World of Warcraft Dragon Age: The Lost Warden
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Bioware or Blizzard though I have played the games.
Chapter 3
Settling in
( ): Thoughts
…
As the group arrived at the village of Auberdine, Damien looked at the village and noted that it was the kind one would think of a lake or seaside village. In a way it was similar to Redcliffe Village itself, and even to the coastal docks of Denerim itself. The village was naturally filled with other Night Elves though a scattering of Dwarves and humans were there, though he was surprised to see that there were actually beings that looked like dwarves there.
But these were skinny and seemed to have less muscle than the Dwarves of Orzammar, he kept in mind that this was not his world and as such, he would have to throw away old thoughts and conceptions. Not something he would like to do, but it was the only option that he had to make due to be in this unknown world. He kept in mind to find books to read on this land and the various races that called it home.
The Huntresses guide their Nightsaber mounts to the docks and their leader, Huntress Leafrunner moved to talk to the dock manager while Damien looked about to study the village. He turned and several young Night Elf children came running towards them, they seemed to be utterly caught in their own game that they were unaware that they were on a collision course with Cardos. The Mabari was a bit surprised when the lead child hit him at the side and growled reflexively at the child and was there before the child, teeth bared and growling.
The young male child froze at the sight of the war hound and his friends were shocked as well, Damien saw that and quickly spoke a command to his long time pet and trusted companion since childhood.
"Cardos, stay!"
The War hound quickly stopped as Damien quickly moved to the terrified child and spoke to him.
"Are you all right young one? I'm sorry if my war hound surprised and frightened you, he was reacting in the way any war hound would."
The young child then looked at Damien and nodded as the human quickly moved to his dog's side and spoke to it in a calm but authoritative voice.
"Don't do that again Cardos, you could have scared that young Elf witless."
Cardos whined a bit at the way Damien disciplined him but he knew that his master had a point and gently moved away from the young child. It was here also that the boat was now ready for the move and the Night Elves as well as the Grey Warden and his long time companion came on the ship and Damien knew that he had to be careful with his War Hound. Cardos was not exactly a fan of getting sea-sick, as he had found out in a previous trip in his younger days when he brought the War hound on a trading trip.
Cardos vomited for a good portion of the trip and it took him twice as much effort to get the War hound back into the boat for the return trip as well. This was not something that Damien looked forward to as he knew that he had to be careful with it and how his new hosts were going to take it. And the very second the War Hound saw the ship, it yelped and gave it's master a whining look, one he recognized easily as the kind given to him when he got on the ship for the very first time in his life.
He looked at his long time pet and replied.
"I know you don't like the idea on getting on that ship Cardos, but unless we both grew wings and flew, that's our only way across."
Cardos whined sadly and looked at the ship with unbridled disgust and the Grey Warden could not help but pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He might be Cardos' master, but he was also very keen on keeping his long time pet and friend in a good state of mind. That was dealt with however when Kaisha came close to him and spoke.
"Something wrong?"
Damien turned to the Night Elf and replied.
"Cardos gets seasick rather quickly, some War Hounds aren't very comfortable in travels over oceans and lakes and Cardos is one of them. When I was younger, I took him on a trading voyage and he ended up vomiting his breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the trip going to our destination, and it took me twice as much effort to get him on the same boat to go back home, and he vomited twice as much as well on all three matters of sustenance. Apparently the memories of that…eh…colorful incident are coming back to him right now."
The War Hound whined, understanding just what his master was talking about and bound away a bit and curled into a ball, refusing to budge and look at the vessel before it…much to the sympathy of some of the Night Elves who could clearly see the distress on the massive canine. Even the child frightened by the War Hound felt some level of sympathy for the creature as well.
The younger Druid then smiled at the War Hound and reached for some herbs of some sort that the Warden did not recognize and gave it to the War Hound and spoke to him gently.
"Here, chew on these, they will help your stomach settle in so you won't get sick easily."
The War Hound looked at her quizzically and seemed rather reluctant as he looked at his Master to ask him it if it was all right for him to start eating such things. Damien also knew why, one time, his War Hound had been curious to find out if there was anything edible in Morrigan's bags and nearly ate some poison herbs when he did so, the Witch was not pleased and warned Cardos never to do that again.
However, Damien decided to place his faith into the Night Elves and nodded to his War Hound
He then replied.
"Go ahead."
The War Hound got itself from it's balled position and walked over and smelled the herbs in the woman's hands and ate them, making sure not to harm the nice smelling woman's hands. Once it ate the herbs, Cardos felt a bit better and barked happily.
Damien smiled and tapped his War Hound's head.
"So, feeling better you old rascal?"
"WOOF!"
Damien looked at Kaisha and spoke in a tone of relief and respect.
"My thanks, carrying him was a chore when I was younger, I don't relish the idea of carrying him when he's already full grown. So shall we get going?"
…
On the ship…
The herbs did their work as Cardos was able to move around on the ship with the same energy he would have on land. And that was something that Damien Cousland was thankful for as he focused on looking at the lands behind them. It was a miracle that he was now moving about again and this land was certainly attractive looking as well. He was still accompanied by the Night Elves under armed escort, but so far, it seemed that he had little to fear for the moment for any possible attack.
