The round room was eerily quiet, she was just waiting for a sudden person to come from nowhere. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was just too damn quiet.

The darkspawn had been up here for a while. All she had to do was look around to figure that out. But how long were they here? Surely this was no coincidence?

She heard a slight swish of sound and before she knew it she was on the ground, she landed on her back with an 'oof' and a very large amount of pressure on her chest.

"You know, the least you could do is pretend you're paying attention."

Her vision finally caught up with her other senses and she saw Alistair, looking at her with a small smirk on his face. Elanda huffed and was about to say something when she heard their mage friend cast a spell.

"If you two are done snogging, I could use some help!" Frederick shouted, after casting a fireball spell, which thankfully was kept in the same room as the darkspawn, killing the first few in the room.

"What?" Alistair quickly got up and helped her up, then the words finally rushed to his brain, "We weren't- no, no, no,- I wasn't-"

Elanda picked up her sword and shield from the ground and chuckled at his stuttering, though she couldn't deny the dark blush on her cheeks as well.

She took her spot by the entry way and waited for the magical fire to die down. Which within just a moment it did.

She quickly entered the room and got behind the un-burnt crates and looked over them. Ares followed her, and Alistair and Fredericks went to the other side.

She saw a few cages that had unharmed hounds in them. She was thankful and then she looked at Ares and she got a wicked idea.

"You think you can go distract them, boy?" She asked, looking at her mabari with a grin.

He panted in excitement.

"You're totally getting a treat when I find one." She cooed, kissing his wet nose, "Go boy!"

He barked loudly and bounded off to the darkspawn, growling at them, then barking and attacking. She ran to a lever she saw, and she grinned as she heard a darkspawn howl in pain. She pulled down the lever and hounds came from their cages.

The hounds had been a huge help in dispensing the darkspawn, Alistair had to make a few adjustments, as did she and Frederick not to hit any of the hounds.

"Four mabari, a skilled mage and an almost Templar." She shook her head as she smirked, "Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke."

The comment earned her a snicker from both of them and a series of barks from the four hounds. Ares, wagged his nub of a tail.

Even if she did still had her weapons out, she still wasn't prepared for the stretch of hallway where three doors opened and they were flooded by darkspawn.

By the time she had reached the doorway, the three hounds they had rescued had been slain, Alistair branded a nice cut on his cheek, Frederick had to suck down another lyrium potion just to keep walking. Poor mage. But she came to the conclusion that they were more alike. She hadn't seen real combat until today. No doubt it was the same for him.

She was also not exactly free of wounds. She had a bleeding gash on her arm, a biproduct of the leather on her armor just not being... plate. She chastised herself for her mistake now, but could do nothing about it; she had darkspawn blood still on her face from the alpha, even if she had wiped off some of it, and it had dripped down from the rain and sweat and she felt three of her fingers were broken from holding her shield at barely the wrong angle.

They ran up the flight of stairs and burst through the doorway of what looked to be the final floor.

What she didn't expect... Was a gant... Thing. She could tell it was a darkspawn. It had heard the door fly open and she couldn't not hear the sickening crunching sounds. Her brain was horrified as she knew that they were human bones that it was crunching on.

Even as the giant darkspawn turned to face them, it didn't stop chewing... And she saw the blood trickling down it's chin like a sloppy child with a drink. Her body almost revolted against her as she held down her stomach contents.

She felt it look at her. It's black eyes on that big horned head looked at her.

It shouted and she felt her anger swell up and she shouted right back, charging it.

She had it's sole focus. She saw the frost that kept both of it's feet planted in one spot, but it didn't stay very long. Alistair stabbed it in the knee and it bellowed, and turned to him. She tried to give it a good shield bash, but that didn't get it's attention.

She remembered when Alistair had jumped on her to keep her from getting riddled with arrows.

She could do nothing less. So she jumped in-between him and the giant darkspawn as it reached down with it's large fat hands and grabbed her.

"Elanda!" she had heard the junior warden shout.

She could feel it's hands gripping tightly, but she couldn't give up. Even as she had three different tastes on her tongue; the darkspawn blood, sweat and her blood. She couldn't give up.

Her shield clattered to the ground and she just had her sword in hand. She saw it rear back it's arm and before it could execute a punch, she held out her sword like a thorn sticks out on a rose. It punched her but not without pain to itself. It punched her three times and when it let go of her in pain, she had quickly dug her sword into it's chest, gravity bringing her and the sword down, slicing it's chest quite open.

It wavered for a moment, looking around as if unsure where to go. Then it fell backwards.

Elanda slumped forward, barely having the energy to stand, but she was standing and holding her ribcage.

"Light the beacon." She mumbled to Alistair, "Go save Thedas."

He stepped towards her.

She stepped back, "DO IT." She said through gritted bloody teeth.

With no amount of energy left, Frederick had conjured what little mana he had and cast a spell to light the beacon.

"We did it." She coughed. "Maker." She grumbled, looking at her hand, blood. The massive darkspawn had broken, if not ground her ribs to dust.

"No, no, no." Alistair said, running to catch her, but sadly never made it, as the tower was swarmed. The last thing Alistair saw was his companions fall to the floor, Ares falling near his master. He reached out, before blackness took his vision as well.


"See what I contend with, Howe? There is no telling my girl anything these days."

"I love you my darling girl, you know that, don't you?"

"I love you too, mum."

"My place is here at your father's side. To death and beyond."

"As soon as we are done here, I will turn my armies north and bring Howe to justice. You have my word."

"I apologize, but there is nothing more I can do. All I can suggest is that you vent your grief against the darkspawn for the time being."

"Perhaps it is an allegory that teaches us that our own evil causes suffering."

"You know the one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together."

"When I fought my first one, I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was."

"You're a natural. I'd follow you for sure."

"Now that is a proper, civil, greeting, even here in the Wilds. You may call me, Morrigan."

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide... Either way, one's a fool."

"Either the threat is more or they realize less. Or perhaps the threat is nothing! Or perhaps they realize nothing!"

"We Grey Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are. Fate may decree you pay your price now, rather than later."

"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight."

"Not all who drink the blood survive and those who do are forever changed. This is why the Joining is a secret. It is the price we must pay."

Join us, brothers and sisters.

Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant.

Join us as we carry the duty that can not be forsworn.

And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

And that one day we shall join you.

"In war, victory. In peace, vigilance. In death, sacrifice."

"You were called upon to submit yourself to the taint for the greater good."

"Every Grey Warden is needed now. You should be honored to join their ranks."

"You rely too much on these Grey Wardens, is that wise?"

"Yes... A glorious moment for us all."

"What are these darkspawn doing ahead of the rest of the horde? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here!"

The archdemon roared it's ugly head again. It felt like it was looking at her.


She jolted awake, covered in cold sweat.

At first she felt light. Lighter than she had felt in what felt like years. As her mind caught up with the rest of her, she saw the was in a small room. In naught but her small clothes. She tried to sit up, and barely did her muscles listen to her, but pain shooting through her body, it had done so.

"Ah. Your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased."