Malcolm who swung his shield into the frozen creature.

After we had made sure to check that the ruins were empty, I asked Duncan just what these particular Genlock mages were called and he told me that they were called Emissaries. It seemed that they acted as a form of group leader for the Genlocks, or at least they showed a higher level of intelligence. Which was probably what allowed them to use magic. But why Emissary?

It was then that we entered the chamber where it had all started for me. Duncan immediately walked up to the former mirror's frame and began to examine it, as far as I could recall. The shards may help me recall my memories, but they are not perfect in any way. My own focus was on the fact that the bear's carcass had been removed, or perhaps even eaten by the Darkspawn?

"So both you and your friend Tamlen entered this cave," Duncan asked Lyna as he studied the statues guarding the former mirror's frame. "and you found the mirror that was shattered here?"

"Yes, Tamlen touched the mirror and the last I remember is a flash of bright light and the sound of shattering glass." Lyna recalled. "It was after that which I woke up to find this sh-.. human and from there he helped me get back to the safety of my clan. The rest you should know by now."

"I see." Duncan told her sadly in understanding. "That is… unfortunate. The Grey Wardens have seen artifacts like these before; They are Tevinter in origin and used for communication. Over time some of them just… break. They then become filled with the same taint as the Darkspawn, Tamlen's touch must have released it… I wonder though, the shards that the shattered mirror would have created are not fully here, some are missing."

"I believe that I have the answer to that." I told Duncan as I let the last of the bandages fall from my left hand and I lifted my arm up to show the glittering shards to him. I walked towards him whilst holding my left arm across and in front of my chest. Not noticing the fact that I was just about to step over the very same area that I had woken up from. The very same spot that the remaining shards were resting...

It was then, as I came over the center of the room that the shards around me began to rise up into the air. The smallest shards formed an almost powder like cloud as the shards began to gather together to form a circle around me. Said circle began to spin faster and faster around me, producing yet again a ringing singing sound that called to something deep within me. And whatever it was was more than eager to answer the call.

The cloud of shards began to shine a bright violet as it seemed to turn into a full circle of energy that slowly closed in around me. I sucked in a breath as the energy passed straight through my body and the circle enclosed my left wrist. The entire part of my arm that had been blackened and seemed dead gained a deep inner violet light and then slowly the shards rearranged themselves to all face their edges backwards towards my elbow.

And before my very eyes new shards seemingly grew out of my flesh without a single feeling coming from my numb arm. When the light finally died down, the entirety of my left forearm was completely covered in the razor sharp shards. There was no structure or reasoning to how the shards had arranged themselves, only their direction was shared between all of them.

I flexed my left hand now that I could feel it again and opened and closed it a few times, before I raised my forearm up before my eyes to look at it all. The shards glimmered and shone under my gaze with that still same violet inner light. The energy was clearly still present within them. Without really thinking, I had formed a mental command for the shards and they eagerly complied.

As one all of them slid out of my flesh and formed like a swarm of deadly blades all around my forearm and started to lazily drift in an invisible current around my arm. I pointed my hand against the statues and simply thought 'shred'.

The swarm of crystal blades shot off like bolts and sliced clean through the stone, leaving clean holes through the stone and several cracks. The shards halted and spun back in the air before striking the stone again and then forming a cloud of death around the statues. Violet flashes heralded each slash that carved into the stone and within the span of a merely a few moments, the statues had been reduced to a crumpled pile of small rocks.

It was with a satisfied grin on my face that I called the swarm back and they answered me again, each one easily seeking out their own place where they belonged. I stared at my arm in fascination as the shards attached themselves without me hardly feeling it. They truly were a menacing sight with their jaggedly sharp edges. They were not even blunted in the slightest, hahahaha.

It was then that I realized that I had laughed out loud, a low maniacal sound even to my own ears. I tried to calm myself, but there was no stopping the raw exhilaration that filled me. If the shards could do that kind of damage to stone, I wonder if armor would even stop them, hahaha. Aah, the power that I now held was intoxicating. I felt it course through my veins and something lurched in my chest.

I coughed violently and as I drew back my right hand from my mouth, it was coated in blood. The blood was most definitely not the shade it was supposed to be, it looked like it had a sickly brown shade mixed into it.

"It is as I thought then." Duncan said calmly. "I could feel the Taint from you earlier, but it was hardly something that I noticed at first. The Taint has grown far stronger in you and if left untreated, it will be the death of you."

"So that's it then?" I said weakly, anger welling within me. "I'm just going to die like this? Getting weaker and weaker, until my body can no longer take it? Or will you run me through here and now?"

"If the possibility even existed that you would be turned into a Darkspawn here and now, yes." Duncan stoically affirmed my thoughts. "I would grant you the mercy of dying as yourself. However it seems that for the moment the Taint has been sealed within your arm. I cannot say for how long it will remain that way."

"It's just a matter of time then?" I asked as I stumbled and I was surprised to find Malcolm supporting me, allowing me to rest against his shoulder. "Thanks." I mumbled to him.

"There is no need to thank me for wanting to help you." He responded calmly. His eyes however held compassion for me. "Duncan, is there nothing that you can do for him?"

"There is." Duncan answered simply. "It would also be the same offer I would make to the lady Mahariel as well. As while it seems that the shards of the mirror present within you has drained her of most of the Taint. It is still very much capable of being her undoing."

"And what is this offer you speak of?" Lyna spoke up, demanding in her tone. Her dislike of the situation was clear to feel as always.

"For you to survive, You must join the Grey Wardens." Duncan informed us to our shared surprise. "The Grey Wardens have ways to make sure that you live, but in turn you must join us. But to share in our secrets, you must hold them until your dying breath."

"I cannot believe what you say." Lyna said in disbelief. "The Keeper was keeping me alive, she knows how to treat this sickness."

"Your Keeper may have weakened the Taint." Duncan admitted. "But she could never fully remove it from you. You can either decide to come with us and become one of us or I shall be forced to slay you. For you will slowly be turned into a Darkspawn by the Taint. That will be your fate if you choose to remain."

"And myself?" I had to ask.

"I said it before, I cannot say for certain how much time you have before the Taint is released from your arm." Duncan told me. "I do not know what will happen when it does, you may die right there, or you will release the Taint and corrupt everything near you. If you make it in time to Ostagar, you may still be saved from whatever ill fate awaits you."

"It seems my decision has been made for me." I told Duncan in dismay. "I have no other choice, I will come with you and become a Grey Warden."

"But what of Tamlen?" Merrill asked of the group. As we all met each other's eyes, we all knew that we all already knew of his fate. If Lyna had barely just survived for a full week, then Tamlen was most assuredly dead. The silence of the group sealed any hope that the Keeper's First might have had of finding him.

"Excuse me." Merrill said as she turned and started to walk out of the chamber. "These ruins are ancient and appear to hold much knowledge for me to find. I have to study them whilst I have the chance."

The excuse would have been valid were it not for the sound of her holding back tears. Lyna as well was obviously in sorrow as well, but she apparently kept it inside of her instead of letting it out.

"Do not remain for too long." Duncan advised her gravely, if she acknowledge or not was unknown. "You will have until the coming morning to decide, lady Mahariel, for that is when we must depart."

With those words Duncan left the chamber and the three of us, behind. Most likely to inform the First of the dangers of remaining in the ruins, but it was hard to read the man's intentions.

"He doesn't hold back his words with anyone it seems." Malcolm mused aloud.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

Malcolm scoffed at my question and I wondered if I might just find out why Malcolm disliked Duncan as he did.

"When my father laid dying as my mother and I found him, he asked Duncan to bring me and my mother to safety." Malcolm told us. "Duncan named his price, me, as a recruit, in exchange. My father had suspected that this was the reason why Duncan had come to our castle and he accepted. I refused to accept it. I wanted nothing more than to stay and defend my father. Even though my mother stayed behind to die with him, I could not leave them to die. Duncan was forced to knock me out and drag me out of the escape tunnel."

"Duncan may have saved me from dying." Malcolm admitted with a tired breath. "But the younger son of the Cousland family died with his parents. He would never have been able to live with the shame and dishonor of having left his family behind to die. I now only live for vengeance, to take my revenge on Howe and avenge those who died in the castle that night. That is my vow and if joining the Grey Wardens will aid my cause, then I will do so. It was what my father wanted for his youngest, after all."

With those words leaving us with much to think about, he as well left the chamber. Leaving Lyna and I alone as we had been before, when we first 'met'. I took a breath before speaking with her.

"I have made my choice." I told her. "How little a choice it was, does not matter and it seems that you face the same. I will not try to change your mind on whatever decision you make. I only wonder what made it so that all of this happened to us? What was it that stole whatever fates awaited us?... Or was this was our fate was to begin with?"

"You shem have deep thoughts and speak much of them for those with so little time to waste." Lyna brusquely told me and left me behind.

I sighed at her behaviour and attitude and I took one last look at the empty frame and for the briefest of moments, I could have sworn that I saw my own reflection. Only that it was not truly myself that I saw…

I found the others waiting near the entrance to the ruins and we returned to the camp. That evening they held a ceremony to mourn the fate of Tamlen. I withdrew into the Aravel, which is what the mobile housing were called, that I had been treated in and it was there that I fell into an early slumber.