Still, he had been able to hear stories about these Naga and as such, he was worried if they were suddenly going to try and attack the ship that he happened to be on. It would sound like paranoia, but to the Grey Warden, it was a perfectly legitimate reason due to the fact that there was a current state of war between them and the Night Elves. However it seemed that the Naga had other concerns.
As he looked about, he soon spotted something in the horizon and then saw a MASSIVE pillar reaching into the sky, and as the ship came closer to the massive pillar, he noted that it looked like a tree of some sort, but unlike anything he had already seen before in his long career as a Grey warden, in fact, he had never seen anything like it at all.
Damien gave one look at the massive tree of Teldrassil and gave a very good way to describe the sight in the way anyone in his world would.
"By the Maker!"
The Grey Warden couldn't help but be utterly amazed by the sight before him and couldn't help but wonder just how such a tree could grow to this height and size. There had been some very large trees in his world, but none of them seemed to be in the same size and height of this one.
The Night Elves couldn't help but find some level of amusement at the reaction of the human who looked at the tree that served as the place for their people's home. Callis couldn't help but wonder what to make of the human and what was going to happen. Still she was amused by the way he looked at the tree in utter awe and confusion. It was a reaction one expected from those who had not been to Darnassus and it was something they found to be a good form of entertainment.
But she decided that it could wait for another time as the ship was soon going to land in port so there was little reason for her to gawk at the place her people called him. She however decided to check on her people's guest for now and find out just what he thought of the place before him.
"How do you find Teldrassil?"
Damien looked at the massive tree once more and turned her afterwards.
"I can't really find any words to describe it, but I do have to ask. Just what did you feed that tree to grow to THAT height? I've seen a good number of tree giants back home in Fereldan, but this one takes the proverbial cake! It's more of a mountain than a tree."
Callis smirked a bit and replied in her very own fashion.
"That I am afraid is a matter best left unanswered, suffice to say, it is home and we prefer it remained this way for now. But we should hurry, High Priestess Tyrande is no doubt expecting you and it would be best not to keep her waiting as she has many matters to deal with."
Damien nodded and not a moment too soon as the ship they were in finally reached the docks. As soon as it got there, Cardos bound ahead and was soon barking out and calling for his master, to which Damien replied in an amused tone.
"Hold up you over energetic galoot."
Damien followed his Mabari and when he was there, he gave the dog a good pat on the head which made the dog roll around in a very relaxed and amused fashion as well. Once that was done, Callis and the others guided the Grey Warden and his Mabari to the portal which would lead to the city itself. All the while, Damien looked at the village and noted the architecture, design and way the buildings were made along with the way the people seemed to move.
Once they reached the portal, he and the other Night Elves entered it and in moments, he and his War Hound were in the city of the Night Elves known as Darnassus. He had to keep his jaw from dropping at the way the city looked, it was unlike any city he had ever seen before in his life. He had seen a few cities before, and also went to Denerim and more than one instance in his life, but this city was utterly different.
There seemed to be a surprising way that the buildings were made, it looked more organic, and seemed to have some sort of nature theme to it. He was no architect and he certainly had no idea how to build buildings of a higher scale, but he could see that the Night Elves were able to fluidly balance looks with a style that seemed to be beautiful and functional at the very same time. He had no doubt in his mind that he was going to have a lot to learn in the coming days while he was going to be here in this land.
Apart from the beautiful and slightly odd looking buildings, he saw a large number of people there and all of them happened to be Night Elves along with a scattering of Humans, and Dwarves as well. However, he was sure that now was not the time for that sort of thing as he was going to have to meet Tyrande as it seemed that she had done a lot to bring him here safely, the least he could do as a show of thanks and courtesy was to meet and speak to her.
He turned to Callis and spoke.
"So where exactly can I meet High Priestess Tyrande?"
Callis pointed to a structure that Damien had no trouble seeing as a Temple, though he had no doubt that it looked a great deal grander than any Chantry house that he had been in before.
"High Priestess Tyrande would be there in the Temple right now, meeting her would be the wisest of moves as she was quite willing to ask you to come here."
"I see, well then, I guess I should be going to see your leader and thank her for what she did."
As the group came, there, a band of Night Elves armed and wearing armor who were no doubt the guards of the Temple, Callis moved forward and they greeted their fellow Night Elf with smiles, they then looked at him and spoke to Callis in their native tongue. This was confusing to the Grey Warden as he had no idea just what they were talking about. They would point to him and the other women looked at him with raised eyebrows, he wagered a guess that Callis was telling her sister Night Elves just how they were able to find him. He did not interfere and kept Cardos at his best behavior and waited to see just how things were going to turn out soon. It was not long for him to get his answer as the Night Elf guards came to him and the one wearing the more unique armor as well as something that possibly denoted her rank spoke seriously.
"Welcome Damien Cousland, you were expected by High Priestess Tyrande, but as a show of good faith, as well as a custom here in Darnassus, you will have to surrender your weapons to my guards for the time being."
Damien thought it over and decided to ask a question.
"If I do so, will I have my weapons back once I am done meeting your High Priestess?"
The Captain nodded to that and spoke.
"Yes, this is merely a precaution to ensure the safety of the Sisterhood of Elune as well as our leader. You are not part of the Alliance and certainly not of the Horde so we have to be cautious and it is our duty after all."
