All locations and characters from the Dragon Age universe belong to Bioware, and all of the characters and locations from Legend of Zelda belong to the big N.

I would love to receive any and all constructive criticism that I can get.

Thank you all for the kind reviews so far. I'll put all my responses at the end of the chapters from here on in.

He had been lying there for hours after Aedan left, just staring up at the unfamiliar sky and looking for any sign of back home. Despite having travelled far and wide, Hyrule had never seemed far away as long as he could look up and see what he knew his friends could see. Here, everything was different. It felt strange. Finally, he had given up for the night, and settled in for the night. Yet somehow he still could not get any sleep. Sitting up with a sigh, Link took a look around at his temporary companions, highlighted by the faint glow of the fire. They were a strange little group, and he was sure that they would not have looked out of in the Resistance. Link felt a smile spread across his face as he thought about the fierce warrior Ashei; quirky scholar Shad; incomparable bar-owner Telma; mysterious Auru; and of course Rusl.

Although he highly enjoyed being in the group, and they had been instrumental in successfully defeating the Twili King Zant and Ganondorf, Link had always found himself more comfortable when he travelled and fought on his own, or with his trusted horse Epona. However, he had realised after his first contact with darkspawn that he did not know the land he now found himself traversing and that he needed help, at least for a while. It was fortunate indeed that he had come across this group.
The younger of the two swordsmen, Aedan Cousland was, he had quickly realised, the unofficial leader. Link had only been with them for a few hours, but already he had noticed that Aedan seemed to exude a sort of natural charisma about him that few possessed, Link included, and was probably the only reason that his two companions hadn't ripped each other apart by now. Or at least, Link smirking a little inside as he thought it, Morrigan ripping Alistair apart. He could freely admit to himself that, despite his achievements and position as Knight-Commander for the newly reformed Royal Knights, he lacked a certain something that translated into great leadership ability. Perhaps that was why he had volunteered…

He shook his head quickly, brought his thoughts back to the present and looked at his sword and shield that were piled neatly beside him and strapped them to his back. A quick appraisal told him that nothing had been disturbed. Not that he had expected them to be, his companions seemed to be good people, despite their strangeness and need to bicker like little children, but he knew that he couldn't be too careful. Link had noticed that the witch Morrigan in particular had taken an interest in him, but he was not sure why. Interest in his strange appearance, or something else… He became lost in his thoughts for a moment, before smiling as he lifted his Hylian Shield and the Master Sword and placed them on his lap. The sword seemed to fuse into his hand as it took it's familiar grip around its hilt, and appeared to give out an ethereal glow in the strange mix of bright moonlight and fading glow of the dying flames as he pulled it inches out of its scabbard. Snapping out of his daze he rose, strapped his equipment to his back, and looked about for Alistair patrolling. Quickly spotting him, Link walked over and quietly greeted him, so as not to startle the warrior.

"Oh, it's you."

Link was slightly surprised at the tone of voice. He wasn't sure what he had done to irritate this man. Anger rose in him, and he had to take a moment before replying: "I just thought I'd take the rest of the watch, sleep does not seem to want to come to me."

"I don't think anyone is getting much sleep lately." Alistair replied. At that he gave out a large yawn. "Still, it has been difficult… well, it's been a long day." The man turned to face Link. "Tell you what, why don't you answer a few questions, and I will let you stand guard from the nasty monsters of the night." Alistair gave out a slight chuckle.

It occurred to Link that he wasn't really getting much of a deal out of this, but it was a great chance to get vital information. "Only if you answer a few as well." he replied.
Alistair seemed to think this over a few seconds before answering. "Deal. Right, I'll go first." He screwed up his face in such a display of mock concentration that Link couldn't help but warm a little to the man. "You said you are not from Ferelden," he paused for confirmation and Link nodded slightly in response, "So where is home then?"

Link considered lying, but he could not see the point of it. He had never been a good liar, apparently a small smile always gave him away. At least that was what Ilya had always said. Besides, it wasn't as if knowing the name would be much use here. "Hyrule."

Alistair frowned deeply at that, and looked as if he were searching his memories for knowledge that he may have stored away, forgotten. "I've never heard of it. Where is that?" he asked.