---

Morning came and it was time for Lyna Mahariel to say goodbye to her clan, her decision had been made for her, but it was of her own will that she now walked through the gathering of her family, For that is what her clan meant to her.

I did not wish to intrude upon this farewell ceremony, it seemed far too personal for me to witness it. So I walked far to the side of the well wishing elves in their apparent mourning of their clanmate leaving them. I reached the steps that Duncan and Malcolm were waiting on top of.

"Before you leave, Carl the Hunter." The Keeper's voice halted me mid step and I turned around to face her once more. "It is the wish of myself and that of the clan that you should be rewarded for what you have done for one of our clan. Therefore we shall give you this as way of our gratitude."

It was then that Merrill the Keeper's First approached holding a longbow in her hands and a quiver filled to the brim with arrows and presented them to me. In the light of the morning sun I could make out the fact that the bow and quiver had been made from the very same material as Lyna's knife. The dark wood held a faint blue color and had been recently polished to a fine sheen and as I held it in my hand, it was fantastically light.

The bow itself was curiously built, for apart from the handle itself the limbs of the bow were wide and thin and spread out almost like a leaf as they reached their tips. The bowstring was of a silver color and once I had fastened the quiver upon my back, I drew back the string and immediately felt the strength needed for this longbow, I knew just how powerful a shot it would deliver. It was just on the reach of what I could manage to fire. I doubted that I could use it to its full potential at the moment.

I had noticed earlier that the quiver had been made to hold the bow in place and planning to unstring the bow later, I somewhat awkwardly mounted the bow onto my back. I bowed my head gratefully to the Keeper and addressed the entire clan.

"I thank all of you for this precious gift." I called out earnestly to all of them. "I shall make sure to treasure it always and use it well."

"May the bow aid you in your future, Hunter." The Keeper said in the ways of farewell and I saw Lyna embrace Marethari as they whispered their farewells and then we left the camp for a second and final time. The quiet of the forest was only broken by the sound of the birds singing and the clattering armor of the two warriors wandering with us. For my own and Lyna's steps were completely silent in comparison.

It almost felt like the forest around us was both welcoming us and also bidding us farewell as we began our journey...

"We will be travelling south through the Hinderlands." Duncan informed us as we walked through the forest. "To the ruin of Ostagar, on the edges of the Korcari Wilds. The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It's fitting we make our stand there, even if we face a different foe within that forest."

His ominous words sent a slight thrill of excitement through my body, but the group fell into silence after his words and we continued walking. After all it couldn't take more than a few days to get there surely?

---

We spent nearly five days walking to reach Ostagar and we were finally approaching the fortress as its tallest tower loomed before our group. It looked more like a cathedral than a fortress with the wide supporting arches on the side of its architecture and fine sloped tops upon the towers and structure. It was a magnificent sight to behold in its majesty.

I had managed to develop a closer bond with Malcolm during the trip, as we had spent quite a while talking during our journey and whilst I had tried speaking with Lyna, I had had no luck in doing so. She still would hardly even look in my direction, let alone say more than a few words at the most. Which made my need to stay near to her all the more awkward a journey. For the shards were still draining her of the Taint within her.

But at least I had gotten on better grounds with a young man that I might just be calling a comrade in arms in the near future. It would be good to have someone at least to rely on, for whilst Lyna had told me she held a debt to me for saving her life. I still was not so sure that she would actually lift even a finger to help me if I was in danger. I wonder what made her hate humans so intensely?

Now our group had reached the ruins of the ancient fortress and it could clearly be seen just how old it was. With vegetation growing wildly all around and old pine trees having grown to full length in between and around the stone walls that were now on either of our sides. The massive tower was now directly to our right and it was still an incredible sight to behold.

"The King's forces have clashed with the Darkspawn several times," Duncan tolds us calmly as we walked along the old fortresses' wall. "But here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here. This Blight must be stopped here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."

"Ho there, Duncan!" A cheerful voice called out as a man wearing a full suit of golden armor approached us. His blonde short hair was flowing freely with a fine braid woven into it. With the sun shining brightly, his hair was almost as golden as his armor.

"King Cailan!" Duncan uttered in surprise. "I wasn't expecting a-..."

"A royal welcome?" The apparent king named Cailan interjected cheerily. "I was beginning to worry that you would miss all the fun!"

"Not if I could help it, your majesty." Duncan calmly reassured the king.

"Then I will have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious!" Cailan spoke with a pleased reverence. "The other Grey Wardens told me you've found a promising recruit, I take it you found more than just one on your journey?"

"Allow me to introduce you, your majesty." Duncan offered smoothly.

"There's no need to be so formal, Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together after all." Cailan casually dismissed Duncan as he stepped forward towards me and I started just slightly at his presence before me. Even though he wore a charming smile, I could still sense a slightly calculating glint in his eye, sizing me up. "Ho there, friend! Might I know your name?"

I blinked in surprise at his casual approach, before I remembered where I was and placed my hand into a fist over my heart and bowed courteously to him.

"My name is Carolus, your majesty." I introduced myself calmly, whilst my heartbeat was slightly quick at being before royalty. "I am more commonly called Carl, if that is what you prefer to call me, your majesty."

"Hmm, Carolus." Cailan seemed to think my name over as he tasted the name for himself several times. "I must admit that I have never heard that name before. Tell me, what does it mean?"

"...A strong man or Champion, your majesty." I told the king warily. "I have yet to prove myself to be either, but I hope that my time with the Grey Wardens will allow me to do just that."

"Excellent news!" Cailan cheered with a bright smile. "Duncan, it seems that you have indeed found a fine recruit! I wish you all the glory and skill that you will find with the great warriors of the Grey Wardens, Carolus!"

The king's cheerful demeanour was infectious and I managed a proud smile at his praise.

"You have my thanks, your majesty." I answered with a curt nod. "I will be sure to be of use to the Grey Wardens!"

Cailan nodded approvingly at, in my opinion overdone, zealousness. Whilst the king might not have noticed, I did see the disapproving way Duncan looked at me from the corner of my eye.

"And you, you are Dalish are you not?" Cailan had now turned to address Lyna and I feared for what she would say. "It is seldom heard of, but in the tales the Dalish have always served the Wardens splendidly. I hope the same for you. Might I know your name?"

I could see that Lyna was shaking slightly in what I assumed to be barely contained anger and the fact that her hands were shaking and clenched into fists. Fists with white knuckles. Yes, I think that she is quite angry with the king.

"My name, is Lyna Mahariel." She stiffly introduced herself. "And I am not here to serve the Grey Wardens, I am here to join them as an equal."

"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less of you." Cailan smoothly reassured. Apparently he had picked up on her anger quite quickly. He then turned towards Malcolm and seemed to study his face quite closely.

"You, you are Bryce's youngest, are you not?" Cailan asked of Malcolm, a tad unsure. "The one Duncan set out to find on this journey of his? I don't believe we've actually met."

"Yes, your majesty. My name is Malcolm." He introduced himself curtly before the king.

"Your brother has already arrived with Highever's men," The king informed the Teyrn of Highever's son. "but we are still awaiting your father."

"Then you will be waiting for a long time, your majesty." Malcolm told the king cooly. "My father died when our castle was taken."

"Dead?! Whatever do you mean?" Cailan asked in shock. "Duncan, what do you know about this?"

"My father, the Teyrn Cousland and my mother are dead, your majesty." Malcolm interjected. "They died when Arl Howe showed his true colors and betrayed us. This was proven when he delayed his army so that he could take Highever Castle from us! Burning and slaughtering everyone within!"

King Cailan had under this justified tirade turned his back to both our group and his own attachment of guards, The king's head could clearly be seen shaking in disbelief. Having composed himself from his anger, Malcolm continued in a far smoother tone than before.

"Had I not left the castle, Arl Howe would have killed me as well." Malcolm conferred more calmly. "And he would have told you, your majesty, any story he would have wanted to tell you."

"I… I can scarcely believe it!" Cailan uttered in disbelief and utter dismay as he turned back to face us. "How could he ever believe that he could get away with such treachery! As soon as we are done here, I will turn my army north and bring Howe to justice. You have my word." Cailan swore as he walked up to stand before Malcolm.

"Thank you, your majesty." Malcolm expressed his gratitude, his anger somewhat more at peace.

"No doubt you wish to see your brother." Cailan more asked than told Malcolm. "Unfortunately, he and his men are out scouting in the Wilds."

"When will he return then, your majesty?" Malcolm asked civilly.

"Not until after the battle is already over, I'm afraid." The king informed him. "We cannot send word until then."

"I apologize, there is nothing more that I can do." King Cailan's gesture was sincere. "The only suggestion that I can give you is that you vent your grief against the Darkspawn in the meantime."

"So long as Arl Howe pays for what he has done, tenfold, then I am happy." Malcolm reassured his king darkly.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent." Cailan excused himself as he addressed us all. "Loghain most certainly awaits me eagerly by now, wanting to bore me with even more of his strategies."

"Your uncle sends his regards." Duncan said as the king was turning to leave. "And wishes to remind you that Redcliffe forces could be here to assist within the week."

"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory." The king dismissed his uncle's message easily. "We've won three battles already against the Darkspawn and the next will be no different."

Hmm, quite sure of himself was what my mind was telling me, hoping that it was not arrogance that fueled the king before me.

"It sounds like this war is going rather well for you, your majesty." I opened my mouth and voiced my thoughts. "Almost like the Darkspawn threat is over with already."

"I'm not even sure this is a true Blight." The king confessed. "While there are many Darkspawn on the field, there has yet to be reported any sighting at all of an Archdemon."

"You sound almost disappointed about that." Lyna added her voice to the conversation.

"I'd hoped for a war like in the old tales!" Cailan said, an almost reverent joy present within his voice. "A king striding into battle with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted God! But I suppose that these battles will do…. hah, now I must go before Loghain sends out a search party for me. Farewell, Grey Wardens!"

I nodded my head slightly and bowed courteously once more in acknowledgement to the king, I remember noticing that Malcolm was doing the same to my left. Although his bow was a lot higher up than my own. As I raised my head again, the king was already walking off into the distance with his guards following behind him.

"What the king said is true." Duncan confided in us, as soon as the king was out of range of overhearing. "They have won several battles against the Darkspawn here."

"Yet, you don't sound very reassured, Duncan." Malcolm said stoically. I nodded my head in agreement.

Duncan gestured for us to keep moving forwards before explaining further. The seemingly ever present sound of armor clattering upon striking stone reached my ears again. I firmly believe that I can hear by now even in the deepest of silences.

"Despite the victories the king has managed so far," Duncan told us as walked through the ruins of Ostagar. "the Darkspawn horde appears to be growing with each passing day. By now they threaten to outnumber us. I know that there is an Archdemon behind this Blight, but I cannot ask the king to act solely based upon my feeling."

"Then we should move swiftly." Lyna cut in shortly. Duncan paused for a moment and turned to regard us one at a time.

"Yes, we should proceed with the ritual." Duncan agreed with her.

"What do you need us to do?" I asked the sensible question, that was most likely on each of our minds. We all seemed to have a strange sense of duty. Which was all the more strange to say for myself, one who lacked purpose in his own world.

"Feel free to explore the camp here as you wish." Duncan answered me, but told all of us. "The only thing I ask of you is that you do not leave it for the time being. There is another Grey Warden in the camp named Alistair. When you are ready, find him and tell him that it is time to summon the rest of the recruits."

As he spoke with us, we had slowly walked forwards through the ruins and they had parted before us to reveal a large walkway atop a massive wall. An enormous mountain loomed in the distance beyond the ruins…..

"Until then, I have business that I must attend to." Duncan's voice knocked me out of drinking in the scenery. "You may find me at the Grey Warden tent on the other side of this bridge, should you have need to."

With those parting words Duncan walked away towards the other end of the bridge, my own eyes were drawn to the large tower just slightly behind us. The very same one that had drawn my attention earlier. Stone arches were set in order to support the tall tower and diminished in size from the bottom towards the top. The glass windows reflected the architecture in their design.

"So, what are your plans then?" Malcolm asked me, startling me slightly. Lyna just lifted her head high and walked away from us, but not before looking at me from the corner of her eye.

"I don't know just yet." I answered him truthfully as I watched the Dalish Elf stalk over the bridge. "I most likely need to get some armor for myself, as well as a weapon."

"And as you came here with nothing but your bow and arrows, you don't have any money." Malcolm stated calmly. "I will lend you the money that you need."

I blinked at his generosity.

"You would do that for me?" I asked him dubiously. "Why?"

"Well for one thing, it would shame the Cousland name if I let a future comrade walk into battle without neither real armor or weapons to defend himself with." Malcolm seemed highly amused, judging from the slight smile he had on. Something I noticed that he only really did when it was only the two of us. "Also, there is the fact that I may be starting to think of you as a friend, of sorts."

I was honestly taken a bit aback at his words, my mind however was swift in creating a response.

"I would be honored to be your friend, my most noble sir." I said with a smirk as I bowed overly gracefully for him. He just rolled his eyes at me and I could have sworn I heard him laugh quietly. "But, more seriously, I also may have been starting to consider you a friend as well."

"So then with that established." Malcolm said as he turned to walk towards the other side of the bridge. "Let's get you suited up then."

I quirked an eyebrow at his choice of words, but I followed him without another word as we slowly made our way over the bridge.

"What are your thoughts about becoming a Grey Warden?" Malcolm asked me directly.

I took a moment to think before I answered him.

"In all honesty, I don't know how to feel." I told him sincerely. "On the one hand, I am slowly dying because of the Darkspawn Taint. On the other, I can take up the name of Grey Warden and become a warrior, who is most likely going to die in his first battle against the Darkspawn."

"So you are either dying or just going to die in the near future?" Malcolm queried curiously. "There must be a reason why you came with us, if you are just going to die anyway."

I snorted slightly affronted and stopped as we had nearly reached halfway over the bridge and I wanted to tell him my exact thoughts.

"There is a difference between the two." I quipped. "One has a choice and a chance involved, the other does not."

"But are you not left without a choice as to if you should join the Wardens or not?" Malcolm told me. "For if joining the Wardens is the only way to for you to live on, then can you really call it a choice?"

"That is not what I meant." I told him. "I have no real option but to join the Grey Wardens, my chance and choice comes after that."

"So what, you will just join and then desert them as soon as you are able to?" Malcolm wanted to know as he leaned against one of the many statues that lined the bridge. "That does not seem like the right thing to do and it would not be something that I would expect of you."

"And you know me so well after a week together?" I asked him doubtfully. "It doesn't matter if you believe that you know me or not. I will leave it up to chance as to what I will do with my future. If I will have one that is."

Malcolm exhaled tiredly before he locked eyes with me, his light blue eyes seemed to search for something within my own. It did not seem however that he found what he was looking for.

"We'd best be off then." He told me shortly as he stood up again and starting walking. "We will know what the future holds once we reach it. Hopefully it will be full of the blood of Arl Howe's men and of the Bastard himself!"

I snorted in amusement at the sheer turn his thoughts could take at times before I followed him. Something curious was however happening, I had not noticed it earlier, but I could it more and more as we began to reach the end of the bridge. The shards within my left arm were shaking or rattling in place and were doing so more and more the closer I got towards my destination.

Going by the fact that it did not cause me any pain and when I slid my sleeve back to look at them, lodged in my blackened flesh, they were almost still. It seemed that only I could feel the sensation of them shaking and that they were actually not doing so at all in reality.

Strange could not begin to describe it. It must have been a trick of the light, but I could have sworn that one of the shards moved slightly when I thought of it moving. Shrugging, I slid the sleeve back to hide the shards from prying eyes.

"Hail! You must be the new Grey Warden recruits Duncan told me about!" A Guard welcomed us as we reached the end of the bridge and went up a slight incline. "The Elven one just walked right by me earlier, she didn't even seem to see me!"

"Ah, sorry about that." Malcolm excused Lyna's behaviour smoothly. "She seems the most eager of us recruits to join the Warden. She must have been in quite the rush to not have noticed you, my good sir."

"Uhmm, yes, that sounds alright then." The guard accepted the apology thoughtfully.

"We'll be off then, important Warden things to do after all." Malcolm said to the guard as he too walked right past him.

"Of course, we initiates have a lot to do before we can become real Wardens." I chimed in and also walked right past the guard.

We only got a few more steps to the right into the entrance before Malcolm stopped suddenly.

"Can you feel that?" He asked me uncomfortably.

"Feel what?" I blinked in confusion, I could feel the shards rattling even more forcibly and I could almost make out the sounds coming from them.

"I don't know." Malcolm told me. "But it is this uneasy feeling, like someone is slowly pouring cold water down my neck."

We cautiously entered the encampment that spread out into the ruins on the other side of the wall and to our right, there were several tents mounted close to one another, with two armored knights standing guard outside. But that was not what drew our attention, no, that was the sight of the robed men and women moved and swayed rhythmically as though in a trance. And surrounding them was a haze of light blue magic.

That was the only thing this could be, some sort of magical ritual and the apparent mages seemed to be completely unaware of the world around them. They were almost completely out of sight from within the icy blue cloud. As we slowly approached, the shards were now rattling wildly in their sockets.

"Halt!" The fully armored knight ordered us. "Come no further, the mages are in the Fade, they must not be disturbed while they are in the realm of dreams."

"Our apologies, Templar Knight." Malcolm excused us. "We were merely curious as to what was happening here, we won't be long here."

"Be off with you then!" The Templar shooed us off with a wave of his hand.

The encampment itself was spread out quite widely across the ruins. A bonfire was burning in the center of the, well, courtyard, I would presume. Dogs could be heard barking in the distance from their pens and cages. Tents of varying sizes were spread all over, but it was easy to see which were the more important people's tents. Based solely on the fact that some had multiple guards posted right outside, while most didn't.

However we found what we were looking for right near the Mages' camp, the quartermaster was working on a set of armor when we approached him. We waited for him to be ready and once he was, I found what I would need and Malcolm paid for it as he had insisted and promised earlier.