…
Damien nodded in agreement and removed his Family Sword and Star Fang from his back as well as the Bow of the Golden Sun, he also took out a few of the other weapons that he had on his person. The Warden took out the Gift of the Grey as well as the Beastman's Dagger.
He then took out his pack and took out the other weapons that he and his friends had collected over the many days they had been moving about over Fereldan to counter the Blight as well as the fight to unite the races behind the Grey Wardens and the fight to remove Loghain from power. The weapons were the Daggers the Rose's Thorn, Duncan's Dagger, and the Edge, there were also the Longswords he had found, the Keening Blade, Asturian's Might, Oathkeeper, the Green Blade, Topsider's Honor, and Duncan's Sword as well. He also had several War axes such as the Axe of the Grey, Bloodline, the Veshialle, and Aodh, as well as only a pair of maces which were the Liberator, and the Chevalier's Mace.
Once those were placed aside, he reached into take the two other bows he had with him which were the Wolf-Killer which was a gift from the Dalish weapon smith Varathron, and Falon'Din's Reach, he also placed down the two Short bows he carried as he had sold the others which were the Dark Moon and the Wilds Bow, afterwards, he took out the collections of basic and enchanted arrows that he had on hand, as well as the bolts and the two Crossbows he had with him which were the Antique Warden Crossbow, and the Precision-Geared Recurve, something that he bought from a Dwarf merchant in Orzammar.
And though he rarely used them since he favored fighting with two blades in hand, he removed the three Great swords he had in his pack, which were the Qunari Sword which his Qunari friend and fellow warrior Sten recommended to him when the Qunari saw the weapon , the Ageless which he and his friends had fought with then they discovered the secret in the throne room in Orzammar, and the Meteor Sword, he also took out the two Mauls which were Trian's Maul which was a gift from Orzammar's new king, and the Chasind Great Maul. And the last pair of weapons were two Battle-axes which were the Maetshear War Axe, a gift from his slaying of the High Dragon before the Temple of Andraste's Sacred Ashes, and Faith's Edge which was the weapon he got from the Dragon Cult Leader Kolgrim after he beheaded the insane man in single combat.
Damien looked the pack over carefully and when he was sure he placed nothing, he began to put the weapons on the table while locking up his pack and leaving it on the side as it only now had several sets of Armor, medical supplies and other things though he planned to clean the pack once he was done.
(I always wondered how they stored gear in RPGs so I decided that Damien and his group uses a special magical pack, ala the Bag of Holding in Forgotten Realms lore, which would explain why they carry a lot of items, now in this case, Damien's gotten a number of things on him so that would at least be helpful in explaining just what he has in his pack. And don't worry, as a Warrior, he has only weapons, armor and supplies, nothing magical. Also he has a number of other things to use apart from what he carries with him as well. I only picked the weapons that I liked and are the ones I had in my pack in the game at the time.)
As soon as he was done placing all the weapon items on the table from his specially made pack, the Night Elf Sentinels looked at him carefully and their Captain spoke once more with a serious tone in her voice.
"Are there any OTHER weapons we should know about?"
Damien smirked a bit as he looked at Cardos who looked at both him and the Night Elf Captain with curiosity, and then he looked back to her and replied.
"Unless you plan to check my War Hound for anything else, there are no other weapons on my person, or his for that matter, counting his fangs and claws. Unless you want to try muzzling him to make sure that he does nothing foolish."
Cardos gave a curious look at his master and the Night Elf looked at the massive dog and shook her head.
"There's no need to go that far from the looks of things, he seems to be well intentioned so he can join you."
"Thank you, but I have to ask something of importance. Is there is any rule in your lands that forbid the entry of animals into your place of worship? I'm not really familiar with your people's customs so I want to know in advance if there is something that I should not do that could be considered as rude or offensive to your people."
Callis and the other Night Elves found that to be rather amusing but also very practical as well as thoughtful. The Sentinel in charge of securing the Temple smiled and replied in a calmer tone of voice to the Grey Warden.
"You have nothing to worry about, as long as you're pet Hound behaves and does not do anything that could be destructive to the Temple of Elune, then he is free to come and go as he pleases."
Damien nodded in relief and he kneeled down to look at Cardos and spoke to him.
"You heard the lady Cardos, keep at your best behavior and don't try to bite them for no reason all right?"
Cardos barked in response and licked his master in the face, making Damien sigh as he wiped the dog slobber off and grinned at his Mabari War Hound as he gave Cardos a pat on the head and they moved on, much to the amusement of the Night Elves.
…
As soon as he entered the Temple, he took a good look at the way it appeared and he could easily see the way the Night Elves would worship the powers of nature as well as having the same liking for simplicity and grace. The statue was no doubt their representation of their Goddess, who could be this Elune that they mentioned more than once. He looked about and saw several more guards and some male Elves that were wearing what appeared to be the kind of clothes worn by Druids. Darken and Callis were soon next to him and were now guided the Warden to where Tyrande was. Once they got there, it became obvious that Tyrande was not alone.
Damien saw a large male Night Elf wearing the clothes of Druids arguing with another Night Elf female who wore a simple yet elegant dress of white which seemed to have some elaborate designs which had diamonds there as well as some metal that looked similar to either well made silver or well polished steel or iron, though he had his doubts that a woman would wear iron or steel on a dress.
