A/N: For those who have read this far, thank you for your interest and patience. The first two chapters were a little slow, and in hindsight I wonder if I shouldn't have started the story here instead of covering the origin story.

I hope you'll find that things get more interesting from here on.


Ostagar

"We must journey south," Duncan had told her, as they slipped through the Highever woods, "through the Hinterlands, to the ruins of Ostagar, on the edges of the Korcari Wilds."

The days since then had blurred into one. Numbed by her grief, Alessa simply followed Duncan; they talked little at first, and he respected her choice to avoid all mention of the events that had led to their journey. Travelling as lightly as they were – by necessity, since there had been neither time nor opportunity to gather any supplies – they made good time. Sooner than she had expected, they approached their destination.

Alessa regarded the ruins in awe. "This must have been an impressive fortress, once."

Duncan smiled at her. "The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago, to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It's fitting we make our stand here, even if we now face a different foe within that forest. The king's forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times, but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. They know the Grey Wardens are here."

"Are there many Grey Wardens gathered here, then?"

Duncan sighed. "There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here." He looked sombrely at Alessa. "This Blight must be stopped, here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."

As Alessa and Duncan passed through what must once have been the main gates of Ostagar, a handsome man – resplendent in golden armour that matched his golden hair – moved forward to greet them. "Ho there, Duncan!"

It was King Cailan.

"Your Majesty!" Duncan exclaimed in surprise, reaching out to clasp the king's arm in greeting. "I didn't expect a—"

"A royal welcome?" the king asked with a smile, his eyes dancing with merriment. "I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun!"

"Not if I could help it, your Majesty," the Grey Warden answered, with a slight smile of his own.

"Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all!" the king said enthusiastically. "Glorious!" He glanced curiously at Alessa. "The other Wardens told me you'd found a promising recruit. I take it this is she?"

Alessa blushed slightly under the king's scrutiny, and Duncan nodded. "Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty."

"No need," King Cailan said with a smile. "You are Bryce Cousland's youngest, Alessa, are you not? It has been many years since last we met."

Alessa bowed self-consciously. "I am, your Majesty."

"Your brother has already arrived, with Highever's men," the king said. "But we are still awaiting your father."

Alessa swallowed convulsively past the sudden lump in her throat. "My… my parents are dead, your Majesty. We were betrayed – by Arl Rendon Howe." She spat the name like a curse.

"Dead?" cried Cailan. "What do you mean? Duncan, is this true?"

"I'm afraid so, your Majesty," Duncan confirmed. "Teyrn Bryce Cousland and his wife are slain. Arl Howe has shown himself a traitor and overtaken Castle Cousland; I was there when it happened." He glanced at Alessa. "Had we not escaped, he would have killed us also, and then told you any story he wished."

King Cailan looked horrified. "I... can scarcely believe this. How could he think he would get away with such treachery?" He turned to Alessa. "As soon as we are done here, I will turn my army north and bring Howe to justice. You have my word on this."

Alessa took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Thank you, your Majesty."

"No doubt you wish to see your brother," the king added kindly. "Unfortunately, he and his men are scouting in the Wilds."

"But he may be in danger!" Alessa cried in alarm. If some agent of Howe's finds him first...

The king smiled sadly. "We are all in danger, my lady. Nothing can be done until your brother returns, and that will not be until the battle is over. I apologise, but there is nothing more to be done. All I can suggest is that you vent your grief against the darkspawn for the time being."

"What would you know about my grief?" Alessa cried out without thinking, her emotions overwhelming her.

Duncan hissed through his teeth. "Your Majesty, I apologise—"

"Don't worry, Duncan," King Cailan interrupted. "I understand the pain of loss. And I'm sure the young lady is tired from your journey, as well." He smiled gently at Alessa, and her anger ebbed away, leaving an aching emptiness behind. "Have you any news before I go?" he asked of Duncan.

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week," Duncan said.

"Ha!" exclaimed the king. "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters already, and tomorrow should be no different."

"I didn't realise things were going so well," Alessa commented, then belatedly remembered whose company she was in and added, "Your Majesty." His friendly, informal manner made it all too easy to forget you were talking to the king of Ferelden.

"I'm not even sure this is a true Blight," Cailan replied. "There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an archdemon."