"Nope, my turn," Link answered, a playful smile on his lips and wagging his finger at the other man.

"Why, I suppose it is!" laughed Alistair.

Now it was Link's turn to think. He knew he should probably ask something about the land itself, but suddenly a question popped into his head and was out before he could think of another. "What is a Grey Warden?"

Alistair looked shocked for a second, but quickly rearranged his features to hide it. Not quickly enough for Link not to notice. "Well, where to begin really." He looked into the trees thoughtfully before answering: "I suppose the simplest explanation is that we are a group of warriors and mages dedicated to fighting the darkspawn and stopping blights." Suddenly his expression turned dark and Link could have sworn he saw a light tear as he turned his head away, "or at least we were."

The conversation had taken an unexpected turn for the worse. Link wanted to know more, but knew Alistair was not the person to ask, at least, not in his current state. He made a mental note to talk more closely to Aedan sometime soon. Fortunately, Alistair seemed to have recovered in time to ask another question.

"Are you an apostate?"

The directness of the question took Link by surprise, he had been expecting another question about Hyrule, and deep down he had a sneaking suspicion Alistair knew it. Perhaps he would have to re-evaluate his thoughts about the man…

"I don't understand why you would ask me that, but no. I have not forsaken my religion."

Alistair waved impatiently before saying: "That's not what I meant. Are you a mage?"

Link blinked in surprise. He had noticed that Alistair seemed to have a very low opinion of magic, and this version of the question seemed no more relevant than the last, but again he decided to answer as honestly as he could. "I'm not sure if you could call me a mage exactly, I do have a small innate talent for magic if that is what you want to know."

At that Alistair's jaw seemed to tighten ever so slightly. Just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone, replaced by his usual grin. "Well, at least you're not Morrigan! She's just mean." Alistair laughed, and Link could not help but join in.

"Oh, is that so?" The difference between the voice behind them and Alistair's own just previously was startling, causing both to quickly spin around. They found themselves face-to-face with the witch. "Why Alistair, why is it that you pain me so?" She asked, sarcasm pouring from of every word she spoke.

"I'll write you an apology once all this is over." Alistair turned back to Link, "I think I'll go, it seems to have become a little cold around here." With that he walked back to the camp, and disappeared into his tent.

Alistair was not out of sight for a moment before Link felt a sharp grip on his arm forcing him to switch his attention back to Morrigan.

"You do not make sense."

"That is a strange thing to say." Link felt his brow rise in surprise as he said this.

"Tis not so," Morrigan insisted. "There are things about you that I do not understand." The witch prowled around him like a predator stalking its prey as she spoke, with Link being forced to turn to keep her in view. "I was listening to you talk to that fool. You claim to have magic, yet none of my spells seem to indicate any connection to the fade."

Link was tempted to ask exactly what this "fade" was, but he managed to control his tongue as Morrigan continued.

"How did you kill the darkspawn back where we met? You claim to have been alone, yet it could not be so. The flames, they were not magic, yet I know of no such power. Even a fire crystal gives off a small amount of magic, but I found nothing. 'Tis infuriating." She stopped her pacing and turned to look Link straight in the eye, "And of the rest, many were slain with arrows, yet you have no bow. I do not trust you."

Her words drifted into silence as Link's mind raced. He had hoped not to arouse suspicion, especially not this soon, but this witch seemed to be sharper than the others. For one moment he contemplated just telling her the entire truth. This was soon pushed into the back of his mind. He in turn could not trust these people with his secrets, even if he wanted to, least of all this Morrigan.

"Well, you will not have to be infuriated much longer, I shall be leaving in a few days." With this said, he turned and walked to the fire, leaving the witch to glare at his back. He hoped he had made the right choice.

Aedan's mind raced as he lay perfectly still, eyes sealed shut.

"Wait, do you hear that?" said Link. Alistair could have sworn he saw the elf's ear twitch. They had been late to leave camp that morning. Everyone had been preoccupied with their own thoughts. At his words the entire party halted, and listened carefully. He could not hear anything for a moment, but soon the sound of barking and rumbling of many feet could be heard in the distance.