The woman was beautiful as far as he could see, there was no doubt of that, but Damien could tell from the way she stood, moved, and looked at the one she was arguing with that she was a warrior as well. There was also the fact that despite his lack of first hand experience in meeting the woman, she radiated power like a mage of some sort. Having been around Morrigan and Wynne had given him something of a sixth sense in knowing Mages from normal people.
He had no idea who she was, but she could very well be the High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind that he had heard a good deal about when he had arrived and was no doubt the leader of the Night Elves. After all, he had recalled that his Huntress escorts were sent by Tyrande. He had no idea who the other Elf was but he could see that there was a good deal of tension there between Tyrande and this one male. After losing his family in Highever due t the betrayal of Rendon Howe, he had to learn quickly how to tell the difference between valuable allies and enemies, along with his time dealing with Dwarven politics in Orzammar which sharpened those skills, and already he could see that there was a good deal of tension there at this moment.
He turned to Darken and spoke to the older Druid.
"I can wager a guess that the woman is High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, but who's the one she's arguing with?"
Darken replied.
"He is Fandral Staghelm, the current Arch Druid and head of…my order. He and Lady Tyrande have…differences between them. Apparently we picked a time that is not advisable."
"I can see that…this reminds me of the times I had to keep Alistair and Morrigan from coming close to blows sometimes."
"I see…be warned, Fandral has…issues towards other races who he considers to be the lesser of our people, even those of the Alliance we are part of, he will not take your appearance well so be warned."
Sure enough, the arguments ended and the two looked at the Grey Warden and already Damien could see the look of contempt being directed at him by the Arch Druid. He recalled how the former Keeper of the Dalish Zathrian had looked at him before when he came into the forest to enlist their aid with the Blight though it faded quickly when he revealed his status as a Warden. However, he was not very keen on the way the male Night Elf looked at him, and it seemed that Cardos shared that same sentiment as he felt his Mabari War Hound tense and heard a slight growl come from the Hound.
Fandral turned to Tyrande and spoke to her.
"Who is this Human to come here Tyrande?"
Tyrande replied.
"He is the human who came to our people's aid a while before when the Burning Legion came to attack the village of Silverwind Ridge, he was also the one who slew the Fel Orc that led the assault in single combat."
"Did he now?"
The Arch Druid walked over to the Warden, trying to size up the Human and snorted, he hardly looked like much at first despite the armor he had on his person, but when he got closer, he saw something in his eyes that made him wonder just what was this human. As he got closer, he used his height once more to try and intimidate the man as well as making his tone of voice a lot darker than before.
"What is your reason for helping us Human when we did not ask for it?"
Damien snorted as he did not like the Arch Druid's attitude and made that clear well enough as he spoke.
"I helped your people because I wanted to, and I did not come here to speak to you, I came to speak to the High Priestess and you are in the way."
Naturally did not sit well with Fandral as he growled and leaned closer to the Warden who looked back evenly.
"Do you know who I am human?"
"Darken mentioned to me who you happen to be, but I am not here to waste time with you, I have to speak to the High Priestess and you certainly are not her. Now will you kindly step out of the way?"
"You have some gall human to speak to me in that manner."
"I'm asking you politely to move out of the way Arch Druid, if you don't then I am going to have to make you."
Fandral snorted and tightened his fist, but that was put to a halt as he heard the Mabari growl fiercely at him. He turned to see the Hound glaring darkly at him with teeth bared and it's fully muscled form ready to spring. Cardos did not like the smell of this Night Elf, it seemed to offend him in contrast to the female Druid and the older male one, that and the fact that he was threatening his master was enough to convince Cardos that this one was not to be trusted and he made his intent clear in his growl and baring of his fangs.
Damien noted that and replied.
"It seems my Mabari does not like you, try anything threatening on me and he will bite your arm of."
Tyrande looked at the confrontation and could not help but be slightly amused as she was well aware of Fandral 's tactics as well as beliefs when it concerned the other races, namely those of the Alliance itself even when they were supposed to be their allies. She had once considered the Alliance as enemies as well as the Horde for their actions on their lands as well as the death of Cenarius, but while her dislike for the Orcs remained to some degree, she had learned to respect the Alliance better though the High Elves and the Dwarves were not too trust worthy in her eyes due to their respective actions.
But she placed that aside and spoke.
"That is enough, this is the Temple of Elune and I will not have this place be turned into a fighting pit Fandral, he is our guest and not an enemy, and he did come here to speak to me as I had sent for him."
Fandral spoke in Darnassian to Tyrande a bit more and she responded back, whatever it was that the two were discussing was not good as the woman glared at him and spoke in a harsher tone, unlike before when she spoke in the human language. As soon as the conversation ended, he left but not before speaking to the man.
"This is not over Human, you may indeed be a Guest here in Darnassus, but do not a fully warm welcome to your stay here."
…
As soon as that was over, Tyrande spoke in a much gentler tone of voice to the Grey Warden.
"Greetings to you Damien Cousland of the Grey Wardens, I believe you know who I am already, but if it will make you feel more at ease, I am High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind of the Sisterhood of Elune and current leader of the Night Elves here in Kalimdor."
