Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age or any of its related characters. This is just for my own enjoyment and the potential enjoyment of other fans like me, and no monetary gain was expected or received.
Rating: T
Spoilers: Takes place during the events of Dragon Age: Origins, from the background of a female City Elf pc. Eventual pairing Warden/Loghain. May contain spoilers for Origins, Origins DLC, Awakening, and Dragon Age II as well as the novels The Stolen Throne and The Calling.
Chapter One: Ostagar
"Ho there, Duncan!"
"King Cailan!" The old Warden was clearly surprised. "I didn't expect - "
"A royal welcome?" The handsome, blond-haired human in shining golden armor stepped forward and clasped Duncan's hand. "I had heard you'd found a promising new recruit. Is this she?"
"It is, Your Majesty. Allow me to present - "
"There's no need to be so formal, Duncan. We shall be shedding blood together, after all." The king turned his attention to the pretty, dark-haired elven woman at Duncan's side. "Ho there, friend. Might I know your name?"
The girl curtseyed shyly. "Loghaina Tabris, Your Majesty."
"Loghaina?" The King began to laugh, so hard it seemed he might have some sort of attack. Loghaina nettled. "I've never met a Lady Loghain before. Your parents did you a disservice, I think. You're far too pretty to bear Loghain's namesake."
"My mother served with him during the Rebellion, as one of his Night Elves, Your Majesty," Loghaina said. "She said he was an honorable man."
"Oh yes, very honorable. But also very ugly," the King said, with a twinkling smile. "In any event, I welcome you to Ostagar. We need all the Wardens we can get, and they will benefit greatly with you in their ranks."
"You're too kind, Your Majesty," Loghaina said, though privately she wondered about that. He seemed a trifle foolish, and calling a man ugly behind his back seemed awfully mean-spirited, even if it wasn't intended that way.
"I bring word, Your Majesty, from the Arl of Redcliffe. He stands ready to send men to your aid at once," Duncan said.
"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory," the King said. "We've already won three battles against the darkspawn and there's no reason to assume tomorrow will be any different."
"I didn't realize things were going so well," Loghaina said. She directed the comment at Duncan, but it was the King who responded.
"I'm not even sure this is a real Blight. There's plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an Archdemon."
"Disappointed, Your Majesty?" Duncan said. He sounded rather weary. Already, Loghaina couldn't blame him.
"I'd hoped for a war like in the tales," the King said. "A king riding into battle with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god. But this will have to do. I hate to cut this short, but I really should be going before Loghain sends out a search party. He awaits eagerly to bore me with his strategies," the King said, winked at Loghaina, and departed with his guards back toward the ruin that was the remains of the fortress of Ostagar.
"What the King said is true. There have already been several battles with the darkspawn," Duncan said.
"He didn't seem to take the Blight very seriously."
"True. We Grey Wardens know that there is an Archdemon behind this, but we cannot ask the king to move solely on our feeling."
"I suppose we should move quickly, then."
"Indeed. I will make preparations for the ritual of Joining at once. We have no time to lose," Duncan said.
"I hope there'll be time for a hot meal, first?" Loghaina said.
Duncan chuckled. "That would be welcome. Feel free to explore the camp as you wish, and when you are comfortable seek out a Warden named Alistair and tell him it is time to summon the other recruits. You will find him on the north side of camp."
"Will do," she said, and let Duncan walk away before she began her explorations. There really wasn't much to see: human soldiers, busy elven messengers and servants, Ash Warriors with their decorated hounds. A few grand pavilion tents, evidently for the use of important people. Kennels for mabari. A quartermaster who mistook her for a servant, and then promised to sell her army equipment if she needed it, and who also had a few black market goods as well. She didn't have the coin for shopping.
Outside the kennels a man stopped her. "Are you one of the new Grey Wardens?" he asked. "I wonder if you might help me."
"What do you need?" she asked, a bit doubtfully. Humans needing "help" from elven girls didn't generally have good deeds in mind.
"I've got a mabari here whose master died in the last battle. The hound himself is sick from the darkspawn blood. I have medicine that can treat him but if he bites me I'll get sick, too. The worst you have to worry about is a little chewing."
"O…kay," she said slowly. Frankly that seemed like a lot to worry about. Mabari were awfully big.
"Just go in and see if he'll let you put a muzzle on him. Mabari are smart: it's likely he'll know you're trying to help him," the kennel master said.
"All right. I'll try," she said, and took the muzzle from him. She entered the kennel carefully. The dog, whose brownish-grey coat put her in mind of her mother's homemade gravy, bristled at her, but then it seemed to back down from its aggressive stance. It whined plaintively. Moving slowly and carefully, she fitted the muzzle over the dog's snout. It didn't attack.
