Back in Denerim Lynn had always lived in the shadow of fort Drakon, it was one of those facts of life, the centre of power every citizen of the capital was aware of. Yet not...Lynn didn't remember even glancing at the great fortress and its impressive tower for years, it was just part of the sky to her, as distant and constant as the clouds in the sky.
As such she found herself in awe as she saw the massive structure dwarfing her.
Craning her neck she vainly tried to get a better overlook of the fortress of Ostagar. But the only thing that could be safely concluded was that the building had been, and still was, a huge thing of grey stone that looked so invincible that Lynn couldn't imagine any barbarian even considering to attack it.
Sure, she could see the damages wrought by wind and time, the way the fortress was slowly being conquered by the forest...right now however, it was a silent mark to what glories the ancient Tevinter empire was capable of. Sure she had heard of the evils the old empire committed...but considering that Ferelden herself was capable of equally harsh thing...she was willing to view the fortress for what it was, an impressive memorial of old glory.
She barely noticed Duncan stopping, only doing so herself since she had gotten used to following him, despite her penchant for walking first. Wiping the sweat out of her face, something she didn't have to do as often now as she was getting used to the pace the long-legged human set, she eyed the closest wall to her right, noting the way the heavy rocks of it still looked as solid as they must have been the day they had been placed there.
Wonder how long it took to get them all here? I don't see much in the way of mountains...wow... Then Lynn remembered the empire's use of elven slaves. Grimacing she spat at it.
"Careful now, that is my property." A voice, so different from Duncan's sombre calm spoke up, this one sounding carefree and youthful. Turning Lynn made to snap at the man...and stopped as she noticed Duncan's little shake of his head. Biting her tongue she regarded the stranger who had spoken up...and who was still chuckling at his own words for some reason.
The man was tall, that was the first thing she noticed, not to mention rich, or so the golden plate armour covering him spoke of. Not to mention he said he owned this place... Lynn frowned at the thought, finding it curious even as she eyed the overall handsome face of the man, how the grey eyes sparkled as he turned to look at Duncan, how the blond hair of his was long and perfectly combed behind his ears. It was...odd seeing such a carefree person at this place, for some reason Lynn had expected a camp of warriors to be filled with...sombre people. Not this that was for sure.
At least the two soldiers further back, dressed in heavy steel plate armour and dark helmets hiding their features, fit her expectations....they seemed to regard her as she inched closer to the blonde man and Duncan, but did nothing to stop her. They know I'm to be a warden? Or don't they fear an elf?
"Hello there Duncan, it's good to see you." The golden man said with a smile, took a step forward and offered his hand, gripping Duncan's forearm in a greeting Lynn hadn't observed before. What a strange custom...is that a handshake or...? The blonde man cocked his head to the side with a wry smile. "Was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun."
"Not if I could help it your majesty." Duncan replied, face as serious as always even as he bowed his head.
'Your majesty'...that's the king!? Lynn took a step back in sudden fright, some primal part of her mind making the images of all the people she'd killed flicker before her eyes. Calm down! He doesn't know, nor is he here to personally arrest you, he's the king...the king! Lynn's mouth dried up as the man turned to look at her, his eyes so friendly it was nearly laughable. "And this must be your new recruit I imagine, hello there friend!"
The king called you 'friend'...maybe you should answer him? "Go-good day Cai-I mean king Ca- I mean your majesty." Lynn felt the tips of her ears burn even as the smile of the man somehow managed to get wider. Come on! You've talked to powerful men before! Not just...maker it's the king! Taking a deep breath, much to the amusement of the tall man looking down at her she managed to continue: "I...I'm Lynn Tabris."
"Well hello there Lynn Tabris. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Cailan bowed, making him the second human to shock Lynn with such undeserved courtesy. "It is good that you are here, the grey wardens need all the recruits they can get, especially now." The man nodded to his own words, his eyes flickering sideways with a hint of seriousness in his face...then the smile resumed as he straightened. "I cannot help but notice that you're an elf, do your perhaps hail from an alienage. My advisers never let me near them...may you tell me what it's like?"
He doesn't...know? Lynn blinked, unsure if she was supposed to be relieved that her king didn't support the harsh life she had been born into, or angry at his obliviousness. Still, she knew to be diplomatic, the look Duncan was giving her only reinforced the need for it. "It...teaches you to make do with what you have...your majesty."
"Fine words." Cailan nodded with a grin and took a step back, apparently not noticing what her words implied. "As do we all, don't we Duncan?"