"Disappointed, your Majesty?" Duncan asked dryly.

King Cailan smiled easily at him. "I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god! But I suppose this will have to do." He sighed and bowed to them both. "I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens!" He walked off, his honour guard trailing him.

Alessa looked at Duncan, her eyebrows raised in question, and he sighed. "What the king said is true. They've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

"Yet you don't sound very reassured," she commented astutely.

Duncan lowered his eyes. "Despite the victories so far, the darkspawn horde grows larger with each passing day. By now, they look to outnumber us." He sighed heavily. "I know there is an archdemon behind this. But I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

"Why not? He seems to hold the Grey Wardens in high regard."

"Yet not enough to wait for reinforcements from the Grey Wardens of Orlais," Duncan sighed. "He believes our legend alone makes him invulnerable." He shook his head. "Our numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can, and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference." He smiled slightly at Alessa. "To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

"What do you mean? What ritual?"

"Every recruit must go through a secret ritual we call the Joining in order to become a Grey Warden," Duncan explained. "The ritual is brief, but some preparation is required. We must begin soon."

"Why is this ritual secret?" Alessa asked warily.

"The Joining is... dangerous. I cannot speak more of it except to say that you will learn in all good time. Until then, you must trust that what is done is necessary."

Alessa nodded reluctantly. She didn't much care for the secrecy, but if Duncan said it must be so, she was willing to believe him. There was something about the man that inspired such trust. "What do you need me to do?"

"Get some rest, if you wish. Feel free to explore the camp here, also. All I ask is that you do not leave it for the time being." He gestured over the massive stone bridge that crossed the gorge separating them from the main Ostagar ruins. "There is a Grey Warden in the camp by the name of Alistair. When you are ready, seek him out. He will summon the other recruits."

Dane barked, and Duncan glanced down at him. "Your hound can stay with me. I will see to it that he is fed by the kennel master here."

Alessa nodded. Duncan walked off across the bridge. Dane whined at Alessa, and she pointed after Duncan with a smile. "You heard the man." The Mabari barked, and trotted obediently after the Grey Warden.

Alessa sighed, feeling suddenly more alone than she ever had before, and slowly followed them into the main camp.

At first she wandered aimlessly around the camp, bemused by the bustle of activity. She listened for a while to an officer instructing a group of soldiers on the nature of darkspawn and the differences between genlock and hurlock, and then headed deeper into the camp to look for the Warden that Duncan had told her to seek out. She was not exactly eager to find out what this Joining ritual entailed, but neither could she see any sense in postponing it. And she would take any distraction from the painful memories that the conversation with King Cailan had brought to the surface.

As she walked, a silver-haired woman called out to her. "Greetings, young woman. You are Duncan's newest recruit, are you not? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Wynne, one of the mages summoned by the king."

Alessa nodded politely to her. "Pleased to meet you, Wynne. I am Alessa."

"Well met," Wynne said warmly, "and good luck to you on the battlefield." She smiled. "To us all, in fact."

Alessa moved on, and her attention was captured by a young man, armed with bow and arrows, talking to a young woman who appeared to be one of the soldiers. As she drew close to them, she overheard enough to tell that the young man was making a clumsy – and completely unsuccessful – attempt to woo the woman. Or perhaps merely to seduce her. Either way, the woman simply gave him a scornful look, and walked off.

Alessa smiled to herself and was about to walk away herself when the man turned and saw her. He looked her up and down and smiled roguishly. "Well. You're not what I thought you'd be."

Alessa frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He laughed. "Oh, me and ser knight were just betting on what the third recruit would be." He grinned appreciatively at her. "Not a woman, that's for sure. And yet, here you are."

"You're one of my fellow recruits, then?" Alessa asked.

He nodded. "The name's Daveth. The other recruit, Ser Jory, is around somewhere – but he's much less fun than I am." He flashed her another smile.

Alessa didn't return his smile – the man seemed harmless enough, although he wasn't half as charming as he thought he was, but she wasn't about to encourage him. "I'm Alessa."

"Nice to make your acquaintance, Alessa," Daveth said, with a small bow. "And if I might say – it's about bloody time you came along. I was beginning to think they cooked up this ritual just for our benefit."

"What do you know about the ritual?" Alessa asked curiously.

