Herrow! So this is my first time posting anything and needless to say, I'm very exciting to share this with you all. This is obviously following the story line of DAO but with twists along the way. Treason, love, and more Orlesian's! Oh my! Hope you enjoy, and please, please, please review! I would love to hear your comments. xD
p.s. sorry if it's short. I was just working on getting my muse going and now we should be in full blast shortly. Anyways, enjoy! (:
Chapter 1: Warning the King
The elf set a determined path to the south. She was unfamiliar with these parts, for she rarely left Orlais. Ferelden was a spacious country with wide roads and scarce trees. Lynara sneered at that, for it seemed the shemlen were content with destroying natures creations. Sighing, she pushed this thought from her mind, knowing such matters were not important at a time like this.
A shuffle of papers caught her attention, and she set her sapphire eyes on her companion, a man who went by the name of Rem. She didn't know much about this human, nor did she have any intentions to know him better. Even though they were both Grey Wardens, she was still cautions of the other shemlen in the order. She didn't take prejudice lightly, and Rem knew this. He kept his distance from the bitter, young woman, only speaking to her when they needed to talk about strategy.
Rem cursed loudly in Orlesian and huffed, throwing the crinkled map onto the ground. Lynara stopped and stared at the man with a curious look on her face.
"What now?" she asked, slightly annoyed at the stop in their progress.
"Je ne sais pas!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
"Vous ne saves pas?" she shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "How do you not know what is wrong? By the Creators! All shemlen are such fools..." she began, rolling her eyes.
"Lynara! I am sick of your attitude toward humans! I swear if I hear you complain about my race one more time, I'm going to lose it!" he screamed, startling the critters that chewed on the fresh grass.
"Je m'en fou," she growled, cursing at the man. "I still don't understand why the Warden Commander insisted that I bring you with me. You are such a pain," she said, crossing her arms as she stalked forward.
"And you are a bitter woman who thinks the world is against her," he sneered, picking up the map that he had thrown on the road. He caught up to her and pushed the map in front of her sneering face. "This is why I am distraught. Look at were we are," he pointed at the map. "And this is where the Commander said the Ferelden's would be battling the darkspawn," he said, pointing to Ostagar. "We have been traveling the wrong way for quite some time. We took a wrong turn at the fork in the road several miles back," he explained, cringing. He waited for the elven women to burst into rage.
Lynara took the map and scanned the roads with her blue eyes. She pursed her lips, annoyance bubbling inside her. "Con," she muttered, directing the insult at Rem. He bristled but she ignored the movement. "Very well, we must turn back and make haste. There will be no stopping for us tonight it seems. We must reach Ostagar before it is too late," she said pivoting on her heels.
Quickly the two of them directed themselves towards the ancient Tevinter ruins known as Ostagar.
They had strict orders from the Empress to reach the King of Ferelden before the battle began. They were to let him know that the Orlesian Chevaliers and the Grey Wardens of Orlais would be at his disposal to end the Blight if the King were to sign their agreement. The Commander didn't approve of what the Empress had asked him to do, but her forceful argument ended with him sending two of his Grey Wardens to Ferelden. Riorden knew of the woman's plan to secure Ferelden as Orlais's and he highly disliked the idea. So, went behind her back, for it was a common thing for Orlesians to do. Wardens were not to involve themselves in politics, but the very idea of Orlais taking control of Ferelden angered the Wardens to no end. They were ordered by the Commander to warn King Cailan of what the Empress planned. So Rem and Lynara set off immediately to the southern Wilds of Ferelden.
Hours passed and the sun was starting to set. The cold air of Ferelden swirled around the two, causing them to shiver. On a normal night, they would make camp to rest, but this was not a normal situation.
"From the looks of it, it'll be another day or two before we reach Ostagar. The pace we are making is rather impressive," Rem said with a smile.
Lynara looked at him, her eyes scrutinizing the human. She supposed he wasn't all that bad, but he was still infuriating at times. Her eyes were set on his long, shaggy brown hair that flowed around his strong facial features. He wore heavy chainmail and donned a large shield with a golden griffin spreading its mighty wings. His longsword was sheathed at his side, bumping into his leg every now and then. She had to admit, the man was attractive for a shem. Plus, he was a strong and fearless warriors. And that in itself was always an admirable trait.
"This is good news, indeed," she said, her voice light as she turned her gaze up to the stars. Nature was always so beautiful and she relished in the starlight, a faint smile on her lips. Something about the vast sky reminded her of her clan back home in Orlais. A painful tug at her heart made her eyes glisten with wetness. Looking down, she forced herself to get a hold of her emotions. She didn't want to think about her clan. Not now, not ever. It was too painful of a memory.
Hours passed, and Lynara knew it was about midnight. Her eyes drooped from exhaustion and she longed for sleep. A yawn escaped her lips as she walked down the Imperial Highway.
Something gnawed at the back of her mind. It was as if her entire being was on edge, a irritable sensation flared in her chest. "Do you feel that?" she whispered with malice to Rem.
He had already stopped and now had his shield and sword in hand. "Darkspawn," he growled, a sneer ruining his handsome features.
