Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age and its characters. I am happy to play with their world.

Where Have the Griffons Gone?

Blake and Alistair were trudging along on the way to Lothering. The cold and rainy weather fit their mood. Blake's mabari, General Lee, was circling Morrigan several yards in the rear. She was not one for company, was Morrigan. Blake and Alistair were secretly amused at General's attempts to befriend her. Mabari or Morrigan, which was more stubborn?

"Do you ever wonder what happened to the griffons? Did they just die out or did something happen to them?" Alistair broke the silence.

"That's a strange question to ask out of the blue!" exclaimed Blake.

"Well, I don't want to talk about Duncan, and you don't want to talk about Highever. I understand that, I really do. I just thought it would be nice to talk about something completely different, no doom and gloom involved - lighten the mood."

"You're right, Alistair, we have been rather morose. Who knows, this conversation could even give us a better understanding of the Grey Wardens," Blake raised an eyebrow and smiled, slightly.

"Oh, ha ha, you're so funny. Seriously, though, I heard that they started dwindling after the last Blight and finally disappeared about 200 years ago. But was it through some sort of illness, a disaster, or even an attack? Nobody I know of has an explanation. How can a creature so important disappear and nobody have any idea why? Did your studies provide you with a clue?"

Blake considered for a moment. "We didn't study the Grey Wardens in a lot of depth, Alistair. It is odd, I agree. Normally if something disappears, especially something important like the griffons, there would be some clues. It wasn't that long ago, historically speaking. I remember reading of plagues wiping out a town, earthquakes and fires that could do the same, but I've never heard of one lasting 200 years. What did the other Wardens say? Did they have any theories?"

"Remember, I've only been a warden for six months. Nobody had much time to talk about anything except the Blight and strategy, even if they were so inclined. The ones I knew weren't what I would call deep thinkers. Except Duncan and he definitely had other things on his mind." Alistair grew quiet for a moment, thinking. Then he literally shook himself back to the moment. "I think they were targeted."

"Targeted! Why do you think they were targeted?" Blake was sincerely curious now.

"Yes, Alistair, since you have finally decided to use your mind on something so totally irrelevant, please don't keep us in suspense. I, for one, am ready to be dazzled by your brilliance," Morrigan snidely remarked.

Alistair looked down at General Lee in reproach. "Just couldn't keep her back could you?" he thought. He could have sworn General Lee looked contrite. Looking at Morrigan he deadpanned, "I can't tell you how glad I am that you decided to join in the conversation. Do you have any theories of your own or are you only limited to making fun of others?"

"Limited!? Why you moronic – "

Blake intervened. "Stop it right now, you two. We're going to be traveling together for some time and I am not going to play nursemaid because you act like five-year olds. Either enter a conversation with intelligence, or stay out of it Morrigan. And both of you stop baiting the other, you're giving me a headache," he said as he, without realizing it, rubbed his temples.

"Fine, you're right. Morrigan, your mother has lived a long time. Did she ever tell you anything which might shed light on the issue?" She glared back at him, but finally shook her head.

Morrigan considered for a moment. "Maybe there was a major rockslide which destroyed access to the aeries. Not wanting to advertise such a disaster, the Wardens said nothing. And made sure that others who knew couldn't talk. As long as they didn't allow outsiders in, and in later years acting as if they were creatures out of legend, that is indeed what could happen. The false myth became myth in fact." Morrigan shook her head, "and even that isn't very satisfactory. This is pointless. We should be concentrating on where we are now and what we are going to do next." Morrigan huffed and dropped back, effectively ending the conversation.

They continued onwards to Lothering in silence. Alistair's gambit had partially worked, they could at least seize on the puzzle of the griffons to keep their thoughts away from their personal losses. Alistair broke the silence with a warning, "Darkspawn ahead." They readied their weapons and cautiously moved around a curve in the road. What they saw halted them in their tracks. It wasn't the darkspawn or their numbers; it was the sight of a small woman facing them down without armor, without boots, and without fear. She let out what Alistair described later as a directed screech which left the darkspawn reeling and in pain. Some even began bleeding from the ears. Then, incredibly quickly, she started slicing through them with her daggers, flying from one to the next, her actions galvanizing the Wardens into action.