He gestured her to move closer, and lowered his voice. "I happened to be sneaking around the camp, last night, see – and I heard a couple of Grey Wardens talking. So I listen for a bit." He glanced around, and added, "I'm thinking they plan to send us into the Wilds."

"The Wilds?" Alessa repeated, slightly disappointed. "I was expecting something more – interesting."

"Oh, the Wilds can get interesting enough, don't you worry about that," Daveth said. "Cannibals, beasts, witches, and now darkspawn? Those Wilds are a scary place."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Alessa said. "We'll just need to watch each other's backs."

Daveth's gaze travelled down towards her hips. "Oh, I'll watch your back." He chuckled.

Alessa stiffened. "Take care you don't get distracted while you do."

He laughed, undeterred by her cold tone. "I'll try to keep my wits about me. Anyway, I expect it's time to get back to Duncan. That's where I'll be, if you need me for anything."

"Wait," Alessa called after him, and he turned back. "I'm supposed to find a Warden called Alistair," she said. "Do you know where he is?"

Daveth nodded. "I saw him a few minutes ago, heading to the north end of the camp." He pointed.

Alessa thanked him, and headed in the direction he'd indicated. Amongst the ruins at the northern end of the camp, she spied a young warrior with short, reddish-blond hair approaching a mage, and she headed towards them.

As she neared, the mage turned to see the warrior, and frowned. "What is it now?" he asked, in an exasperated tone. "Haven't the Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?"

So the warrior was a Warden, and likely the one she sought. Not wishing to interrupt the conversation, she hung back to wait.

"I... simply came to deliver a message from the Revered Mother, ser mage," the Warden said, looking and sounding extremely uncomfortable. "She... desires your presence."

"What her Reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me," the mage said crossly. "I am busy helping the Grey Wardens – by the king's orders, I might add." His tone had become haughty.

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" the Warden asked, trying unsuccessfully to suppress a smirk.

The mage grew angry. "Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner!"

"Yes," nodded the Warden. "I was harassing you, by delivering a message."

"Your glibness does you no credit," the mage replied in annoyance.

"And here I thought we were getting along so well!" the Warden said sarcastically. "I was even going to name one of my children after you. The grumpy one."

"Enough," sighed the mage in exasperation. "I will speak to the woman if I must." He turned on his heels and strode towards Alessa. "Get out of my way, fool," he said with a glare.

Alessa hurriedly stepped aside, and then turned to see the Warden walking towards her. "You know," he smirked, "one good thing about the Blight, is how it brings people together."

"Sorry, what?" Alessa asked, momentarily distracted by her first good look at his face. Part of the distraction was his tawny eyes; Alessa was certain she'd never seen their like before. But there was also something oddly familiar about the man, as if she'd seen him somewhere before – and yet, she was sure she hadn't.

He reminded her of someone, she decided, but she couldn't quite recall who.

"Oh, nothing," he said. "Just trying to find a bright side to all of this. Wait, we haven't met, have we?" He shook his head, answering his own question before Alessa could speak. "No, I think I'd have remembered you." He smiled warmly, his eyes dancing with humour. "Just tell me you're not another mage."

"Do I look like a mage?" Alessa said, laughing and gesturing at her own armour.

He grinned. "No, I suppose not." His eyes widened a little as he noted the quality of her armour, and his gaze drifted to the scabbard that held her sword, marked with a small Cousland crest. He looked at her with sudden realisation. "Wait, I do know who you are. You're Duncan's new recruit, from Highever, right? I should have recognised you straight away, I apologise."

"How could you recognise me?" Alessa asked in surprise.

He smiled. "Duncan sent word. He spoke quite highly of you."

Alessa blushed slightly and nodded. "I'm Alessa. And you must be Alistair. Duncan told me I was to find you."

Alistair smiled, his eyes twinkling, and bowed his head politely. "Had he also mentioned how pretty you were, I would have come to find you."

Alessa blushed even more, but she met his gaze steadily. "Do you talk so to all the new recruits?" she challenged.

He threw his head back and laughed. "Maker, I hope not! The other recruits are both men!"

Alessa couldn't help laughing with him.

"And yes, I'm Alistair," he confirmed, smiling. "I'm the newest Grey Warden – as the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining." He paused in thought. "You know... it just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is?"

"You want more women in the Wardens, do you?" Alessa asked in a teasing tone, arching her brows at him.

"Would that be so terrible?" Alistair grinned. "Not that I'm some drooling lecher, or anything," he added hastily. "Please stop looking at me like that." He cleared his throat self-consciously. "So, I'm curious – have you ever actually encountered darkspawn before?"

Alessa smiled to herself, and went along with his clumsy attempt to change the subject. "No, I haven't."

"When I fought my first one," he said, suddenly deadly serious, "I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was. I can't say I'm looking forward to facing a horde of them." He shook himself slightly. "Anyway, I'm to see that you have everything you need before we return to Duncan. Are you hungry?"

His words reminded her that it had been a long time since she last ate. "Yes, actually."

He gave her an enthusiastic grin. "Let's do something about that, then."

oOo

Fortified by bread and cheese – Alistair's eyes had lit up when he'd seen the cheese and he'd taken some for himself, too – they headed back towards the Grey Wardens' tent. As they walked, curiosity got the better of her. "That argument I saw... what was it about?"

"With the mage?" Alistair asked, and Alessa nodded. He laughed a little uncomfortably. "The Circle is here at the king's request, and the Chantry doesn't like that one bit. They just love letting mages know how unwelcome they are." He cleared his throat. "Which puts me in a bit of an awkward position." He gave her a slightly nervous smile. "I was once a templar. The Chantry raised me until Duncan recruited me six months ago."

Alessa's eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. "Ah. I can see how that might be awkward."

Alistair sighed heavily. "I'm sure the Revered Mother meant it as an insult – sending me as her messenger – and the mage picked right up on that." He shook his head. "I never would have agreed to deliver it, but Duncan says we're all to co-operate and get along." He rolled his eyes. "Apparently, they didn't get the same speech."

Duncan looked round as they approached the Grey Wardens' tent. "You found Alistair, did you? Good. I'll assume you are ready to begin preparations." He cast a severe look at her companion. "Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up mages, Alistair."

"What can I say?" the younger Warden shrugged, a little defensively. "The Revered Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt, they should stick her in the army."

"She forced you to sass the mage, did she?" Duncan asked in a disapproving tone. "We cannot afford to antagonise anyone, Alistair. We don't need to give anyone more ammunition against us."

Alistair looked chastened. "I apologise, Duncan." He looked around briefly. "We're missing someone, I see. I'll go collect him." He walked off, his shoulders hunched slightly.

Alessa waited in awkward silence with Duncan and Daveth until Alistair returned, with an older man in tow that he introduced as Ser Jory, a knight from Redcliffe.

"Now then," said Duncan, "since you are all here, we can begin. You four will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain three vials of darkspawn blood, one for each recruit."

Daveth shuffled his feet uneasily.

"What do we need darkspawn blood for?" Alessa asked.

"For the Joining itself," Duncan said. "I'll explain more once you've returned."

Alessa nodded. "And the second task?"

"There was once a Grey Warden archive in the Wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls were left behind there, magically sealed to protect them. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"Is this part of our Joining too?" Ser Jory asked.

Duncan shook his head. "No, but the effort must be made nonetheless. I have every confidence you are all up to the task."

"What kind of scrolls are they?" Alessa asked.

"Old treaties," Duncan replied. "Promises of support made to the Grey Wardens long ago." He sighed. "They were once considered only formalities. With so many having forgotten their commitments to us, I suspect it may be a good idea to have something to remind them with."

"And what if they're no longer there?" Daveth put in.

"It's possible the scrolls may have been destroyed or even stolen," Duncan acknowledged, "but the seal's magic should have protected them. Only a Grey Warden can break such a seal."

"I don't understand," Alessa commented. "Why were they left behind if they're so valuable?"

"It was assumed we would someday return." Duncan looked sadly into the fire. "A great many things were assumed that have not held true."

"How will we find the archive?" Alistair asked.

Duncan handed him a piece of parchment. "This map shows the area the outpost was in. It will be an overgrown ruin by now, but the sealed chest should remain intact." In a serious tone, he added, "Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly, and safely."

Alistair nodded. "We will." All his earlier joviality seemed to be gone now.

"Then may the Maker watch over your path," Duncan said. "I will see you when you return."

The guard at the gate waved them through, and they ventured out into the Korcari Wilds.