Hello Everyone. I'm back. sorry for the long wait. here is a shorted chapter for you.


Chapter 7

Once again out for the night, Aedan and the others set up their tents, while Luna was in charge of dinner. The last few days had been hectic, what with them saving the Circle of Magi from Demons, and then buying a control rod for a stone golem in Honleath. Only to find out that Darkspawn pillaging the area as well as the blasted control rod to not work. They later found out from one of the survivors of the attack, that the golem had to be activated with a password. But that he would only give it if they could find his daughter that had run deeper into the house. Finding the girl went without a problem, the Desire Demon on the other hand was another matter.

Disguised as a cat, the demon had the girl under her control and would only relinquish it until she was set free by solving the puzzle that kept her here. Solving the puzzle quickly, and then killing the demon, they made their way back up with the girl. After thanking them for saving his daughter, he gave them the password and head off. After speaking the password and activating the golem, which it had introduced itself as Shale, they had set out towards Redcliffe to speak with Arl Eamon. While on the road, they came across a traveler that said that he was looking for them. He introduced himself as Levi Dryden, and then went on to explain he was looking for them, hoping that they could help him restore his family's honour.

After telling Levi that they would help, once their journey to Redcliffe was over, Aedan and the others had continued onwards. Once the food was cooked and they had their fillings, Harry had decided to stay on watch with Shale once everyone had went to sleep. Sitting in front of the fire, Harry was lost in his thoughts of what Ignotus had said to him about the Grey Wardens and what the symbol on the stone meant.

FLASHBACK

Harry was once again on watch, with their new addition of Shale standing close by. Deciding to take a better look at his new accessories, Harry looked at the ring closely. Once again he could see how well cut the stone was. But what caught his attention the most was what was etched upon it. A line surrounded by a circle and both encompassed by a triangle, wondering what it signified, he asked Ignotus.

"That Harry is the mark of The Deathly Hallows." Ignotus explained. "When we created the three hallows, we did not expect them to grow so much power. While yes, they functioned as they were made, but something happened after we created them."

Taking a breath, Ignotus carried on. "We were approached by a being of immense power, to this day I still do not know who it was that spoke to us. But it told us that by creating these three items that we were tempering with forces beyond our control."

"How?" Harry asked.

Ignotus sighed before speaking. "I do not know. But after we had created them, the being appeared before us again. It told us that our bloodline would be cursed. It said that the only way to break the curse was to bring all the Hallows back together, faced with insurmountable odds." He explained.

Harry looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed. "What was this curse? And why did it not break when you held all the pieces?" he asked.

"To answer your second question. It's because the curse could only be broken when one of our bloodline were to bring the pieces back together, not its creators. As for your first, well that is also a simple answer. Tell me what do you know of your family history?" Ignotus asked.

Harry raised a single eyebrow at Ignotus' question, but answered it nonetheless. "Well from what I learned from my father and from reading my family's history books, it said that many of my forbearers died in battle, many of them only reaching into their fiftieth birthday. Why?"

"It's because the curse laid upon our bloodline stated that we would all die by either battle or old age. While not uncommon, have you ever wondered why our family has never had a family member die of disease, or lost at sea, while other noble families have had such cases?" Ignotus asked, looking at Harry in the eyes.

"Once or twice, but I always thought it was by some stroke of luck." Harry replied.

"If only that were so Harry." Ignotus finished as he retreated away, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

FLASHBACK

"You're very quiet Harry." Wynne's voice said, startling said person from his thoughts.

Harry looked at the aging woman next to him, curiosity in her eyes as she waited for his response.

"I just have a lot on my mind Wynne." He stated.

"And what might those thoughts be about, my young friend?" Wynne asked.

Harry turned to look at the crackling fire before answering, never taking his eyes off of the fire. "About the items that I brought with me from the Circle. Ignotus explained to me about a curse placed upon my family and how to break it." He explained.

"And what was this curse, and how do you break it?" Wynne asked.

"It's not something I would like to speak about Wynne, sorry." Harry told.

Wynne nodded in understanding, knowing that it was a personal issue and that she should not pry. She got up from where she sat and made her way to Alistair's tent to wake him for his turn at the watch, before going to bed.


"Good morning." Aedan greeted to Harry when he exited his tent and towards breakfast.

Harry, who was smoking a pipe, smiled and nodded at Aedan. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean it's a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you feel good on this particular morning. Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on, hmmm?"

Aedan looked at Harry confused, while everyone else, save Sten and Shale, gave small smiles and tried not to laugh at the expression on his face. "All of them at once, I suppose." He answered slowly.

"Good morning, Harry." Luna greeted from behind, as she leaned onto Harry's back.

Smiling, Harry leaned back, tilting his head back, looking at Luna's smiling face. "Good morning, Luna." He said, kissing his wife.