I was now dressed in light armor, a mixture of plate and leather armor, with some chainmail attached as well. It was apparently a custom work for a customer that had died in the last battle against the Darkspawn. The armor only needed some slight refitting to properly suit me and I found that I could move quite easily in the armor.

The only thing that was odd about the armor was that only the left shoulder had armor for the shoulder. Whilst the right was left open, only covered with lengths of chainmail. I also now had in my possession an axe and a dagger.

"Are you sure that you can handle those at the same time?" Malcolm asked of me curiously.

I answered him with a confident grin and I reared my right hand back and swung it back down. Launching the axe I was holding and it embedded itself into a nearby tree with a hefty thud. I followed it up with doing the same with my left and the dagger spun into place higher above the axe. I had misjudged the weight of both the axe and the dagger, but they had nonetheless struck the intended target.

"As you can see, I don't need to be able to wield both at the same time." My tone might have been cocky, but I had spent so long on my aim with both axes and knives.

"So it would seem." Malcolm agreed with a shake of his head. "Just don't lose them too quickly."

"I wasn't planning on losing them." I retorted.

"Many say the same." Mal argued as we started to leave.

"Boy!" The Quartermaster/Smith called after me, so I stopped without turning around. "That bow of yours, is that not Ironbark that it is made of?"

"I do not know." I told him as I somewhat turned around to face him whilst still walking away. I had no real interest in the material, I was already impressed enough by it. But it was nice to have a potential name for it. "It was gifted to me by the Dalish."

I laughed at the sight of the gobsmacked smith and I could have sworn that I heard Mal laugh quietly for himself. But as always it seemed, I never had any solid proof of his actions. He was rather sneaky and cunning for a Noble's son.

It was then that we saw Lyna come down from nearby, accompanied by three men. One in light armor, a bow on his back and a pair of daggers at his waist. Another in heavy wine red armor and a large two handed sword on his back. And the final one wore a set of armor that I did not have the name for what style it was, but it seemed to be an armor that was halfway between light and heavy. A medium set of armor, a sword and shield rested on the man's back.

"Ah, I take you two are the other recruits Duncan brought, then?" The man with the sword and shield spoke with cheer and had a youthful energy present within him. "I take it that you two will be more pleasant company than the sourpuss here."

I blinked and did not dare to laugh as if looks could kill, the man would be ashes to the wind, based on the look of pure loathing Lyna directed at him.

"I assume that you are Alistair?" Malcolm asked the man, an amused glint hidden in his eyes. "The one Duncan asked us to find and that these are our fellow recruits?"

"Ah, yes that's me. Glad to meet you." Alistair greeted us. "Aaand you are?"

"Malcolm Cousland." Mal presented himself proudly.

"And I am Carl Smith." I introduced myself cordially. "And no, I am not a smith, I am a hunter and butcher by trade."

"Weelll, that's good to know." Alistair seemed unsure as to why I felt the need to explain my last name. "It think it's best if I allow these two introduce themselves and I believe that you are already acquainted with her?"

Alistair said the last word normally as he none too subtly bobbed his head in Lyna's direction. I merely palmed my face and shook my head.

"A pleasure to meet you, I am Sir Jory of Redcliffe." The man wearing the heavy armor and sword greeted us. "I hope that we perform well in battle together in the future."

"I'm Daveth, pleasure." Daveth flippantly let himself be known. "Let me know if you ever need anything and I might just help you… For a price, of course."

"Right then." Alistair said into the awkward silence between us. "As the junior member I will be accompanying you in preparation for the Joining. So now that we are all together and have gotten to know each other, in name, at least. We should get to Duncan, I'm sure he's eager to start."

I just looked to Malcolm and shrugged and we follow with the group towards the bonfire. Which was surrounded by several dilapidated statues of warriors. An omen of something, perhaps? Ah, it didn't matter as Duncan was standing near the fire awaiting us.

"Ah, I see that you found Alistair." Duncan stated as we approached. "I will assume then that you are all ready to begin preparations? Assuming that you are quite finished riling up the mages, Alistair."

"What can I say?" Alistair defended himself. "The Revered Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt they should use her against the Darkspawn instead. Now that would be a sight to see, hehe."

"So she forced you to sass the mage, did she?" Duncan asked him doubtfully. "We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair. We have no need to provide them with even more ammunition to use against us."

"I apologize, Duncan." Alistair told him. "It won't happen again. At least, I'll try my best to ensure it."

"I take it, that since you arrived here together, that you all know each other by now?" Duncan asked of the group as a whole. "Good, then the group of you will be headed into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain one vial of Darkspawn blood for each recruit."

"And the second task?" Malcolm asked.

"There once was a Grey Warden archive in the Wilds," Duncan told us. "abandoned long ago when the order could no longer afford to maintain such faraway outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some important documents have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them. I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"Find this archive and get a vial of Darkspawn blood for each recruit, got it." Alistair confirmed our orders. "We will be sure not to let you down, Duncan."

"Be sure that you do not, these scrolls contain treaties promising support." Duncan informed us gravelly. "Treaties that may prove valuable in the times to come. Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly and safely."

"We will." Alistair assured him.

"Then may the Maker watch over your path." Duncan blessed us, oddly enough. "I will see you when you return."

Our task at hand clear, we began our trip into the Korcari Wilds.

---

And once again I found myself in a forest, though this one was more of a swamp than pure forest. Old fallen trees were as common a sight as the crumbled stone statues and arches that littered the area we were in. The air felt humid and was alive in a way, the many differents scents of flowers and plants meshed together into a complimenting fragrance.

A wolf's howl carried into the forest as we went deeper into it, followed by a pack of wolves rushing towards us. I unslung my bow and readied an arrow and aimed for one of the wolves in the back of the pack. As soon as I was ready, I loosed the arrow and I could barely track it as it flew faster than I expected. And when the arrow struck the wolf, the force was enough to stop it dead in its tracks and it keeled over with its spine severed and lungs punctured.

I heard Lyna fire her bow as well and we somewhat worked together as we sought higher ground, whilst the warriors of our group boldly faced the wolves head on. The wolves did not retreat even as their numbers dwindled and eventually the hill we were descending on before we were attacked now had rivers of blood flowing down it. The carcasses of the wolves littered the ground before us.

It seemed that this forest was not quite as friendly as the one I left the Dalish in. I noticed that there was a change in the air, something heavy that felt wrong in my lungs as I tasted the air I breathed. I pondered over this as we made our way further into the forest. There actually seemed to old weatherbeaten roads and paths leading through the various ruins of this forest. Perhaps if we followed the main one it would lead to the archive?

As we followed the old road, we came upon the sight of a thrashed cart with its pulling animal dead and beside it lay a wounded soldier. He was bloody, but he was slowly crawling towards us as soon as he saw us.

"Who… is that?" The soldier struggled to ask. "Grey... Wardens...?"

"Well, he's not half as dead as he looks is he." Alistair joked by my left side.

"Is now truly the time for your foul mouth to flap so needlessly?" Lyna scathingly replied, from just over my shoulder. She was staying rather close to me.

"My scouting party was attacked… by Darkspawn!" The soldier told us with labored breath. "They came out of the ground… please… help me… I've got to get back to camp…"

"Do we have enough bandages to be able to help him?" Sir Jory asked sensibly.

"I have bandages in my pack. There should be enough to last for us as well." Alistair said as he kneeled down beside the soldier and set to work. It took a while, but soon enough the soldier had been bandaged sufficiently.

"Thank you." The Soldier let out a pained groan as he stood up before addressing us. "I… I've got to get out of here!"

The soldier slowly stumbled and shambled his way towards the encampment as we watched him go.

"Did you hear what that man said?" Sir Jory asked, fear and disbelief in his voice. "An entire patrol of seasoned men killed by the Darkspawn!"

"Calm down, Sir Jory." Alistair tried to reassure him. "We'll be fine if we're careful."

"Those soldiers were careful," Jory argued hotly. "and look where that got them! How many could our group possibly kill before we are overwhelmed? Two dozen? A hundred? There's an entire army of Darkspawn lurking in this very forest!"

"While there are Darkspawn around these parts." Alistair told him, rather mysteriously. "We are in no danger of running into the bulk of the Horde."

"How do you know?" Jory questioned. "I'm no coward, but this is foolish and reckless! We should go back now whilst we still have the chance to!"

"A bit of fear isn't unusual, you know." Alistair tried to calm Jory down. "Few relish the chance to meet Darkspawn up close. I know I don't, at least. They make for poor company, trying to run you through and all."

"Know this." Alistair told us in a serious tone. "All Grey Wardens can sense the Darkspawn, no matter how devious they may be. I guarantee you that they won't be taking us by surprise. That's the very reason why I'm here."

"You see, sir knight." Daveth piped up. "We might all die, but at least we will have gotten a warning beforehand, haha."

"That is… reassuring?" Jory said questionably.

"That doesn't mean that I am here to make things easy." Alistair mentioned. "So let's get a move on."

And so we were moving once more, I had decided to not say anything, as it was interesting to hear how Alistair would settle the situation. And I learned something interesting, Grey Wardens can sense the Darkspawn? How? I don't really believe him for now, but who knows what is true and not in this world? Then again, why would he lie about something like that.

