"Eloriel, right?"

She looked up as one of the men joined her and nodded. "You are Tarius?"

Tarius nodded. "I'm glad to see you awake. You had us really worried there for a few days."

Eloriel looked out across the open field next to their camp. "Morrigan is a skilled healer. I am lucky to be alive."

"You were in pretty bad shape when you found us." Tarius sat next to her on the log she was leaning against. "Are you feeling alright?"

Eloriel didn't look at him as she tried to hide her tears. "I've lost everything and everyone I've ever known and loved."

Tarius sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's never easy losing the people close to you. Before I joined the Wardens, I lost my whole family. I don't even know if my brother is still alive."

Eloriel looked at him, seeing the same sadness that she felt resonating in his eyes. "What happened?"

Tarius looked at her. "Someone we thought was our friend betrayed us. My brother Fergus had taken some of our men ahead of our father's group to Ostagar and the night before Father was supposed to leave, Howe's men attacked. They killed everyone- soldiers who had remained at the teyrnir, the servants, woman and children..." He looked up at the sky. "It didn't matter. If it weren't for Duncan, I would never have survived. But one day, Howe will pay dearly for his treachery." He sighed and looked back at Eloriel. "Until that day comes, though, I have to focus on my duty as a Grey Warden."

Eloriel looked back out over the field. "You have a grave task placed upon your shoulders. You and Alistair both do. You're the only ones who can save us."

Tarius looked at her, wondering what was playing through her mind. "Do you mind my asking what happened to your family? Morrigan relayed what Nanahi told her, but she didn't say much."

Eloriel sighed. "Nanahi and I were racing, running through the forest of the Wilds. We sensed something was wrong when we had reached the old Grey Warden outpost and turned back, but it was too late. The darkspawn had found our camp, destroyed everything and killed everyone. My father was the only one we found alive, but he didn't last very long. After he died, Nanahi and I ran, leaving all that we had known behind us."

"I'm sorry we couldn't stop the darkspawn in time..." Tarius said, feeling like it was his fault somehow that her clan was gone.

"It's not your fault. You and Alistair did your duty, the Wardens and the king's army did theirs as best as they could until Loghain quit the field. If anyone is to blame, it is him."

Tarius stood and stretched. "Loghain will pay for what he did and we're going to make sure of that." He offered his hand to Eloriel and smiled a bit. "Will you stay with us? Help us to defeat the darkspawn?"

Eloriel looked up at him and nodded. "I will help you, if only to ensure no one else has to suffer as we have." She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "Tarius, I will stand with you against the Blight, aid you in your quest, and we will see to it that our families and all those lost are avenged."

"So, what's our plan?" Alistair asked, looking to Tarius as they ate breakfast.

"The Circle of Magi and Orzammar would be along our journey to Redcliffe. Let's go to Lake Calenhad and see the mages first, then to Redcliffe to see what exactly is going on in Redcliffe. From what little we know, Arl Eamon is ill and people are searching for the Urn of Sacred Ashes. Hopefully, someone there can tell us more."

"Good, then we have a plan." Leliana said. "We should get moving soon."

Morrigan nodded. "Agreed. The longer we tarry, the more likely the darkspawn will find us."

"Let's finish breakfast, then pack up camp."

Once everyone- even Sten- was in agreement, they hurried to get back on the road. Eloriel gathered what little she had and looked to Nanahi.

'Are you ready for this?'

'Is this something anyone could ever be ready for?'

'True enough.'

Nanahi looked at her. 'Are you going to be alright?'

Eloriel sighed and nodded. 'It will take time, but yes, I think I will be.'

"Eloriel, are you ready?"

She looked at Tarius and nodded. "We are."

"Then let's get going."

They traveled for a few days, trying to push through as much as they could before having to make camp each night. Each night, Eloriel sat off to the side- alone with Nanahi or with Morrigan- and she pondered what her father had meant when he said the Creators had a plan for her.

'What could he have meant?'

'Whatever the Creators have in store for you, Eloriel, I will always be at your side.' Nanahi would say, trying to reassure her.

One night while they made camp, Tarius brought over some food for Eloriel while Nanahi went off to hunt nearby.

"Here, you need to eat something."

Eloriel took the plate of food and thanked him, eating silently as he took a seat next to her.

"So, I've been wondering something if you'd indulge me?"

"And what would that be?"

"How did you and Nanahi meet? How is it that you can even talk with each other?"

Eloriel smiled as she chewed and looked up at the sky, thinking back to the day that she and Nanahi had met.

"Where am I?" Eloriel looked around her surroundings, finding herself in a part of the forest that she had yet to explore. "Damn..."

A rustle came from behind her and she turned, readying her bow.

'Who are you, elf?'

Eloriel heard a strange voice in her head and looked at the bushes as a large she-wolf stepped out. "You can speak?"

'You have quite a bit of magikal power, elf. I am not surprised that you can hear me.' the she-wolf said, looking her over. 'What business do you have in this part of the forest?'

"I'm actually lost. I was hunting and the boar took off in this direction. I can't seem to find it or my way back home."

'You are one of the Valaris?'

"I am, but how did you know?"

'You bear their scent. They have been good to us, leaving us in peace as we do them. If you are truly lost, then come with me. I will show you the way out.'