Once they had all finished their breakfast and had packed their belongings packed, they set off towards Redcliffe. Traveling through the Imperial Highway, they discussed about what they were going to do after they got support from Arl Eamon and helped Levi with his problem. While discussing, they came across a distressed woman. Upon seeing the group she rushed towards Aedan, grabbing his shoulders as she tried to speak.

"Please you must help us!" she exclaimed.

Aedan held a hand up to stop the hysterical woman. "Please, calm yourself." He said. The woman looked at Aedan before taking a deep breath, calming down as she did so. Aedan smiled at this. "Now tell me, what seems to be the problem?" he asked.

The woman simply pointed to a large plume of smoke rising into the air. "Please, our caravan of supplies was attacked my mercenaries! You must help us!" she cried out.

Nodding, Aedan indicated for her to lead them to the attack site. Following the woman, everyone held their weapons at the ready. When they came upon the destroyed caravan, they could see many people dead on the ground, with arrows and stab wounds clearly able to be seen on them. Looking around the group saw a blond tattooed elf, brandishing a long and short sword at them, with a group of archers on either side of hills.

"The Warden dies today!" the elf shouted.

At that, the archers let loose their volley of arrows at the group. Just as the arrows were about to strike their targets, a large dome shield surrounded them. Turning his head, Aedan saw that Harry was the one to cast the shield. With a slam of his staff on the ground, the dome exploded outwards, knocking everyone off their feet and onto the ground.

"Get them!" the elf shouted from the ground.

Suddenly another group of men came from behind the caravan and charged towards them. Moving quickly, Harry, Aedan and Sten fought back, quickly taking down the mercenaries while Shale, Morrigan, Wynne, Luna and Leliana dispatched the archers above. In less than five minutes, everyone except the elf was dead. Making their way towards him, they started to question him.

"Who are you and who sent you?" Harry asked.

"My name is Zevran Arainai. Zev, to my friends." The elf, Zevran answered. "As for who sent me, it was a rather taciturn fellow by the name of Lohgain."

Narrowing his eyes, Harry spoke. "Are you loyal to him?" he asked.

Zevran simply shook his head. "No. I was hired by another, a Rendon Howe, I believe was his name. I was hired to perform a service, nothing more."

Looking at him properly, Harry noticed a chain with a carving of a crow at the end of it. "Judging by your accent, you're from Antiva, correct?" Harry asked, which he got a nod in confirmation. "And by that chain around your neck, you're part of the Antivan Crows, a guild of Assassins?"

"Correct again, my green eyed interrogator." Zevran answered. "I am an Antivan Crow, brought here to kill any surviving Grey Wardens, which I have failed at, sadly."

"I'm glad you failed." Aedan said.

"So would I, if I was in your shoes. For me however, it sets a rather poor precedent, getting captured by their targets. Seems a tad detrimental for a budding Assassin's career, don't you agree?" Zevran asked, with humour in his tone.

"Too bad for you." Aedan replied.

"Yes, too bad for me." Zevran replied.

"Why are you telling us all of this?" Aedan asked.

"Why not! I wasn't exactly paid for my silence. Not that I put it up for sale, precisely." Zevran answered back. "Loyalty is an interesting concept, if you wish, and after you have done interrogating me, I would like to join you." Not expecting this, Aedan raised an eyebrow at Zevran, hoping for the elf to elaborate.

Seeing this, Zevran continued. "Seeing as I failed to kill you, my life is now forfeit. If you don't kill me, the Crows will, just for failing to complete the job. I like living, and you seem the sort to give the Crows pause. So let me serve you instead."

"Can I expect the same loyalty you gave Lohgain?" Aedan asked, crossing his arms.

"I happen to be a very loyal person. Up until someone expects me to die for failing." Zevran replied back. "That's not a fault, is it? To be completely honest, I was never really given a choice to join the Crows. They bought me from the slave market when I was a child. I think I paid my debt to them and then some. However, the only way out is to sign on with someone they can't touch." Zevran sighed before continuing. "Even if I killed you now, the Crows would just kill me for failing to do so the first time. I'd rather take my chances with you."

"Won't they come after you?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps. But I happen to know their wily ways and can protect you. Not that you need much protecting." Zevran answered. "If not, well….. It's not like I have many alternatives here, is it?"

"And what is it you want in return?" Aedan asked.

"Well being allowed to live would be nice, and allowing me to be of some use to you. And if you no longer have need of my service, then I can go about my merry way. Until then, I am yours. Fair?" Zevran asked.

"Are we really considering this Aedan? I mean the guy could poison us in our sleep." Alistair cried out.

"It's your call Aedan. But I will say that having a Crow for an ally would be a useful advantage to have." Harry said as he continued to look at Zevran.

"Very well. Zevran, you are to join us." Aedan told as he helped Zevran to his feet.

"Very good. I, Zevran Arainai bind myself to you, until such a time that my skills are no longer needed." Zevran said as he pledged himself.


Hope you enjoyed the chapter. i'll try to continue the story as best i can. Tell me what you guys think.

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