"Wonderful. Now I can treat the poor devil properly," the kennel master said. "Come to think of it, will you be going into the Wilds any time soon?"
"Ah…I've no idea. I suppose it's possible," she said.
"There's a certain flower that grows in these parts. White with a red center. I can use it to make a medicine that could help him. If you do go into the Wilds, could you keep an eye out for me?"
"I suppose so."
"Thank you. Maker's blessings be upon you, Warden."
She headed back in the direction of the great pavilions, meaning only to pass by on her way up the ramp to another part of the camp, but as she passed in front of the flap of the orange and green one it opened, and a giant of a man ran right into her. She went sprawling on her backside in the dirt.
"Ouch."
The man towered over her. "I beg your pardon, I didn't see you," he said. He offered her a hand up. She stared at it, in its silverite gauntlet, for a long moment before gingerly accepting it.
He pulled her to her feet easily. "Ah, you're one of the new Grey Wardens, aren't you? Cailan couldn't get over his excitement at having met you."
"Yes, Ser. I am Loghaina Tabris, from Denerim."
"Loghaina?" The man's severe mouth curved in a slight smile. "Unusual name."
She blushed. Everyone always had to bring up the name. "I was named for the Hero of the River Dane, Ser. My mother served in his Night Elves."
He leaned back and looked her over from head to food. "Adaia Imura. You must have gotten your father's hair, but you've your mother's eyes. How is she?"
Loghaina was boggled. "I'm afraid she's dead, Ser. You…you knew her?"
"Of course. She was one of my Night Elves. I'm sorry to hear that she's gone. She was a fine soldier. I expect she'd be proud of you, following in her footsteps more or less."
"Your…Andraste's grace! You're Loghain Mac Tir! Your Lordship, I'm sorry, I had no idea," she babbled.
"Clearly. It's nothing to get all excited about, Girl. Calm yourself. You're a Warden, remember?"
"I'm not a Warden yet, Ser," she said.
"You will be. You're pretty for a Warden, but don't let anybody tell you you don't belong. The first Warden Maric brought back to Ferelden was a woman. Never saw a fiercer warrior. Did you know it was King Maric, Cailan's father, who brought your order back to Ferelden?"
"No, I didn't know."
"Maric respected the Wardens. They have an honored place in the hearts of our people. But Maric, unlike Cailan, would have known it takes more than legends to win a battle. That's not an argument I'll repeat here. Now, I really should be getting on. Pray that our King proves amenable to wisdom, if you're the praying sort."
"And if he doesn't?" she asked. She considered it a valid question. The King she'd met hadn't seemed amenable to any sort of wisdom.
"Then simply pray. It was good to have met you, Daughter of Adaia."
He walked away, and she watched him go. He was not handsome, exactly, not by her definition, but he was far from "ugly." Striking. Strong. He certainly made for an odd nobleman. He'd treated her almost like an equal, something not even a human peasant was likely to do. She wondered, half-idly, whether her mother hadn't been a little bit in love with him, at a distance. She wondered, since he remembered so much about her eyes, whether the feeling hadn't been mutual.
She gave up her exploring, and went to look for this "Alistair." She found him speaking in a jocular manner to a very irritated mage, who eventually stalked off. Alistair, a handsome fellow with short blond hair and hazel-green eyes, turned to look at her. He had the same sort of twinkling smile as the king.
"You know, there's one good thing about the Blight. It's the way it brings people together," he said.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh, never mind. Were you looking for me?"
"If you're Alistair, yes."
"I am Alistair. And that means you must be the new recruit Duncan said he was bringing."
"I am. Loghaina Tabris."
"Loghaina…" And yet another fool went off in a fit of laughter. Loghaina was quite sick of it.
"I didn't laugh at your name," she said, severely.
"Sorry. I'm sorry. Truly. It's just…you don't look like a Loghain…a."
He controlled himself with difficulty. "In any event, now you're here it's time to proceed with the Joining. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, lead on."
"I do have a question, if I may. This coming battle: do you think it will go well?"
He sighed, with a bit of a chuckle in it. "King Cailan certainly does, but I'm not so sure. There've been more and more darkspawn every time the army battles them. By now they outnumber us. But I'll tell you this: it's Teyrn Loghain we should look to to win it. I suppose I should be grateful that King Cailan favors us Wardens…but I know who's keeping the lid on the pot."
"All right, I guess that tells me what I needed to know. Let's go."