Hills now became more frequent as we followed the paths and eventually we came across a set of stone arches and pillars. That was when an arrow flew straight by Daveth's head and we moved quickly into cover behind the pillars.

"Darkspawn!" Alistair warned us. I leaned my head out of cover. There were five in total up on a small hill nearby, three were Genlocks, two were unknown to me, but were as large as a normal human. Otherwise they shared the same characteristics of their smaller comrades, only that their features were more human and they were wearing heavier armor and weapons. I noticed however that the neck and head were still exposed.

I reeled my head back into cover as an arrow struck the stone next to me.

"So you can sense them, can you?" I asked Alistair sarcastically.

"Now is not the time!" Alistair admonished me incredulously. "We have to decide how to deal with the Darkspawn."

"All right then." I told him as I felt the shards shift in my arm, the cool sensation entered my mind again and I felt like launching myself at the two larger targets. "Malcolm, Lyna, Daveth. Take out your bows and be sure to drop the three Genlocks. Leave the other two to me."

Before anyone could say anything, I bolted out of cover and ran as fast as I could towards the Darkspawn. The monsters actually laughed at me and the smaller Genlocks readied their bows before I heard the sound of arrows flying over head and striking the Darkspawn who shrieked in pain. Another volley sought to make sure of their death as I reached the hill and ran past the dead Genlocks.

The first larger Darkspawn raised its sword up into the air and roared as it prepared to swing it down to cut me. I in turn reared my arm back and threw my axe straight into its unprotected head. With a meaty thud the edge of the axe buried itself in the Darkspawn's skull. I did not stop my charge however as I planted my foot on the dead Darkspawn's chest and kicked it hard towards the last one.

The foul creature was taken aback and stumbled when its partner's corpse struck it. Giving me the opening that I needed, I moved behind it and slashed with my left arm. The dagger I held did not sever the sword hand of the Darkspawn, but it was enough for it to howl with pain and drop its weapon. I kicked it hard in the back so that it fell to its knees and I bent down and slashed its shield bearing arm as well. Cutting apart the leather straps that held the shield in another slash.

I know held the Darkspawn at my mercy, my dagger against its throat and my knee pressed into its back. I knew that this feral creature would struggle soon and I had to act before then. I had a reason for doing this after all, I thought cruelly. I kneed the Darkspawn in its back and pinned it to the ground.

"Scream for me." I whispered to it as I buried my knife into the back of the creature's knee and twisted the blade harshly. The creature howled again, but it was not satisfactory. With a grunt I forced the dagger to move through its flesh up towards the thigh. The howls were now getting louder and filled with panic. It was beginning to get harder to keep it down as it started to thrash around in order to free itself.

But that stopped as I drove the dagger down into its other knee, ruining both of its legs. The beast now shrieked to the high heavens in pain and fright. I continued until I was certain that the entire forest near us had heard what I inflicted upon my victim. Fear would spread. Exactly as I wanted it to.

With a clean motion I snapped the dagger out of its thigh and buried it in its skull, silencing it. I simply stood up and rolled my shoulders, it was odd at how at peace I felt with myself. Coated in Darkspawn blood as I was. I looked back towards the group to see them staring at me. Alistair in particular was unable to form words and looked quite sick. Jory and Daveth, as well. Only Lyna and Malcolm seemed unfazed. Malcolm even walked up the hill to my side and rested his hand on my shoulder. He leaned in to make sure that his words would not be overheard.

"There will come a time when I will have need of someone with your… services." Malcolm confided to me. "Can I rely on you for that purpose?"

"What are friends for?" I asked him with a weak smile. The thrill was beginning to die down and I was starting to feel disgust at my own actions. I'd never done something like that before, I would never enjoy inflicting pain upon others, would I? These new Darkspawn looked just like twisted human beings and that made them all the more haunting for me to have killed

"What, indeed." Malcolm agreed and seemed to know of how I was feeling. "It goes away after a while, the guilt. You may not have killed a human, but they are close enough to be seen as such. But now, I wonder what the Darkspawn will do when we approach?"

I laughed slightly at the amused tone he used for the question. I joined him as we walked down the hill back to the group.

"Maker's Breath!" Alistair exclaimed. "What possessed you to do something like, like, like that?! There was no reason to, torture that Darkspawn!"

"We were going to kill them regardless." Malcolm cut in. "Now we shall see just how clever the Darkspawn truly are, or if they are just animals."

"Hey, just what do you mean by that?" Daveth asked him.

"If they are just animals in mind." I instead answered him. "They won't care at all for what I just did…-"

"But if they are smarter than we think." Lyna surprisingly spoke up. "Then the Darkspawn will be more cautious as we approach and if they feel fear, they may even flee upon seeing us."

"What is wrong with the three of you?!" Alistair wanted to know as he shouted in dismay.

"Who knows?" Malcolm shrugged. "Does it matter? If it did not work, then our quest has not changed. If it worked, then our task has been made easier to complete."

"I'll have to talk to Duncan about this when we get back." Alistair muttered in dislike of us. Jory seemed to have taken to giving me quite the wide berth and Daveth was outright trying to avoid being anywhere near me. Lyna stayed close to me and Malcolm stood by my side. Apparently I had solidified my usefulness as a friend and ally to him.

"Let's just keep moving." Alistair muttered louder this time.

"Hey Alistair." I called to him as I briskly walked up beside him as we continue deeper into the forest. After we had collected the five vials of Darkspawn Blood that we needed.

"What do you want?" Alistair asked, looking apprehensive of me.

"Those two larger Darkspawn beside the Genlocks, what were those called?" I asked him curiously.

"That would be Hurlocks." Alistair simply told me. "Besides them there are two more kinds of Darkspawn, the Shriekers and the Ogres. Shriekers are nasty things that sneak up on you and try to slit your throat while you are unaware and Ogres, well, you will know one when you see one."

"Thanks for the information." I said as I slowed my steps so that I was once again at the back of the group. Who was it who came up with the names for the Darkspawn? So far nothing has lived up to its name, or what do the first two's names even mean? Shriekers could be evident, but Ogre, what would such a creature look like?

Soon we came upon more of the strange stone arches, they reminded me slightly of roman architecture. But these were different than those that came before them, for this was where the rest of the wounded soldier's patrol had wound up. Hanged by the neck and dangling from the stone arches. I closed my eyes at the sight and tried to calm my sick stomach.

Everyone of our group was cautious as we approached the wooden bridge that stretched over the river that we had to cross to advance. Only one minor problem, there was a lone Darkspawn standing on the middle of it. My first thought was once more of a Shaman, but of the Hurlock variety. Which would make this a Hurlock Emissary?

Which meant that this would most likely be able to use magic. Yes, yes, it could as it thrust its wooden staff towards us and a ball of fire moved with an alarming rate towards us.

"Scatter!" I shouted as I threw myself to the side. Most of us got out of the way, Jory was not so lucky as he caught on fire and fell to the ground screaming. Desperately trying to douse the flames as Alistair, Daveth and Malcolm rushed to help him. I on the other hand pulled back an arrowand let it fly.

It struck true as the arrow buried itself in the calf of the Emissary, followed by another arrow that pierced straight through the creature's throat. It fell to the ground on the other side of the river and bled out. Just as Alistair was tending to Jory's burns, I heard something rustle in the bushes beside us.

I gestured to Malcolm and he went before me with his shield raised, just in time as a crossbow bolt skidded off the metal edge and flew off into the woods. A trio of Genlocks emerged from hiding and Malcolm rushed forward to meet them head on. He lashed out with his shield and knocked one of them of its feet and finished it off by cutting of its head. Daveth blitzed past me and with a fine maneuver he used his twin daggers to deflect the Genlock's shortsword with one of them and stabbed it cleanly in the heart with the second. The third one actually fled from us.

We remained on guard as we stood watch whilst Alistair continued to treat Jory. It took a while and once we were convinced that no more attacks would happen we relaxed somewhat. So we waited and eventually Alistair helped Jory to his feet. The left side of face was now covered in bandages and his hair had been burnt to a crisp.

After we made sure that he was alright, we continued onward and we crossed the bridge to find only more of the Darkspawn brutality. They had sharpened wooden poles and stuck them into the ground on either sides of the road connected to the bridge and then they had impaled whoever the unlucky ones were upon them.

After another ambush by another group of Genlocks, we were assaulted once more by wolves. I can honestly not believe just how much there was in this forest that wanted to kill or maim us. And as we ascended on of the steeper hills, we finally caught sight of what could only be the ruins of the Grey Warden outpost. Only problem? It was crawling with Darkspawn. Mostly Genlocks.

"Okay, everyone get your bows out." I ordered the other quietly, trying my best to appear as calm as I most certainly did not feel. "We can try to pick them off one by one before we charge in and deal with the rest. Sound good?"

"Not that I am complaining, mind you." Daveth chimed in. "But who exactly put you in charge?"

"I do not believe that you will ever think of anything better, shem." Lyna bit out scathingly as she readied her bow beside me. I knew better by now than to try to thank her.