Eloriel sheathed her arrow and hooked her bow to its holster on her back before following after the she-wolf and her pups.

'Wow, mama is that really an elf?'

'She's so big!'

The pups danced around Eloriel as they walked through the forest.

"Your pups are adorable, lady wolf. And quite energetic."

'They are growing quickly. Soon they'll be able to go out on their own and start their own families.'

Eloriel looked behind and saw one of the pups was straggling. "Is that one doing OK?"

The she-wolf looked behind her and sighed. 'That is my daughter, Nanahi. She has been ill and cannot keep up as well as her brothers and sisters.'

"Shouldn't you help her?"

The she-wolf looked back to the path ahead of them. 'She is the runt of my litter. If she cannot keep up on her accord, then she will be left behind to fend for herself. If she cannot do that, she will die.'

"That's a bit cruel, though, isn't it?"

'That is the way of the forest, the rule we all live by. The strong survive, the weak do not.'

Eloriel looked back at the struggling pup, her heart heavy.

'We are here.'

Eloriel looked where the she-wolf had gestured, seeing a familiar path ahead. "Thank the Creators!" She turned and bowed to the she-wolf. "Ma serannas, lady wolf. I am in your debt."

'You may pay your debt, elf, by taking Nanahi with you.'

Eloriel looked at her, confused.

'I am not so heartless a mother to let my pups die needlessly. Nanahi is ill and weak, something that could be changed with your help.' The she-wolf looked down at Nanahi as she finally caught up with the rest of her family. 'Please, take her with you. Heal her and help her regain her strength.'

Eloriel looked down at Nanahi, who seemed to understand what was going on, then back at the she-wolf. "And if she regains her strength?"

'She may return to the forest if she choose and live the same life her siblings will, or she may choose to stay with you and your clan. Whatever she chooses, I give my blessings.'

'Mama, are you sure?'

The she-wolf leaned down and nuzzled Nanahi. 'Yes, pup. You are too ill to keep up and this elf can help you. I have faith that you will grow and become a strong young she-wolf, thriving in a world that would condemn you.'

'OK, mama...'

Eloriel kneeled down, picking up Nanahi after she said goodbye to her mother and siblings. "I will not let you down, lady wolf."

'What is your name, elf?'

"Eloriel."

'You have my thanks, Eloriel.'

Eloriel stood with Nanahi in her arms and they watched as the she-wolf and the rest of her pups turned back and headed into the forest once more, disappearing back into the unknown woods they had led Eloriel through.

'Mama says you can help me get better?'

Eloriel looked down at Nanahi and nodded. "I will help you get better, Nanahi. But we should hurry back to camp so that I can do so."

"After helping me find the path back home, Nanahi's mother, Vesalia- as my clan had called her- had asked me to help Nanahi get better." Eloriel explained. "She was really sick and couldn't keep up with the rest of her family. Vesalia had faith that Nanahi would survive her illness and grow into a strong wolf that could thrive in the world that would otherwise condemn her, so she asked me to take her with me. Nanahi and I have been together ever since."

"Did she never want to return to the forest and live like her siblings would?" Tarius asked.

"We had talked about it, on many occasions, but Nanahi felt that her place was at my side. She once told me that she owed me a debt for saving her life, but she's repaid that debt plenty of times. She's been my best friend- my only friend really- and we've done everything together."

"That's remarkable." Tarius smiled. "That reminds me of how people and mabari bond. Each mabari chooses their master for life in a process called imprinting. They can be fierce combatants as well as a highly sociable animal. They might as well be capable of speech since they can clearly respond to speech with growls, whines, barks and several other actions."

"That's interesting."

"Of all the dog breeds that the Fereldans have produced, none are so highly regarded or so widely famed as the mabari. They're are intelligent war hounds and the vast majority of mabari will bond with a single warrior, with whom they will fight beside and follow until death takes them. There's evern stories of mabari avenging a fallen master before lying down beside his corpse to join him."

"What manner of beast are they exactly?" Eloriel asked.

"Mabari are huge mastiffs with a bit of wolf blood that stand as tall as a dwarf and just as wide."

"How would you find them in battle, though? If there are many mabari on the field, would it not be difficult to tell them from the rest?"

"That's why their masters or partners- as many of those paired with mabari prefer- will often choose a distinct style of war paint to mark them with so that they can better pick them out from other mabari at a distance in the midst of a combat. And correspondingly, many Fereldans that frequently fight alongside mabari will scent themselves with distinctively pungent body paint called 'kaddis'. This allows the dogs to easily mark them as allies."

"I see. So are they bred then or can you find them in the wild like you do with wolves?"

"Mabari are valued highly, so a feral mabari is unheard of. Though, I suppose it could happen." Tarius said, watching as Nanahi returned to camp and nuzzled against Eloriel. "How is it that you and Morrigan can speak to her? Is it because you're mages?"

"In part." Eloriel said, rubbing Nanahi's ears. "Not all mages can speak with animals, but it takes a certain skill and amount of magikal power to be able to do so. Morrigan is a shapeshifter, too, so that helps her."

"I see." Tarius smiled as he watched Nanahi and Eloriel, remembering his own mabari.

"Tell me, do you have a mabari?"

Tarius shook his head. "Not anymore. She died saving me when I escaped Highever with Duncan. But she was the best mabari anyone could have asked for."