When the skirmish was over, a very short time later, Alistair ran to the stranger and knelt down in front of her, "Are you hurt anywhere?" His eyes ran over her from top to bottom and front to back, looking for injuries. With the fighting over, he also couldn't help noticing that she had a lot of curves and muscles tightly packed in a small but sturdy and amazingly sexy frame. He ignored the visions of filling his hands with those curves and the twitching in his groin while he waited for an answer. He watched her face as she in turn looked back at him, wariness and mystery in her unusual eyes. In fact, everything about her was unusual. Her hair fell, no that was too tame a word, climbed wildly down her back to her waist in a mass of unkempt curls. It held all the colors of leaves before falling to winter and was streaked with bands of pure white. She was slightly taller than a dwarf and shorter than many elves but she was definitely human. Her face was somewhat broad with prominent cheekbones. A slightly hawk-like nose sat above a wide mouth with full, sensuous lips. Her eyes were slightly larger and more widely spaced than usual. Half-closed with long lashes that hid their color. He couldn't tell if they were green, brown, or hazel. He was fascinated by the faint sprinkling of freckles on her dusky gold skin. Beautiful was not an accurate word to describe that face. It was compelling, exotic, harsh even, and had a slumbering sexuality he found intoxicating.

When she finally spoke, her voice was low and husky, teasing his nerve endings. "No, Warden, I have no injuries," she spoke as she looked back at the man in front of her. Her eyes went from the handsome blond warrior to the equally handsome dark man with the sharper features before taking in the curious mabari and the irritated witch. She searched the road behind them, as if trying to sense something. A look of distress crossed her features, making Blake and Alistair want to comfort her. "You are the only remaining Wardens?"

"How do you know that? Who are you?" Blake demanded as he grabbed her arm and held on to her for several minutes waiting for an answer, only to let go at her hiss of pain. They all stared in surprise at the burn on the woman's skin where his leather glove had touched it. Alistair quickly grabbed a healing poultice and spread it over the burn, earning a smile of thanks which caused him to blush. He hadn't blushed in years, not since he was first taken to the Chantry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Blake said once her arm was treated.

"You had no way of knowing that I am unable to bear leather, so there's nothing to forgive," the woman replied. "I am Jannasilane and I can, I guess you could say I can sense Grey Wardens. I can't describe it better than that. I was on my way to Ostagar to meet my father and join the fight. I met many fleeing the battlefields and finally the darkspawn we just defeated. I suppose I will join with you now."

Her phrasing was killing Alistair. Clearing his throat, he attempted to distract himself, "I am Alistair and this is Blake, our leader. General Lee is Blake's mabari and our fellow traveler is Morrigan. Who is your father? Perhaps we know him."

Blake was amused at Alistair's predicament. He had already noted that the attractive blond was very attracted to their new acquaintance, he was not immune himself. He wondered if he would be as affected as his fellow Grey Warden if he didn't prefer Alistair to Jannasilane. Morrigan was a non-starter. His amusement disappeared when Jannasilane answered.

"Duncan, he too was a Grey Warden." The grief and pain that shouted at her out of Alistair's hazel eyes hurt her. She put her hand to his face, "I am sorry," she whispered. "I wish I had known him, he must have been a good man for you to care so much."

Alistair stood and walked away. He kept his back to them for a few minutes as he struggled to control himself. "Yes, he was." He strode back and stood next to her, looking into her upturned face, "I'm sorry you didn't have a chance to know him." Blake was standing on her other side, looking at him. "Let's move on, shall we? We should probably reach Lothering before dark if we start now." Jannasilane darted to the side of the road and retrieved a pack she had hidden. They moved on, with the Wardens flanking the newest member of their group. Between the two large men, Jannasilane keenly felt her lack of inches. Morrigan and General Lee trailed behind.