Volley after volley we managed to thin out the numbers of the Darkspawn, until only a few Hurlocks remained. Sir Jory apparently felt that he too needed to prove himself and Duncan sure knew how to pick recruits it seemed. As Jory split one Hurlock in half with his massive sword and even smashed another's face in with its pommel.

It was however as Jory and Malcolm finished off the final numbers of the Darkspawn, that it came down from on top of the ruined building. Wearing heavy armor that looked like it was made from old yellow bones. This Hurlock was fierce with its horned helmet and two handed-, double edged axe as it let out a battle-cry and charged at us.

"Vanguard!" Alistair called out in warning as he saw it. I shot an arrow at its head, but the arrow just skidded right off the heavy armor of it. The Darkspawn however was now focused on me instead as it surged towards me with its axe raised.

"Lyna!" I called out to the Dalish as I barely dodged the axe, a bit of the chainmail on my left arm was cut off. "We'll distract it! Take turns!"

She apparently understood what I meant as an arrow struck the Hurlock Vanguard in the back of his head. And as it now charged at its new target, I loosed another arrow as well to the back of its head. But it ignored my shot, so I fired again and again and again. On the second shot, the Vanguard became angry enough that it chose to attack me instead. The third shot managed, by luck, to strike the thin slits of the Darkspawn's helmet and damage its right eye.

The Darkspawn warbeast roared fiercely as it swung its axe wildly around it. Jory moved in and with a savage swing disarmed it and Alistair followed it up by managing to find purchase in the creature's neck beneath its helmet and decapitated it.

We were all breathing heavily, apart from Alistair, who seemed just fine after so many battles as we had fought under such a short time. Alistair moved on ahead into the large structure that the ruins had once been and the rest of us eventually followed him in. We soon enough found a chest, half buried in the ground and was the only storage we could find in the ruins. Unfortunately the chest had been broken into and ransacked for what it contained.

"Well, well, what have we here?" A female voice called out from behind us and the young woman found herself facing a fully armed group.

I however blinked when I laid eyes on her, well apart from the jewelry around her neck, her upper body was only covered in a few leather straps and a fine cloth the shade of wine. Granted the cloth did seem to make up some form of dress, but it felt like all it would take was a stiff breeze to reveal her chest.

Her legs however were completely covered in black clothing and on her back was clearly yet again a mage's staff. Her black hair was tied up on the back of her hair and stood out in short spikes from the knot. Her left arm however had some patches of armor attached to it, as well as a set of feathers perched on her shoulder armor.

"Are you vultures, I wonder?" She wondered as she descended from amongst the ruins and started to walk at a distance around us. "Scavengers poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since picked clean? Or merely intruders, come into these Darkspawn-filled Wilds of mine in search of easy prey?"

She for some reason decided that I was the one that she was addressing as she walked closer to me. Her eyes were actually yellow. Strange.

"What say you, hmm?" She asked of me. "Scavenger or intruder?"

"We are neither." Lyna said as she stepped in front of me. "This outpost once belonged to the Grey Wardens."

"It was not you who I asked." She seemed quite annoyed at Lyna's interruption. "I have watched your progress for some time and I must say that you make for a most curious group of whatever you are,"

The young witch turned her back on her group as she walked out and onto a small hill next to the ruins. The hill was overlooking the area that we had just traveled through. Had she truly been watching us? Even when we fought the Darkspawn earlier? While we managed just fine on our own, the help would have been appreciated.

"And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?" She seemed to be rather inquisitive or curious about us for some reason.

"Don't answer her." Alistair said from behind me. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby."

"You fear that barbarians will swoop down upon you?" The witch asked of Alistair, perhaps slightly mockingly as she swept her arms through the air.

"Yes, swooping is bad." Alistair stated with a strange tone of voice.

"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is!" Daveth cut in worriedly. "She'll turn us into toads, for sure!"

"'Witch of the Wilds'?" The witch quoted back at him. "Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" Her gaze drew back to me, still for some unknown reason had I drawn her interest.

"You there," She addressed me. "You who have shown yourself fearless and without mercy. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

"Very well." I told her civilly. "My name is Carolus, it's a pleasure to meet you."

There could not come any harm from being polite, could there?

"Now that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the wilds." She commented idly. "You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?"

"'Here no longer'?" Alistair repeated back at her. "You stole them, didn't you? You're... some kind of… sneaky… witch-thief!"

"How very eloquent." Morrigan mocked him. "How does one steal from dead men, I wonder?"

"Quite easily it seems." Alistair shot back at her. "Those documents are Grey Warden property, I suggest that you hand them over, right now."

"I will not, for 'twas not I that removed them." Morrigan dismissed the threat. "Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."

Malcolm elbowed me in my side suddenly and when I looked to him, he bobbed his head towards Morrigan. I got the hint.

"Then who was it that remove them?" I asked her calmly.

"'Twas my mother, in fact." She stated simply.

"Can you guide us to her then?" I asked of her. "It is important that we collect those documents."

"That is a sensible request. I like you." She complimented me.

"I'd be careful." Alistair advised. "First it's 'I like you..', but then 'zap', frog time."

"She'll put us all in a pot, she will." Daveth exclaimed, I saw Lyna roll her eyes with her hand on her hip. "Just you watch."

"If the pot's warmer than this forest. It would be a welcome change." Jory mentioned. I thought that he was more than warm just enough a while ago?

"Follow me, then, if it pleases you." Morrigan told us before she started to walk away into the forest.

I do not know for how long we followed her through the forest, but from the sun I could only say that it must now be mid afternoon. Once we apparently reached our destination after having walking quite the distance into the forest, we reached a small house located on a small island in a swamp. It was connected to the mainland with just a strip of land. An elderly woman rose to her feet as we approached.

"Greetings Mother, I bring before you a group of Grey Wardens who-..." Morrigan began to introduce us."

"I see them, girl. Mmm. Much as I expected." Morrigan's mother stated aloud.

"Are we supposed to believe that you were expecting us?" Alistair asked, unconvinced.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe." It seems that Morrigan's mother was a philosopher. "Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide… either way, one's a fool."

"She's a witch, I tell you!" Daveth just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "We shouldn't be talking to her!"

"Quiet Daveth!" Malcolm hissed into his ear. "If she truly is a witch, do you really want to be the one to anger her? For I won't stop you if that is your desire."

"There's a smart lad. Fortunate that he is one of relevance to the larger scheme of things." Morrigan's mother commented cryptically. "But it is not I who decides, believe what you will."

"And what of you?" She turned and walked towards me. What did I do to earn the interest of Morrigan's mother as well? "You have been blessed by the worlds, what is your viewpoint? What do you believe?"

'Blessed by the worlds', how could she possibly know that I came from another world? And what could I answer that would give me an answer in turn?

"I see this world from through the eyes of a stranger." I told her. "And I do not know what to believe in or not."

"Yes, I do believe that you would see it that way." She told me in turn. "So much about you is uncertain… Yet I believe. Do I? Why, it seems I do!"

"So this is a dreaded Witch of the Wilds?" Alistair commented from behind me.

"Witch of the Wilds, eh? Morrigan must have told you that." Morrigan's mother told us. "She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it! Oh, how she dances under the moon!"

The laughter of Morrigan's mother rang true and vibrant for someone of her age.

"They did not come here to listen to your wild tales, mother." Morrigan tried to interrupt her mother.

"True, they came for their treaties, yes?" She seemed to direct her question to Alistair, before she turned and walked towards her house. She came back out soon afterwards. "And before you being barking, your precious seal wore off long ago. I have protected these."

"You… oh." Alistair halted whatever he was going to say as she handed him the documents. "You protected them?"

"And why not?" She questioned him. "Take them to your Grey Wardens and tell them that this Blight's threat is greater than they realize!"

"What do you mean the threat is greater than they realize?" Alistair asked her.

"Either the threat is more or they realize less." Was her cryptic reply. "Or perhaps the threat is nothing! Or perhaps they realize nothing!"

Her laughter rang out once more as if she found her words highly amusing.

"Oh, don't mind me." She excused her own behavior. "You have what you came for!"

"Time for you to go, then." Morrigan commented from her mother's side.

"Do not be ridiculous, girl." Her mother scolded her. "These are your guests."

"Oh, very well." Morrigan acquiesced her mother's request. "I will show you out of the woods. Follow me."

And with that, the entire conversation was apparently over and Morrigan was swiftly walking away whilst her mother went back inside her house. It seemed that I would not be getting any more answers today from these Witches of the Wilds. She knew what I meant by being a stranger to this world. She was somehow aware of how I came here! I had to make sure to return here again someday...

---

Once we returned to the camp, the sun had already dipped down below the horizon and night would soon fall. We still walked, as tired and exhausted as we were towards the bonfire that we assume that Duncan would be waiting for our return. Which he surprisingly was, he stood up from where he was leaning against one of the statues near the bonfire and approached us as we approached him.

"So you return from the Wilds. Have you been successful?" He asked us directly.

"Yes, we have." Lyna answered him shortly.

"Good, I've had the Circle Mages preparing." Duncan informed us. "With the blood that you have collected, we can begin the Joining immediately."

I looked to Malcolm and then to Lyna before I turned back to Duncan.