The warden moved a hand to his mouth and carefully cleared his throat. "Your majesty, bann Teagan sends words that arl Eamon's soldiers are less then a weeks march away."
"Ha! He just wants to share some of the glory." The king scoffed and patted Duncan's shoulder with a reassuring smile, something the impassive warden didn't seem to need as he eyed Cailan with an odd look in his eyes. "No, we've defeated the darkspawn three times already, tonight will prove no different."
Tonight!? Already!? Lynn felt a little overwhelmed by the news, she hadn't expected everything to move so...fast. No wonder Duncan pushed the pace...
"If we don't offer battle but keep atop the walls the darkspawn will surely wait another week." Duncan analysed, face set in stone.
"No, this ends here, now." Cailan replied, a slight annoyance in his eyes, but which quickly faded and turned into a grin. "Don't worry, with the grey wardens at his side, what king could lose?" The man raised his hands in front of him, clenching them in eagerness, almost looking childish all of a sudden. "I can barely wait! It will be glorious!"
"Very well, the wardens are with you your majesty, we will end this blight."
"If it's a blight, there's been no sign of any archdemon yet." Cailan protested with a raised finger, pouting ever so slightly.
"Disappointed your majesty?" Duncan was good at staying unreadable, but Lynn was on the other hand good at reading people...and she had spent nearly a week with him now. Which meant that she understood that the extra neutrality in Duncan's voice meant the warden disapproved.
"I was hoping for something greater, something worth of a great tale." Cailan shrugged, a small laugh bubbling out of him. "But I suppose this will have to do." His gaze darted to Lynn, smiling wryly. "I'll make do..." Then he suddenly sighed, somehow making the sound sound cheerful. "Oh but now I really must go, before Loghain sends out a seach party." He bowed his head at them again, gaze once more darting over to Lynn for some reason. "Goodbye wardens."
"Goodbye your majesty." Duncan said even as Cailain begun to leave, his guards at his heel. Lynn didn't manage to answer though, still a bit in shock by what had transpired.
That had been the king, the king! She eyed the golden mane of hair as the man moved towards a seizable bridge she could only barely make out with all the marching troops around, her body somewhat numb from the encounter.
Then Duncan blocked her vision as the warden demonstratively stepped in front of her. "The king is right, they have defeated the darkspawn three times already."
Shaking her head Lynn focus returned to the present. Did I just get...starstruck!? Lynn grimaced at the thought. "Isn't that good news?"
"Yes." Duncan took a step backwards, now sure she was paying attention."But as Cailan said there has been no sight of the archdemon, and we wardens know one has awakened."
"How do you know that?" Lynn asked, finding herself more and more curious about this strange order by each day. Despite his promise there was still so much Duncan kept secret from her, hiding it behind 'you'll see' or 'it cannot be explained' whenever she asked.
"It cannot be explained." Lynn nearly sighed at the expected reply. "But you will see in due time." Dammit...if I don't get to know more soon I'll explode!
"Okay, okay...I get it." Lynn raised her hand in surrender. Hmm, maybe that Alistair man could be made more...talkative? "Still, how is this bad news? You'd think the lack of an angry dragon creature would be a cause for celebration."
"Because the archdemon leads the main horde of the blight." Duncan explained and crossed his arms in front of himself. "Which means these are just the first initial strikes...and yet the force now gathering south of us will outnumber us."
Lynn blinked, not really understanding what numbers they were talking of. "How many are there in the force opposite us now?"
"Nearly twenty thousand." Duncan replied impassively, face calm as he watched Lynn's eyes widen. Twenty thousand...there exist such numbers!? "Our force is nearly twelve thousand strong, but we can rout the enemy." He sighed, suddenly looking a little...tired as he turned away from her and looked up at the central tower of the castle. "I do not doubt we can emerge victorious, but what of later? When the true horde arrives?"
Still surprised by the weariness in Duncan's voice Lynn spoke up: "Well...the king seems to think we'll do alright."
"He is the king, he must always appear confident." Duncan replied, once more in control of his voice. "Still, it's easy for him to appear confident, this is the kind of thing he's devoted to, he loves the glorious tales of wars and battles, especially the ones against the blight."
"Well...if you have the ear of the king, can't you ask him to pull back so that Eamon's men can get here?" Lynn argued. Admittedly she didn't know much about military matters...but more men with swords couldn't be wrong...could it? "He seems to regard you highly."
"He regards all wardens highly." Duncan shrugged ever so slightly. "But he wishes glory, and he wants it quickly. Eamon isn't the only one who hasn't arrived after all, the Orlesians with a detachment of wardens Cailan asked to join has yet to arrive, with them we would be much stronger."
"Orlesians? As in the orlesians?" Lynn made a face. "Aren't we at war or something? Or did Cailan forget that?"
"That was thirty years ago." Duncan replied, the little extra calm in his voice telling Lynn he was disapproving of her words, making her bow her head despite her best efforts to meet his gaze. "And when it comes to the blight there are no wars between nations." His hand darted up to stroke his beard. "Though that is sometimes hard to convince others of." The small confession made Lynn chuckle. "No, for better or worse, the battle will occur tonight, meaning we must get your joining under way, yours and that of two other recruits in fact."
Awfully short timetable...Lynn didn't speak her mind though, sure that Duncan would simply say something of necessity and the need of the many. Instead she simply squared her shoulders. "Can't imagine you'll actually tell me what it's about yet..." The look on Duncan's face confirmed her suspicion. "..so I'm going to ask who these two recruits are instead."
"A thief from Denerim named Daveth and Ser Jory, a knight of Eamon's." Daveth...she hadn't heard of him, probably one of the human thieves that enjoyed sneaking around in the wealthier parts of town.
So it is him, me and a knight...huh. "You wardens recruit odd people." Was it just her or was there a hint of that ever elusive smile under Duncan's beard? "I suppose we'll be led by that Alistair man you mentioned?"
"Correct." Duncan motioned for her to follow and lead them towards the bridge where Cailan had disappeared to. The warden, uncaring of the stares the two received from a few guards posted in the corners, kept his gaze on her as they walked, forcing her to look back instead of shooting the inquisitive guards a glare. "He will take you three to where you are needed. I'd advice you to at least meet your fellow recruits, perhaps eat something...and then find him, after that there will be little rest, I can assure you."
Lynn snorted. "Oh yes, because we've had sooo much rest so far." She rolled her eyes. "Is this some part of my test to become a warden too? To see how long I can endure with minimal sleep and little rest in general?"
"Yes." Duncan answered, making Lynn take a step back in surprise. "You've gotten stronger this week have you not? It will be of use. As to being tired...it will be needed in the night to come, it will make things easier." He looked at her evenly, not betraying anything, yet there was something with the words...that bothered her.
"That sounds...weird." Lynn looked away and shrugged. "Still, I'm sure you're right...you've been right so far." She snorted at her words, annoyed by her admitting such a thing. She was right...but she didn't like complementing shems, however good they might be. Maker...am I already warming up to this man? Just because he saved my life and kept the alienage from being burnt down and...never mind. Rolling her eyes at her inner monologue she shook her head. "So, can I go?"
"Yes, I have some things to attend to, but once you've found Alistair I want you to come to me right away, I'll be by the fire by the king's tent." Duncan once more motioned for her to move towards the now nearby bridge, making her turn and...gasp.
The bridge was partly broken, yet there were many soldiers manning it, rolling up ballistas and setting up extra defences at a calm pace, some of them laughing as they worked. On the other side she could through the holes in the large wall see the rest of the king's camp. But that wasn't what made her gasp. Below the bridge there was a long drop...and then so many tents that Lynn had to look twice. "That must be..."
"The king's army, yes." Duncan concluded, watching her with something close to amusement. "Quite a few men at arms isn't it?"
"Yes..." Lynn whispered, still taken with the sight of so many tents...so many...people. Sure, she knew there were many people living in Denerim, she had seen her share of crowds. But far below...it was a camp full of only soldiers, so many in one place she couldn't really...conceive it...it was too large to understand. "This is...bigger then I thought it would be."
Tearing her eyes off the many tents she found that Duncan had left, the man slowly making his way over the bridge, apparently knowing to leave her to her gaping alone.
Smiling at the small mercy Lynn made her second realisation in as many seconds. I'm here, at the top, with Duncan, the king and some warden recruits...while the army is down there. That in itself wasn't so surprising, that the king and important people stayed in a camp above and separate from the main army, Lynn could easily see the benefits of it...yet there was the fact that she was in the above camp, in the important one.
I'm...important? Of course she knew wardens were regarded as such, but her? Never...yet here I am.
I'm important.
Straightening Lynn felt a little better about it all...and moved to find her soon to be fellow wardens.