"That's a mabari or I'm a frolicking elf," said Alistair. "No offence Link."

Only Morrigan noticed that the look which crossed Link's face was anything more than annoyance at Alistair's comment.
He was proven right only seconds later when a hound, bigger than almost any Link had seen before came sprinting around the corner, barking wildly.
"Aedan, is that… your mabari?" Alistair frowned as he spoke, as if unable to believe his eyes.
The expression of joy that crossed Aedan's face as the hound reached them was cut short as a troop of darkspawn appeared, screeching and snarling loudly, before stopping to appraise the small group that were ahead.

Link immediately noticed one larger than the rest, in golden coloured armour and sporting a large horned helmet. He thought that this must have been the leader. His thought was immediately confirmed when the darkspawn drew its hand across it's neck slowly, before drawing its vicious looking longsword and charging at them.
Immediately Link felt an intense heat fly past his head and slam straight into a group of darkspawn, killing three and severely burning at least as many more. He glanced at the witch to his left, and saw a look of amusement cross her face. Turning his attention back to the darkspwan, Link made a mental note not to push Morrigan too far in the future. Then the two groups of warriors clashed. Link felt his right arm strain as a darkspawn blade met his shield in a furious attempt to behead him quickly. Gritting his teeth, he sidestepped the next blow and slammed his shield into the offending foe, knocking it over before swiftly stabbing the Master Sword down, piercing the heart and killing the creature instantly.

He felt an old excitement rush through his blood as another stepped up to take it's brethrens place. It was not that he enjoyed killing. Far from it. It was just that, and Link felt ashamed to admit it, he had been bored the past couple of years. Adventure had taken him at such a young age that he could not help but miss that life.
Link swung his sword down, cleaved another darkspawn's unarmoured head in two and causing black blood to pool at his feet as it fell.
Suddenly, he was knocked onto his side. He scrambled desperately to his feet before spinning around in the direction of the shove. The hound, this "mabari" as Alistair had said, grinned up at him, dark blood dripping from its maw as it stood over a slain darkspawn, with a gaping hole where the throat should have been. Link nodded quickly in thanks, and for a brief moment he could have sworn that the mabari nodded back.

Swiftly turning back to the action, he raised his shield in response to a wild attack, grunting as he did so, before swinging again in a vicious arc which caught the creature from the side and ripped through it. Link took a moment to check up on his companions. They were all still standing and reasonably unharmed, although Aedan had a nasty gash that had opened up on his right cheek. Both he and Alistair seemed to be being targeted by several darkspawn and were slowly but surely being pushed back. Link quickly glanced at Morrigan, who was obviously becoming frustrated by the lack of many safe targets she had, but was otherwise okay, before charging into the back of the grouped creatures. He managed to take down two with quick stabs to the spine before they noticed their peril.

It was then that Link heard a shout of warning. He spun around, shield already being raised, just quickly enough to deflect a brutal attack, and found himself being towered over by the large leader of the darkspawn. Link grimaced. That swing would have taken his head off. Chiding himself for letting his guard down, he focused on his foe. Already he was on the defensive, slightly shocked by the power of the blows that were raining down on him. However, within seconds he had the measure of his attacker. Link feinted with a slash to the head, causing the creature to raise it's shield and more crucially, lose sight of it's opponent, before bringing his sword down in a devastating diagonal slash that tore through armour, sinew and bone, biting deep into the darkspawns leg. The creature fell to one knee, and before it could respond, Link let out a loud cry and took its head off with a single powerful swing. Link quickly glanced at the cut in his forearm and wiped the darkspawn blood away before looking at it. He was lucky to get away with as small a wound as he had after such a big mistake.

Turning quickly to his companions, he saw Aedan knock the last off of its feet and quickly put his blade through its throat, where it gurgled horribly for a few seconds before lying still again.

Link took a few seconds to get his breath back, before sheathing his sword and walking over to the rest of his companions.

Aedan was in the middle of greeting what was obviously an old friend. Alistair and Morrigan were both looking at him with differing, but similarly strange expressions, but both quickly changed as soon as he caught them looking.

"I thought I'd lost you at Ostagar Odin!" The mabari let out a happy bark and Aedan gave the hound an enthusiastic stroke before turning back to the others.