"We're ready." I told him calmly. My left arm had been hurting for quite some time now and it was getting worse…

"Excellent." Duncan said. "You will need that courage for what comes next."

"Courage?" Daveth asked. "How much danger are we in?"

"I will not lie; we Grey Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are." Duncan told us gravelly. "Fate may decree that you pay your price now rather than later."

"I have no qualms of facing my fate here and now." I spoke for myself.

"Is that why the Joining is so secret?" Malcolm asked quietly.

"If only such secrecy was unnecessary and all understood the necessity of such sacrifice." Duncan lamented. "Sadly, that will never be so."

"Let's go then." Daveth said. "I'm anxious to see this Joining now."

"I agree." Sir Jory agreed. "Let's have it done with."

"Then let us begin." Duncan's tone once more sounded ominous. "Alistair, take them to the old temple."

"As you say, Duncan." Alistair obeyed. "Come with me."

He gestured for us to follow as he lead us to one of the most remote corners of all of Ostagar. Where it was certain that we would not be disturbed or spied upon. We stood there waiting for some time as the sky got darker and the air colder.

"The more I hear of this Joining, the less I like it." Sir Jory commented.

"Are you blubbering again?" Daveth asked him, annoyed.

"Why all these damned tests?" Jory questioned. "Have I not earned my place?"

"Maybe it's tradition." Daveth told him from where the two stood separate from my own group of four. "Maybe they're just trying to annoy you."

"Have you not complained enough, shem?" Lyna questioned Jory harshly.

"I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way." Jory told all of us. "If they had warned me… It just doesn't seem fair."

"Would you have come if they had warned you?" Malcolm asked of him. "That must be the reason why they do not. A Warden must know the meaning of sacrifice, after all."

"Including sacrificing us?" Jory questioned even further.

"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight." Daveth told him, convinced of his own course of action.

"You make a good point." I added my voice to the conversation.

"You saw those Darkspawn, ser knight." Daveth said as he stepped closer to Jory. "Would you not die to protect your pretty wife from them?"

"I…" Was all that Jory could say, lamely, not sure what to think.

"Maybe you'll die. Maybe we'll all die." Daveth said, knowing that all of us were listening intently to his words. "If nobody stops the Darkspawn, we'll all die for sure."

"I've just never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade." Sir Jory confessed.

"At last we come to the Joining." Duncan's voice pierced the silence that had fallen amongst us."The Grey Wardens were founded during the First Blight, when humanity stood at the edge of annihilation."

Duncan voice carried in the absolute silence of our group as he stepped over to a nearby stone table and placed a goblet upon its surface.

"So it was that the first Grey Wardens drank of Darkspawn blood and mastered their taint." Duncan revealed to us.

"We're… Going to drink the blood of those… those creatures?" Jory asked in dread.

"As the first Grey Wardens did before us, as we did before you." Duncan told him directly. "This is the source of our power and our victory."

"Those who survive the Joining become immune to the Taint." Alistair revealed. So that is how I am to survive, then? "We can sense it in the Darkspawn and use it to slay the Archdemon."

"Let's get on with it, then." I said solemnly.

"We speak only a few words before the Joining," Duncan informed us."but they have been said since the first. Alistair, if you would?"

Alistair in turn closed his eyes and took a calm breath before he spoke.

"Join us, brothers and sisters." Alistair recited solemnly. "Join us in the shadows where we stand, vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and that one day, we shall join you."

I had closed my eyes as I listened to Alistair and I could still feel the goosebumps on my skin as I opened them again.

"Daveth, step forth." Duncan ordered the man who obediently stepped forward and was the first to be handed the goblet filled with blood and he drank deeply from it.

His body grew stiff immediately, his eyes became vacant as he staggered backwards whilst clutching his head. He fell to his knees and bowed his head, before it suddenly shot upwards and showed us the milky white that his eyes had become.

"Maker's Breath!" Jory swore violently.

Daveth suddenly grasped at his own throat and clutched it desperately as he struggled to breathe.

"I'm sorry, Daveth." Duncan apologized to the man who collapsed on the floor before him and died there and then.

"Step forward, Jory." Duncan ordered next whilst holding the goblet once more.

"But… I have a wife." Jory protested as he backed up whilst drawing his sword. "A child! Had I known…"

"There is no turning back." Duncan reminded him.

"No! You ask too much!" Jory shouted loudly. "There is no glory in this!"

Duncan moved forwards as he placed the goblet upon the table and drew his curved dagger. Duncan flashed forwards and knocked aside Jory's large sword with ease and impaled him. Blood splattered all over the wall behind Jory.

"I'm sorry." Duncan sincerely apologized to yet another dying man, before he withdrew his blade and stepped backwards. Jory's body fell with a heavy thud to the ground.

"But the Joining is not yet complete." Duncan reminded us. "Who among you wishes to go first?"

Enough had already happened today that this turn of events hardly fazed me.

"I'm already dying of this Taint." I said surely as I stepped forward towards him. "Let's see what this can do to me."

"You are called upon to submit yourself to the Taint for the greater good." Was all that Duncan said as he handed me the goblet and I drew in a large breath to steady myself, before I too, drank deeply from the goblet of blood.

I gagged as my body refused to drink the vile liquid that tainted my mouth and throat, but I forced myself to swallow it. An intense pain made me reach for my forehead with my left hand and I staggered backwards as my body felt like it was on fire.

That was when my sight flashed white and suddenly before me was a large dragon, its scales a deep vibrant purple and it held a truly vicious visage with its maw filled with razor sharp teeth and it gazed at me directly with it milky white eyes and it drew in of my scent, before it roared at me.

That was when I woke up on the ground.

"From now on, you are a Grey Warden." Duncan told me from above me. "It is finished, welcome."

"Two more deaths." Alistair lamented. "In my Joining only one of us died, but it was... horrible. I'm glad that at least the three of you made it through."

Even with the blistering headache I had, I heard his words and felt relieved to know that other two still lived. I unsteadily rose to my feet, my body felt wrong, somehow.

"How do you feel?" Duncan asked of me as came to me.

"It's over, I'm… I'm going to be fine soon." I answered him weakly as I held my stomach.

"Did you have dreams?" Alistair weirdly asked me. "After my Joining, I had terrible dreams."

"Such dreams come when you first start sensing the Darkspawn,as we all do." Duncan informed me. "That and many other things can be explained in the months to come."

"Before I forget." Alistair said to me. "There is one last thing to your Joining. We take some of that blood and make a pendant out of it. Something to remind us… of those who didn't make it this far."

With that said he handed me my own pendant and I held it within my hand, wondering if I should wear it to honor Grey Wardens before me, as I honor my own Forefather? I nodded to myself and slipped the necklace of the pendant over my neck and slipped the pendant down under my armor.

"Take some time." Duncan advised me. "When you and the others are ready, I'd like you to accompany me to a meeting with the king. The meeting is to the west, down the stairs. Please attend as soon as you are able to."

With that Duncan and Alistair left in that very same direction and I took the moment to calm myself. It was after a while that I realized the most important thing to check. I swiftly took of the armor that covered my left arm and once more found unblemished, light beige skin.

The shards however were still in my arm, but the way my arm had healed, it looked now more than ever like they belonged just where they were. The shards themselves had now taken on much brighter shade and had become slightly translucent. A faint sense of warmth spread from my arm and into my body. I felt strength that I never had before flow through me and I smiled at the emotions the feeling made me feel. At peace, for the first time in my life.

"So I still got the chance to call you my comrade, huh?" I turned to face Malcolm and I don't know why, but I rushed forward and actually hugged him. "Hey, I know that that was scary as Hell, but we made it didn't we?"

He actually did embrace me back slightly and I laughed as I backed up at his reference to when we first met.

"That we did." Lyna's voice came as she walked out from behind one of the nearest of the pillars. "And whatever you do, don't try to hug me."

"I'm glad to see you too." I rolled my eyes at her. "Sister."

She started at my referral to her, before she merely let out a tired breath and shook her head.

"To think that I would one day call a sh-, a human, my brother." Lyna's voice was soft.

It was not I who embraced her, but Malcolm who swung his arms over both of our shoulders and embraced us both.

"Now then, onward to a future as Grey Wardens!" Malcolm announced proudly. It seemed that he was opening up a bit more to the both of us now. Perhaps being comrades means a lot to him? My thoughts were stopped as he started to walk forwards, pulling us with him.

"Let go of me!" Lyna shouted as she tried to break free, but apparently, Mal was stronger than her. He relented with quiet laughter and released her, as he did the same to me.

"Well, we shouldn't keep the king waiting, should we?" I asked sensibly.

"No, that we should not." Malcolm agreed and Lyna just scoffed quietly behind us, her arms crossed over her chest.

And so we started to walk towards where the meeting was to take place. As soon as we reached the stairs, we could see the meeting at the other end of the hall. A long table with a map of the area pinned to its surface, that was clear to see as we slowly and cautiously approached. The entire meeting was held under candlelight.

"Loghain, my decision is final." King Cailan said as we got closer. "I will stand with the Wardens in this assault."

"You risk too much, Cailan!" The man who was apparently Loghain, who the king had mentioned earlier was admonishing the king. His hair was dark and slick and his armor was a dull grey. "The Darkspawn Horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the frontlines."