Damien nodded, already feeling more at ease with Tyrande as he gave the customary greeting of Thedas to those who occupied high positions of power
Tyrande noted that and looked at Cardos who seemed to be at ease with her gaze at him. The Night Elf leader could sense the magic in the Hound yet could sense no evil intent in the creature. She had seen many creatures in her days but never a Mabari War Hound. Once she was done, she asked the Grey Warden to sit down and she spoke to him.
"I must apologize for Arch Druid's Fandral's behavior in light of your arrival here to our city and to our Temple itself, but I suspect that he will never change his ways and trying to make him see things in a different manner would be very difficult to say the very least. I hope that this has not made you think twice of coming here?"
"None whatsoever, compared to him, you are quite amicable High Priestess, I have to thank you for allowing me to come to your people's capital city, though I am confused as to how you know me since this is the first time you and I have ever met."
"That is a long story."
The conversation stopped when Cardos walked over to Tyrande and smelled her, Damien sighed and was about to order his War Hound to come back, but he stopped when he noticed Tyrande smiling and touching the hound on the head. Cardos barked gently and allowed the High Priestess to pet him, showing that he found Tyrande to be a trust worthy sort. Tyrande gently placed her hand away and Cardos moved over to lie down while looking at both his Master and Tyrande as she spoke to him.
"You're War Hound is a strong creature, he has been with you for some time has he not?"
"Aye, he and I have worked together for a long time, I personally selected him and raised him myself, I am actually quite confused by all this."
"Oh?"
"I was not joking to Fandral when I said that Cardos would take his hand off, but it seems that he is taking a liking to your people well, he normally does not befriend strangers unless he knew them for a while."
"I see…now you wished to know how I know of you yes?"
Damien nodded and Tyrande told him of her time in the Emerald Dream, he had no idea what that place was but guessed it would be similar to the Fade as the Fade was the dream world in his realm. The way Tyrande spoke of Malfurion was enough to tell the Grey Warden that the two were lovers and cared deeply for one another, even though Tyrande kept such details from him. As soon as she was done, he was sure that he was shaking his head at the thought that there were divine beings from this world who knew of his arrival to this land. That could be seen by Tyrande as she spoke, not minding the looks of astonishment on the other Night Elves at her revelations.
"I hope you are not too troubled by this Damien Cousland."
"Not really…it's a bit hard to grasp, but I can deal with it, besides, I have quite a story to tell you as well."
He then told her of his life and how he came there as well as his encounter with Andraste while recovering before the attack on Silverwind Ridge and what she had told him of his purpose in this new world that he had landed in. Tyrande listened carefully and while she could see now what could her lover mean by his arrival in their world, she still had a lot of things to consider, both Darken, Callis and Kaisha were surprised by this nut remained silent to allow the Grey Warden to finish his words.
Once he did so, the two began to speak again, Damien asking questions and Tyrande asking her own share of questions. But it was not long before time was coming to a close and Tyrande decided to work on providing the Grey Warden and his War Hound. He asked Kaisha to oversee it and the young Druidess complied with the request and after a while she came back and told Tyrande that the Inn-keeper was willing to give him a room with what else he neede She then told the Druidess to assure the man that Damien's time within the Inn would be paid for by the Sisterhood for now.
She then turned to speak to the Grey Warden as well.
"I hope that these arrangements will be enough for you Damien as well as for your War Hound. There is a lot for both you and I consider but that can wait for a much better time, you are a guest here in the lands of my people and while you are here, you are under our protection, but before you retire, is there anything you wish to ask of me as a favor?"
Damien smiled and replied.
"May I ask to look at your libraries with your leave High Priestess? I am new to this world and knowing what I can will be helpful, not to mention I would like to learn more about my hosts."
Tyrande thought it over and nodded.
"You're request is a sound one Damien Cousland. Very well, you have my permission, but will you wait for a few days? There is much that I must do before I can grant you a chance to enter the libraries and I will not be able to help you in reading the books there."
"I can wait, this is your home city after all and I am merely a guest, though I will make sure not to be a burden to you and your people."
With that, Damien gave his parting bow to her and was accompanied by his faithful War Hound as well as escorted by Callis to the place he would be staying in for the time being while in Darnassus. As he left, Tyrande pondered what she had learned of him as well as what she had learned from her beloved and decided that there would be plenty of time for her to make a more serious decision once he was settled in and she was able to observe him.
She decided to make sure to send one of her people who worked in the archives to train him in understanding the language and alphabet of her people to make his search a lot better for him to deal with when he came to read what he possibly could from the archives This was a ood way to make things a lot easier for the young man in her mind.
…
Three days later…
Tyrande looked at Damien as the young man was now reading a number of the books in the Temple library. She could see that the man was truly focused on learning all that he could about their people and also about this new world's history. He was bare of his armor and wore only simple but functional clothes that included a long sleeved shirt, pants, and boots. He hardly bothered with his appearance as he was more concerned with learning as much as he could about the world after eating a good meal as well as feeding his War Hound. He then came to the Temple, greeting her and then asking permission to enter the library which she was more than willing to give him.
The massive War Hound was attentively walking with it's apparent master and didn't seem to misbehave. It was not the kind of hound one would expect, even more so when it had growled darkly at Fandral the day before, much to her private amusement. Even though he was taller than both hound and master, the Arch Druid failed to intimidate both master and pet in the discussion previously and left in a huff though she knew that being who he was, Fandral was not going to forget what had transpired between him and the Grey Warden as well as the Grey Warden's pet War Hound.