"Does this mean we are going to have this mangy beast following us about now? Wonderful." Odin gave Morrigan an evil look as she spoke, and Link couldn't help but feel that the animal was highly intelligent. Of course, most people he had spoken to had seemed to think that all animals were mindless, but he knew better…

"He's not mangy," Alistair responded, a smirk covering his face.

The mabari definitely liked Alistair much more than Morrigan, judging by the way it happily barked and ran around. Not that Link could blame it really. Morrigan was grating to even the most patient of personalities. She reminded him of an old friend really. Link found himself unable to keep a faint smile from his lips.
His mind was torn back to the present by the Odin's barking as the rest of the group gathered up their supplies and carried on their journey.

It had taken the group several more days of travel before they had reached the outskirts of Lothering, however, the rest of the journey had been relatively easy-going after joining the imperial highway. Aedan frowned as he tried to remember what little he could about the village from his days being taught history, amongst other things, by the old historian Aldous.

Lothering was a small village in the south of Ferelden. Once it had been but a small trading outpost, providing a vital link between the southern fortress of Ostagar and the rest of Ferelden. However, it had grown in recent years, and a village had sprung up around the outpost, now supplying both Ostagar and the Redcliff lands to the west along Lake Calenhad with goods. Mind returning to his old tutor, he clenched his fists tightly as he remembered the still corpse of the man, battered and left lying on the floor of his beloved library. Regret poured into Aedan's mind as he realised he had never taken the time to get to know him, despite the influence he and his teachings had on his life.

Aedan sighed and relaxed. There would be time for regret, but now as not it. Not until he had taken revenge on both of the traitors to have scarred his life.
The journey up to this point had revealed precious little more about his companions. None of them had been particularly talkative, save perhaps Morrigan, who never missed a chance to scorn Alistair for every little thing, but especially his cooking. Even Aedan could not manage to keep the grimace off of his face at the memory of what passed for food. Nobody could possibly stand up for Alistair after that.

Perhaps predictably, there had been little sign of life beyond the few wild animals that were either stupid or desperate enough to stay where darkspawn were known to roam. That had been until they had begun to come across small bands of refugees from the various villages and hamlets that were dotted around the land. All seemed to be heading in the same direction, Lothering.

Relief had flooded through his body at the sight of the village in the distance, with the Chantry tower having been the first sign that the group had seen of it. Aedan was happy that he had been vindicated in his decision to bring Morrigan. Despite all of this Aedan could not help but still feel distrust in their newest companion. Despite appearing not to, he had noticed the same things as the others had back at the fight. He had never seen anybody fight like that. He and Alistair were good fighters in their own right, if they had not been then they would never have become Wardens. Even so, a hurlock alpha was an opponent not to be taken lightly, especially after already facing and defeating numerous darkspawn, and the elf had taken it down in two swings. Perhaps most interestingly of all, Link did not even seem to notice that he had incredible skill, and after the battle had remained just as calm and quiet as he had before.

Ever since the elf had joined them he had kept a close eye on both Link and Morrigan, and had noticed her uncharacteristic interest in him, even if Link had not. As far as he could tell in his short period of knowing the witch, nobody interested her unless there was something that she wanted.

There were also several little things that ate away at on the edges of his mind, tiny facts that did not seem to match up, especially since he had overheard Link talking with Alistair and Morrigan. However, he had not mentioned these doubts to anyone. Link was, after all, going to be heading his own way once they all rested at Lothering, and by then he would not be their problem.

Yes, I forgot that the dog always stays with the human noble in chapter one. I've never been more ashamed... In saying that, I do feel that it worked out quite well, and allowed me to get in a bit of action for this chapter.

Also, I'd like to hear everyone's impressions of my characters, especially Link. I realise in this chapter that he may seem a little overpowered to some, but I hope that I have (and will) justify that with good in story reasoning. And don't worry, the other characters will quickly begin to catch up with him!

Angle-Demon Hybrid & Dante Alighieri1308: Thank you both very much.
Zerixa: Thank you. Constructive criticism always very welcome.
Deadzepplin: That's the plan!