"If that's the case." Cailan argued. "Then perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces to arrive, after all."

"I must repeat my protest to your fool proposal that we actually need the Orlesians to defend ourselves!" Loghain tried to get through to his king.

"It's not the notion of a fool, Loghain." Cailan stated calmly."Our arguments with the Orlesians are now a thing of the past…. and you will remember who is king."

"How fortunate that Marik did not live to see his son hand us over to those that enslaved us for over a century!" Was Loghain's scathing reply as he turned his back to the king.

"Then our current forces will have to suffice, won't they?" The king responded calmly. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"

"They are, your majesty." Duncan informed the king of Ferelden.

"And these are the recruits that I met earlier on the road, are they not?" Cailan asked of Duncan as he looked us over. "I believe that congratulations are in order."

"Thank you, your majesty." I heard Malcolm say together with me and Lyna quietly said the same after us.

"Every Grey Warden is needed now." Cailan told us. "You should feel honored to have joined their ranks."

"Your fascination with glory and legends will lead to your undoing, Cailan." Loghain admonished his king. "Cailan, we must attend to reality."

"Fine. Speak your strategy then." Cailan asked of him. "The Grey Wardens and I draw the Darkspawn into charging our lines and then-...?"

"You will alert the tower to light the beacon." Loghain instructed the king. "Signalling my men to charge out of cover."

"To flank the Darkspawn, I remember." Cailan told him. "This is the Tower of Ishal in the ruins, yes? Who shall light the beacon?"

"I have a few men stationed there." Loghain said. "It's not a dangerous task, but it is vital."

"Then we should send our best." The king responded. "Send Alistair and the new recruits to make sure that it is done."

"We'll do our best, your majesty." Malcolm spoke for us.

"You rely on these Grey Wardens too much." Loghain questioned the king. "Is that truly wise?"

"Enough of your conspiracy theories, Loghain." Cailan snapped at him. "Grey Wardens battle the Blight, no matter where they are from."

"Your majesty." Duncan interjected before the argument would get anymore heated. "You should consider the possibility of the Archdemon appearing in this battle."

"There have been no sightings of dragons in the Wilds." Loghain dismissed the idea.

"Isn't that what your men are here for, Duncan?" The king asked.

"I… Yes, your majesty." Duncan answered him.

"Your majesty, the tower and the beacon are unnecessary." A bald man dressed in fancy robes entered the conversation on a different note. "The Circle of Magi-..."

"We will not trust any lives to your spells, mage!" The Revered Mother interceded. "Save them for the Darkspawn!"

"Enough!" Loghain called out authoritatively. "This plan will suffice. The Grey Wardens will light the beacon."

"Thank you, Loghain." The king said gratefully. "I cannot wait for that glorious moment! The Grey Wardens battle alongside the king of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil!"

"Yes, Cailan." Loghain agreed as he turned his back to the king once more. "A glorious moment for us all."

With that, the meeting was over and the three of us followed Duncan and Alistair over to the bonfire once more.

"You heard the plan." Duncan told us. "The three of you and Alistair will go to the Tower of Ishal and ensure that the beacon is lit."

"What? I won't be in the battle?" Alistair questioned.

"This is by the king's personal request, Alistair." Duncan responded. "If the beacon is not lit, Teyrn Loghain and his men won't know when to charge."

"So he needs an entire group of Grey Wardens up there holding the torch?" Alistair questioned further. "Just in case something happens?"

"Where is the Tower of Ishal, exactly?" Lyna asked.

"The tower is on the other side of the gorge from the king's camp." Duncan informed us. "The way we came when we arrived. You'll need to cross the gorge to get there and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you will be able to overlook the entire valley."

The entire valley, huh. I made up my mind and slipped away from the others as I swiftly made my way towards the Tower of Ishal. Their attention was solely focused on one another, so even with my meager skills, I somehow managed to do so undetected.

"I have a better idea of what I should be doing." I whispered towards the others before I left them to follow my own path for the moment...

---

And so I found myself standing on the top floor of the Tower of Ishal, I had smashed one of the delicate windows to allow me to see the battle that was raging on the fields below. The task of lightning the beacon fell to my fellow Wardens, I should be focused solely on the battle, regardless they should be here soon.

I gazed out and onto the battlefield that was far below me, but I was certain that I would be able to fire from this position. The two armies were already clashing, so I drew back the string of my bow and loosed an arrow. I could only briefly see the arrow in the moonlit clear sky, but when it struck a Hurlock in the chest it was enough to ensure that it stayed down.

Shot after shot, I only missed a few due to miscalculating the distance and I felled many Darkspawn that night. I had brought two more quivers with me that I taken whilst sprinting up the Tower of Ishal. None of the guards posted there stopped me after I introduced myself as a Grey Warden.

It was then that I saw it, a massive shape rose and moved out of the forest. I knew from Alistair's words that this could only be an Ogre, but the creature was easily four times as tall as a normal man! Its skin looked to be a pale grey and its large head was crested by several large horns. Its massive muscular arms were covered in solid metal plates with barbs.

I wasted no time and took my time in aiming for this new threat and loosed the first arrow. I held my breath for the entire length of its flight, before it struck true and buried itself in the forehead of the beast. I could faintly hear its roar all the way up to the tower...

I loosed arrow after arrow, few missed and eight burrowed themselves in the Ogre's head before it finally fell over dead. I just kept firing, Hurlocks toppled and Genlocks fell, until I realized that I had no arrows left.

And just then another Ogre came through the battlefield and I knew that I needed another arrow, if I could just have one more arrow, one strong enough to slay that beast. A violet light drew my gaze to my hand, where the shards were tearing themselves apart and reforming into a crystalline arrow...

The crystal arrow let out a wailing cry that trailed behind it, its sound pierced through the sudden silence that had taken over the raging battlefield. Or had I been struck deaf by sound of the arrow? With a flash like a amethyst the arrow bore down upon the ogre and with a thunderous explosion it detonated. A powerful shockwave surged out and torched whatever it touched within a large area. Knowing that I had no arrows left, I mentally commanded the shards to come back to me as quickly as possible.

I chanted the command in my head faster and faster as I saw the soldiers get overwhelmed and the shards did not reach me before many common soldiers were slain, along with the other Grey Wardens. When the cloud of shards finally reached me, I heard and felt the footsteps that thundered up towards the floor I was on and with a loud smash, the door to the top of the tower was blown apart and through its remains came an Ogre. Its large chest held several wounds and its head had several arrows buried into it. Still it looked more than ready to fight.

The monstrous Ogre roared as it charged me and there was little I could do from my perch in the open, large window. I tried to roll out of the way of its charge, but its arm slammed into my midsection and knocked the air out my lungs. I heard Malcolm call out my name before I was thrown out of the window and sent hurtling down towards my death.

The wind once again howled in my ears and drowned out all thought and my vision darkened with every moment. Arches and windows blitzed by my sight. I could have sworn that I heard the heavy beating of wings and talons wrapping around my body before my mind faded away completely...

---

The night is now over and dawn is soon approaching, it would seem that it was Flemeth, Morrigan's mother, herself that saved me from my fall from the Tower of Ishal. How she did this is still unclear to me and she seems to enjoy denying me the knowledge. She has however told me that Malcolm, Lyna and Alistair are all alive and well.

They are currently asleep after having been seen to by Flemeth's daughter, Morrigan. I am the only one that was left without any real wounds, despite being thrown out the window by an Ogre. Flemeth has told me that the others were overrun by the Darkspawn by the time that she had placed my unconscious body somewhere safe.

So, it is my fault that my… comrades were as badly hurt as they were, whether or not I should tell them of this is an entirely different matter. I was given this journal by Flemeth when I spoke aloud about how I should write this all down, or no one would ever believe it all to be true.

So here I sit now, outside the cabin of two Witches of the Wild, waiting for my fellow Grey Wardens to awaken, so that we may decide what to do next...

For I honestly don't have any idea of what we should do... and now the first flakes of snow are falling, It is probably for the best if I finish this entry here and now. I really should stop dotting my quill against the paper whilst I think, it's a waste of ink.. .. .. .. Now that I read over my words, I notice how much the language the people of Ferelden use has affected me. I have only been here for little under a month after all…

---

Author's Notes 2015-01-17: And this has been my Oneshot idea for Dragon Age: Origins, I have the entire storyline planned, but I would like your input as to if I should continue this story or not. For the foreseeable future I will be working mainly on Harry Potter and The Folly of Life's beauty and doing Oneshot ideas on the side.

So basically, I will continue the stories that you, my readers express your interest in. I may decide randomly which stories get another chapter or several, but I will listen to your opinions and as to which stories of mine become the most popular.

I just want to say that I am aware of the fact that I have followed the story a bit closely at some parts. But that will greatly change in the future that I have planned for this story. I felt the need to follow the actual prologue leading up to the actual game's beginning. And also, I felt that there were some lines that I wanted to maintain their original state of, but as you may have noticed, I did add some of my own flair to the dialogues in this story. That is all.

As always, May life be kind to you,

Kind Regards,

Sentinel of the Lakelands

SOL