She reached for her staff, holding the enchanted rod in her petite hands, a fierce look of determination on her face. The evil creatures made themselves visible as they approached from the forest, wicked smiles on their vile faces. Lynara let out a fierce battle cry as she thrusting her staff into the air, paralyzing the darkspawn with her powerful spell.
She saw Rem run forward, charging at the emissary that stood in place, unable to move. He spun around in a whirlwind and beheaded the creature with a powerful blow to the neck. He then sidestepped to the archer nearby, plunging his sword into its chest, blood spewing from the wound onto Rem.
Her spell eventually wore off, and the darkspawn came charging towards her. She aimed her staff at them, letting a cone of fire emanate forward. The evil creatures howled in pain as they caught on fire. She took this as an advantage to retreat towards Rem, letting him take the focus of the creatures.
He gladly did so, shielding himself from any of their powerful attacks. He blocked their swings and then overpowered them and plunged his sword into their flesh. She only watched him for a mere second and she was back to firing arcane bolts at the hurlock that came rushing toward her.
It was a large creature, but slow nonetheless. She dropped her staff and reached for the swords at her side. Once in her hand, she blasted magic into the blades, watching as the metal glowed. She grin wickedly at the hideous creature and lunged forward with her blade, thrusting it into his stomach. She twirled around and chasséd around the creature, striking her other enchanted blade into its vulnerable back. The hurlock fell to the ground with a screech and then she turned to help Rem with the rest of the darkspawn.
Once the darkspawn were defeated, the two wardens were panting and sweating. They were covered in darkspawn blood which reeked with the Taint.
Despite their weariness, Lynara laughed, giddy after defeating twenty or more of the foul creatures. She was either hysterical, or gracious to still be alive.
Together they both rounded up the darkspawn bodies, throwing them into a pile. Once this was complete, Lynara set them ablaze with a fire spell and they watched as the creatures caught on fire. They did this so that their tainted blood would not harm anyone or anything. Satisfied with themselves, they continued onward, hoping to find a clearing where they could rest for the night.
Another hour or two passed before they came across a stream that led them to a fitting clearing off in to trees. Lynara was sure to mark this area on the map, for they may need to camp here on their way back. She took the pack from her back and set it on the ground, pulling out equipment to set up camp. Rem would set up the tents, while Lynara would look for firewood.
After they had a fire going, they sat down to eat a quick snack, satisfying their hunger that gnawed at their stomachs. They didn't say much to each other other then the comments about how well they fought together.
They went through their normal routines. Lynara would go to the stream to warm the water with her magic and they would take turns bathing.
She was first, and she was glad. Darkspawn blood covered her body and clothes. She stripped out of her tall leather boots and robe and emerged herself in the water. After she lathered herself with soap and rinsed it all off with a quick spell, she scrubbed at her magic imbued robe, determined to get the blood out.
Once she was done, she put on a pair of loose leather breeches and a rather baggy tunic. The clothing was comfortable and easy to sleep in. Even though the outfit was entirely fit for a human, she liked it for relaxing.
She returned to the camp, barely acknowledging Rem as she nodded at him to notify that it was his turn. He shook his head at her cold attitude towards him and made his leave for the stream.
Exhaustion finally overcame her and she decided to head to her tent for the night. Rem stayed up to watch over the camp for a few hours, taking the first shift of keeping watch. It was such a pain to do this with only two people. But, it had to be done. After all, who knows what could be lurking in the woods. It was always wise to be cautious.
Once she laid onto her bedroll and covered herself with her warm, wool blanket, she instantly fell asleep, watching as a nightmare flooded her mind.
Darkspawn. They were everywhere and they were all looking at her, hungry expressions in their eyes. She stood their, unable to move. Her whole body trembled with fear as she watched the Archdemon rise above her with large, soaring wings. It let out a fearsome roar over the deep trenches, breathing fire over the vast number of darkspawn. They all let out fierce battle cries and raised their weapons. The dragons voice sang to her, and she found herself doing the same thing.
But, as soon as she raised her staff into the air, the darkspawn set their gaze on her. They stormed to where they stood and consumed her, slowly eating away at her soft, warm flesh. She cried out in pain, and then it all stopped.
She shot up from her bedroll, a thin sheet of sweet on her pale skin. Her long blond hair stuck to her skin as she panted heavily. It was just a dream. She told herself this over and over again, but she was still shaken.
She couldn't take the small confinements of her tent anymore. She crawled out of her tent and saw Rem, writing in his journal, most likely. "I will cover for you now. You can sleep," she said, anxiety thick in her voice.
Rem looked up curiously at her and instantly he was concerned when he saw the fear in her eyes. "Another nightmare?" he asked sadly. She nodded, sitting down in front of the fire. "Her drink some water," he said, standing up to hand her a water skin. She quickly took a drink of it, letting the cool liquid calm her body.
"Ma Serenas. Thank you," she muttered, nodding at him as she handed the water back to him. He smiled slightly at her and headed to his tent.
She continued to stare at the fire, her mind kept wondering back to her dream. This really was a blight, wasn't it?