Moonlit Ambush

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age nor any of its original characters. And I certainly do not own Bioware.

Eleniel's quickening pace could be heard in the stillness of the dark forest. Her breathing grew heavier by the second as she continued to run past the shadow of trees. Her legs were beginning to feel like lead as she toiled onward. She was exhausted. The Dalish elf suddenly stopped in her tracks and bent over to catch her breath. Her piercing blue eyes dashed from one dark corner of trees to the next. They were out there. They were watching.

Gathering up what strength she had left, Eleniel darted across the forest once more. She soon heard a cackling voice which suddenly increased in volume and in number. She was surrounded – she couldn't escape. She slowed her pace to a halt and stood in the middle of a circle of trees. The crescent moon illuminated but a small glimpse of her dark surroundings. She had to rely on her ears for this one.

She slowly unsheathed her long twin blades which glistened in the pale moonlight. She was poised and ready to strike. She suddenly heard a crack of a twig behind her and quickly parried her right blade in defense. She was face to face with a man cloaked in red and black. She quickly knocked him off-balance and stabbed him in the stomach. Another came at her from behind a bush and then another from the trees above. She quickly took them out in an instant.

With blood-lust in her eyes, the hero of Ferelden exclaimed, "Cowards! Come out here and fight!"

Suddenly Eleniel was being attacked from all sides. She killed them one by one with ease, but her strength was waning. She was already exhausted before she had even begun to fight. She couldn't hold out much longer. A moment later, Eleniel saw a flashing light that blinded her for a moment. She stumbled backwards from the sudden brightness. When she came to, Eleniel's eyes grew wide in a panic. No matter how much she struggled, she could not move her legs. Three blood mages came out of the shadows. Eleniel's eyes immediately locked on to one in particular. He was cloaked in a blood red cape that covered his entire body and hid his face. He wore a necklace made of animal teeth and held a staff with a severed human head at its tip.

Eleniel's eyes narrowed with rage as she hissed under her breath, "It's you."

But before Eleniel could confront the man before her, she felt her energy being drained – the result of their blood magic at work on her. Her world began to spin and she felt light-headed. In but a moment, she collapsed on the ground and her world turned to darkness.

Eleniel could hear the grating of steel and the simmering of hot iron. She could discern the pounding of hammers and the slow turning of wheels. It had been two days since she had been brought to one of the many Archdemon cult's hideouts. Her location – the torture chamber. She was shackled to her prison wall – immobilized, incapacitated, helpless. The incessant screams of other captives became nothing more than a dull blur to her ears. This was it then…she was going to die here.

Eleniel closed her now dull eyes as a tear escaped against her will. She whispered in a choking voice, "Forgive me, brother."

Eleniel soon lost consciousness and her limp body slouched forward like a dead dog. Whether it was minutes later or hours, she did not know, but Eleniel forced herself awake when she felt a presence standing in front of her. Her vision was so blurred from the loss of blood that she could barely make out a silhouette of the being before her, but she knew it was there. She tried to squint to enhance her vision, but she was so weak she could barely move her eyelids. She could discern one thing at least…this being was not one of them. Of that she was certain.

The dark-haired elf kneeled down to examine the pitiful creature before him. Her light brown hair was matted with her own blood. Her clothes were torn and she had bruises that covered her entire body. He noticed several fresh wounds in her side - burn marks, most likely due to hot iron being stabbed into her flesh. The stranger gently brushed the elf maiden's hair to the side to closely examine her face. He recognized her in an instant. She was the Grey Warden. The one who had slayed the Archdemon and was proclaimed the hero of Ferelden.

He spoked to her in a hushed tone. "So this is the mighty hero of Ferelden. Who would have thought that I would find the missing Warden in a place like this? Well then again, it makes sense though irony seems to have a thing for mocking you."

Eleniel spoke in a weak, raspy voice. "Don't pity me…It's insulting. Besides, who are you?"

"Nevermind that now. I finished my mission here so it's best that we get out of here quickly. Beautiful women should never have to look so unrefined like this."

And with that the mysterious elf skillfully picked the locks on Eleniel's shackles. With the last click of a tumbler, the cloaked elf caught the limp maiden in his arms and quickly slipped out of the underground cave under the cover of darkness.

Please don't forget to review! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon, but I can't make any promises. The next chapter will be longer.