Cardos seemed to enjoy taking in the smells of the temple and it seemed to calm the massive War Hound while it trotted faithfully next to it's master. The leader of the Night Elves then walked over to Damien and Cardos and spoke in a gentle tone to the Human Noble.
"How do you find the books here in the library Damien?"
The man looked and sheepishly replied.
"I have to admit that it's a bit hard to understand it sometimes, but after taking those lessons from your archivist here three days ago, I am getting the hang of it. These are really fascinating to me Lady Tyrande, your people have such a history that really would have made any scholar back home in Thedas amazed."
The Night Elf laughed gently and replied.
"I see, for a human, your enthusiasm in understanding new cultures is interesting and amusing as well. Nevertheless, your desire to learn is admirable, most men your age from what I understand of it don't take well to learning history unless in unique circumstances."
"I can bet, well then, I should take a break, I need to get some food and drink for the time being."
"Of course."
Damien gave her a bow and quickly whistled to his war hound who had decided to take a short nap. The war hound was quick to wake up and soon followed his master and off they went to get some food and drink.
Tyrande watched the man leave and she wondered if this man could really be the man that her beloved Malfurion had told her could be a valuable ally in fighting the Burning Legion. She had no doubt that he was talented and could be a great fighter in his own right. But fighting the Legion was not something one could do alone, even if it was her beloved who came with the plan, it was the Alliance and the Horde that made it possible.
Still if Cenarius, Elune, and Malfurion deemed it important to tell her that he was vital, then he must be fated for a role in the war. Tyrande knew from her experiences in the past and with the war that was only years old, the Legion would return. They were not entirely leaderless and there was no doubt that this was not the end for them. The war with the Legion was only postponed and will come back to life once more soon enough.
She sighed and placed those thoughts aside for now and focused on doing her best to keep her people stable and whole. She had no doubt that Fandral was going to use whatever resources he had to make the man's life a pain, but she was sure that he was able to hold his own if need be. She only hoped that until his role in their world was seen and better understood, she was going to have to do her best and make sure that he was going to be all right.
…
For the next few days, Damien did his best to learn all he could about the Night Elves, he knew that if they ever were met by the Chantry and by both the Dalish and the City Elves, the results would have been rather explosive, depending on the group that met the Night Elves first. The Chantry would have considered them to be heretics and called for an Exalted March on them, though he had no doubt those less fanatical members of the Chantry would be interested to learn about them. Though he had no doubt that the Chantry would easily call the magical talents of the Druids along with the Priestesses of the Moon would be seen as forbidden and call them Apostates.
He could see why there were those who saw the Chantry as short sighted and flawed in their interpretation of magic and he wondered at times, at least in private what Andraste would think of the whole thing that happened to the Chantry after her death all those years ago. And he could see just why his beloved Witch Morrigan and even Flemeth had contempt for the Chantry. Maybe if he was able to meet her again, he could try and ask her and find out just what the Prophetess and Bride of the Maker thought of what was going on in the rest of the world.
As for the Dalish, they would be surprised and amazed to meet Elves who were like them yet totally different as well. The fact that the Night Elves were formerly immortal would be surprising, but to know that they gave up their immortality to save all life in their world would have been a shock for them as it would have been something that the Dalish were not keen on surrendering easily. And the fact that the Night Elves were able to maintain and preserve their culture without any problems would have been a sight that would invoke amazement, respect, and even some level of envy.
And for the City Elves…he had honestly no idea how they would take it.
Apart from reading books about the Night Elves, he also decided to learn some new skills and also get some new ideas on how to make his way in this world. To that end, he went to some of the people in the city to learn some trades. He learned some of the fundamentals of blacksmithing, but he knew that his skills were not that good just yet. He was not anywhere near Wade's skills when it came to armor and also some other smiths that made weapons, but he did all that he could.
He also began to adjust his Herbalism skills to make do with the native plant life that could be used to make potions. His travels in his youth had taught him the need to use native plants for making healing potions as well as other things which was why he would make some, much to the approval of both Wynne and Morrigan. Both were accomplished herbalists, being mages in their own way and he was not yet at their level, but they admitted that he did well.
His Herbalism teacher was none other than Darken as the older Druid was surprised that the Human wanted to learn Herbalism. He knew that many warriors learned many ways to heal their wounds, but not many took Herbalism as they would use other means. Damien then told him about his own experiences and that was enough to make the elderly Druid smile and train him to use what he already learned and adapt it to use the herbs found in this land.
He also took the time to find some manner of employment to earn his keep, as he didn't want to be idle and actually do something to contribute to the upkeep of the place. This manner of his was something that made Tyrande respect him since despite being of a Noble house in his world, he was not putting on airs as it were. He was a proud Fereldan after all, and the idea of working with one's own hands when it was needed was bred into him since he was young. And earning money along the way would help him have some measure of support if and when he would start preparing for his task here in this world.
Some of his work included gathering wild herbs as well as metals, along with hunting for food, which was why he accompanied some of the hunting Night Elves on their expeditions. He had to ditch his heavy Plate armor as hunting with it on him was not a good idea, he however took with him the Superior Drakeskin Leather Armor Set that Wade had made before, he had given it to Leliana before until the time came in the last battle that she gave it back to him. He took that as well as his bow and his Family Sword and one other sword which was the Oathkeeper.
He was not as talented as a Hunter, but he made due with his archery skills and that was saying something considering his situation. The other Hunters found him to be a fairly good person to talk to and he did try to socialize to know the people around him so he could know them more. These hunting trips also helped to acquaint him with a measure of the wildlife in Kalimdor, something that he took great pains to record, to the amusement of the Hunters who found his desire to learn as a new trait.
His earnings in such hunts were not in large amounts but it would certainly help him out a great deal and the knowledge was a boon to add to his collection. He also earned cash for bringing in materials to feed the blacksmith forges there in Darnassus when he went back to the mainland and went on mining expeditions when he was asked to. These same materials would help him in making weapons, armor and other knick knacks that could prove of some use to others. He also would be accompanied by Darken when the elderly Druid would take him to gather herbs and learn how to make potions for not just healing but for other uses as well.
…
Apart from learning some new skills and earning money to make himself useful to his hosts, he worked on keeping himself in good combat condition and spent some time sparring with the warriors in the area known as the Warrior's Terrace. It was good to know that he had not lost any of his skills and techniques in his days as a Grey Warden and as a Noble in the Cousland household and sharpening his skills in combat.
The trainers and warriors in the Terrace were all female and only a few male Night Elves were taking part there. Most people would have wondered about that, but he had learned that this was the way of the past where the female Night Elves served either as Priestesses or warriors or at times both, and the males were Druids. Those roles were been lessened in importance, but it was not easy to let go of such things and that was why a vast majority of the Night Elves' military forces were still comprising of females.
The female Night Elves were more than willing to spar with him to see just what his skills were in battle and he was more than willing to do what he felt was the best of his abilities. The battles were with wool wrapped swords and he preferred to use their Longswords since the magical enchantments on his swords forbade him from using them as they would cut easily through the wool. The training reminded him of the times he would spar with his old trainers in the arts of the sword when he was younger, and when he learned to pick up a number of combat skills in his travels before and after becoming a Grey Warden.
All the while he began to get a feel for the way the Night Elf warriors fought, this allowed him to see that they were quite agile and lithe, relying on speed, strength, surprise, and superior positioning to strike hits on their enemies. Coupling that with their tendency to blend into the shadows was something that made them real dangers if one was caught completely off guard. But this helped him considerably to sharpen his skills in order to be a more complete warrior which he felt was certainly going to be of great value to him in the long run of things.
…
He was not the only one who was learning however, Callis was watching him most of the time as she had been reassigned by Tyrande to watch over their human guest. She didn't want to refuse and truth be told, she found the human male to be an interesting sort. She didn't entirely trust him of course, but his talents were cause for interest and the fact that he was proving to be a capable fighter. She had a feeling that being assigned by Tyrande to him was a way to help him adjust even more due to the fact that he met her first and in that regard she was the one person among her people he could work with.
Darken was another person who was amazed at how the young human was able to grasp the basics of Herbalism and make it far in the many days of being an unofficial apprentice. The boy's talent was not as sharpened as more seasoned Herbalists and potion makers, but there was no denying the fact that he learned at a rather unique pace and also he had the patience to go with the talent. The elderly Druid also helped Damien adjust to other areas that the young man had problems with and it was a good thing since the man stated that the older Druid reminded him greatly of an old friend he knew of who was a Mage but not the kind that most Night Elves knew of.
Tyrande herself was busy with other matters but whenever there was a chance that Damien was in the library in the temple, she would talk with him to learn more of him and the world that he was part of. She never took to liking the plight of the City Elves and had to admit that compared to them, even the High Elves and the Blood Elves had it better off in most if not all regards. The idea of elves being forced to follow a Faith which was never their own, treated like second class citizens, slaves, and worse filled the leader of the Night Elves with some level of utter dislike. But she never took it out on Damien as she learned that there were indeed Fereldan Noble houses who treated their elven servants and people with great care and Damien himself had developed a respect for both Dalish and City Elves in his long career.
…
Days later…
Damien sighed a bit as he got himself ready for the rest of the day before him, he had saved up quite an amount of copper, gold, and silver coins as well as gather plenty of information that could be of great use to him. His next concern was to see the other races of this world and learn from them as well. The humans of Stormwind intrigued him and getting the chance to meet them was something that he looked forward to. The Dwarves of Ironforge, the Gnomes, the Draenei, and many other cultures, and races in the Alliance were of interest to the Warden, as well as the races of the Horde.
While he had understood that there was a good deal of racial tension and hostility between the Alliance and the Horde races, he had good reason to wish to meet them. This was not his world and as such, he had to see things from their perspective as it were. This was why he had plans to speak to Tyrande and ask permission to travel the lands of Kalimdor and Azeroth to meet it's people and learn from the many cultures and races that called this place as their home. He had no doubt he was going to meet some opposition to his plans, but he was not going to be easily dissuaded either as he had good reasons to do what he had planned to do.
As soon as he was feeling himself to be ready for what he had to do, he decided to wear his Warden Commander's Plate once more and carry this time both the Keening Blade and Starfang on his back. he packed up his supplies and weapons, gave Cardos a meal and soon left the room to go to the Temple.
Once he got there, he was surprised to see a number of people there, there were humans, dwarves, and the other races he heard about. The Gnomes were an unknown race to him, they were smaller than Dwarves and did not have the same form as the Dwarves themselves, and the Dwarves before him seemed to be rather similar to the Dwarves of Orzammar that he had met many times before, though he kept in mind that things within the Dwarves of this world could be different from what he was used to.
The Draenei were quite simply unlike anything he had before in his life, they had cloven feet which seemed to be jointed back or something around those lines, there seemed to be some ridges there on their heads, along with some strange looking tendrils and a tail of all things. He could see that the Draenei was female as it had softer female features as well as the
One thing was certain, there were truly interesting things and beings in this world that he was now apparently part of. He wondered just where he was going to begin and he looked at Cardos who was looking at the people as well as him. He had a feeling that the soon to come discussion was going to be something that he was going to have to get used to as even though he was here with the Night Elves, the new people here, all members of the Alliance were going to be very curious as to why he was here in the first place.
"Cardos, looks like we are going to be in for a very long day."
The Mabari War Hound gave his master a slight whine and that was enough to tell the Grey Warden that his pet and long time companion was not looking forward to the soon to come meeting.
Damien sighed once more, he gathered himself and as soon as he felt that he was ready, he moved forward and allowed himself to be stopped by the Night Elf Guards who were the ones protecting the Temple and he got ready to submit his weapons as per the custom of the Night Elves, but to his surprise, the Captain smiled gently at him and replied.
"There is no need for you to surrender your weapons, High Priestess Tyrande has allowed you to be able to carry your weapons into the Temple as a show of our respect for your actions and contributions to our people during your time here."
"Uh…I see, thank you, I will make sure to thank you properly."
The woman nodded as she and her fellow Night Elves, moved aside and that allowed Damien and Cardos to enter the temple, and to his surprise, it seemed that Callis was there in the Temple as well, no doubt getting ready for some matters that no doubt was directed to her patrols on the mainland or anything else that would be of great importance to her people.
The Night Elf Sentinel looked at him with a surprised but neutral look, it was not hostile or welcoming, but it was not in a bad way either way. She gave him a nod and he gave it back as Cardos looked about in the Temple once more as he and his master entered the Temple.
Once they were in the chamber, the people turned to face both him and Cardos, much to Damien's annoyance, but he placed that aside as he greeted Tyrande. The High Priestess was surprised at his arrival into the Temple but relaxed a bit as she had indeed given him authority to carry his weapons into the Temple and knew that he would only do this if he had very good reason coming into the Temple.
She then spoke to him.
"Greetings Damien Cousland, though this is not the best of times for a visit I believe you have a reason for coming here?"
Damien nodded.
"I do, though I must apologize for coming here like this, had I been aware of a meeting in the Temple I would have chosen a better time. I would like to ask permission to take my leave from Darnassus for the time being to explore the lands and places here and beyond it with your express leave."
"I take it there is a reason?"
"Aye, I wish to know more of the world beyond Darnassus with your leave High Priestess, I wish to meet all the races here on this world and learn all that I can of it's history, as well as it's culture."
Tyrande nodded as she could see the logic in Damien's decision, but before anything could be said, the Temple was soon filled with questions, all of which were coming from the people who were there in the first place. One thing was certain to both Tyrande and Damien, it was going to be a very long day before he could be given leave to explore the land and learn all that he could from it.
But in Damien's mind, he was not complaining, this reminded him of the time he had his chat with Leliana before and she was right that learning more could help him broaden his perspectives, how else was he able to help her make peace with her past and put her skeletons to rest anyway?
…
To be continued…
…
Author's Notes:
Well, that should at least show that this story is far from being in the trash bin. It's been a while but I have been busy playing the game Dragon Age Origins to get a more direct feel and love for the game. I have every intention to make what I experienced with my own game character be present in the story itself, though I will have some leeway in this as well.
I plan to make sure that this story is going to be alive for as long as needed and I will work on how to make this a good story. Now if anyone will ask me if I plan to have some pairings, then I will say that it is still up for debate and planning so don't ask me. I do not plan on having Tyrande have an affection for Damien, as I have stated before that I happen to like the relationship between the High priestess and Malfurion and courting the wrath of the fans of this pairing is the last thing on my mind.
Now in the case of Damien with other characters, that is up to me and how I make the relationship work. Suffice to say I will do my best to make sure that Damien has a chance to be in the lands of the Horde and the Alliance and soon assemble a force to fight the Legion but is independent of political control as well as help in countering threats in both lands. Not an easy task, but it will be worth it in my mind.
Apart from the female Night Elves, he will meet female Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Draenei, Orcs, Blood Elves, Tauren, Forsaken and Trolls as well as males from the races who will form his force. If you want lemons for this story, feel free to give your suggestions to me but do it in a way that is constructive and not destructive since I will not take kindly to such actions from anyone.
Reviews, constructive critiques, comments are indeed welcome, and obviously flames are not, they will be ignored and thrown out if possible.
Anyway, I have done my part to bring some life to this story, so I hope that it will be all right for all of you here and now, and I hope that it will show that this story will soon come back to full power and can be a good read for all of you here in the website.
See you all soon and I wish you all the best!