Dragon Age 2: Pariah

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age …anything, and then some.

Probably spelled some name's and places wrong, so have mercy, please. Just finished Origins, Awakening, and Witchhunt for my cannon Dual Wield Warrior Warden, and set up for after Dragon age 2 will probably involve this back story crap, so, ... sorry, I guess. Oh, and Apostitiutes.

Pariah 9

Aveline stopped by the Hovel while I was working during Hawke's first day of being down. Whatever this illness is, it must be bad. I have seen him take jabs and cuts to most of his torso with little to no mention of discomfort. At most I've seen him knocked down. Over 9 years I have never seen him downed like this. I… I don't like it. But I am getting of topic. I let her in, and she thankfully declined my offer of hospitality.

"Sorry, but I cannot stay long, I just wanted to talk briefly." I was surprised she had shown up, and nodded so that she would continue. She seemed slightly embarrassed. "I may have seemed…slightly… cold yesterday. I wish to apologize, and explain. The Templar under Meredith are looking for any opportunity to replace the guard with her own personally loyal troops. As a known associate of Meredith's largest threat, I am under extreme scrutiny for any signs of behavior that are, too their eyes, unbecoming of a guard Captain. If I had simply had you released, being that you are the Champion's "Companion" it could have started some line investigation on me and favoritism. So, I am sorry, Merrill." I accepted her apology, and she left. That was nice of her.

(*)

I went to the Hanged Man last night, because a Templar was staying at the estate watching over Hawke. I chose not to stick around, just to be safe, even though he seemed perfectly friendly, because Hawke was out cold, so I saw no point in sticking around. Varric and Isabella weren't there, so I nursed a ale for an hour before retiring.

(*)

I went and visited Hawke again today, and he was awake and a little bit around. Bodahn let me in, and informed me that Hawke was aware, but week, and that his Templar friend had stepped out. I thanked him and moved to the bedroom, where he was sitting up, reading a book. He looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Merrill, it's nice to see you." He slowly rose, and walked over giving me a hug.

"Your looking well, Hawke." I said. He snorted.

"I look like a walking corpse. But, I do appreciate the sentiment." He smiled again, and looked pained.

"How was your trip?" He looked confused for a second and then brightened.

"Oh, yes, it went about as well as could be expected, although getting sick was a little…less then ideal. Oh, but I did bring back a souvenir or two…" He moved behind me to a large covered object leaning against the wall. He carefully unhooked the cloth covering the object and pulled it free, revealing a painted portrait about 3 feet tall and two feet wide. I must have gone pale, and I felt myself nearly faint as I looked upon the subject of the portrait. Thank the creators the light was bad, because Hawke did not notice that I was upset. It was them, the man and woman I had seen in my dreams, the woman's yellow cat like eyes gleaming even on the canvas. I managed to re-swallow my heart.

"Who, "I cleared my throat in an attempt to banish the hoarseness that had crept in, "who are they?" He looked astonished, and replied in disbelief.

"Really? That is the Warden Commander who slew the Arch Demon and ended the Blight, and his consort, the swamp witch Morrigan." He paced his hand on the frame, and looked at the figures on the painting. "This is one of a kind, commissioned by the warden on the eve of the final march into Denerim by the best artists in Redcliff." The conversation tapered off after that, as Hawke grew tired, and the Templar returned. He introduced me to him, his name was Ser Victor, and he was a Knight from the Ferelden Chantry. Hawke assured me that I had no need to worry, as this knight was aware of the great efforts made by apostates during the blight, and their role in ending it. But, you spend your whole life avoiding something, and it is easier to continue than to accept.

(*)

I went again to the Hanged Man tonight, this time purposely searching for Varric.

"What can I do for you tonight, Daisy?" He asked as I sat at his table and signaled the waitress. It was customary, now, that anyone petitioning Varric for a story pay not in coin, but in ale. As she approached, I placed a Sovereign and hand full of silver on her try before hooking my thumb at Varric. He raised his eyebrow at me. "what's this then?" He had made it clear that I need not obey his "drinking for Tales" policy, but tonight, I wanted straight facts.

"Varric, I want the tale of the Warden, everything." I like to think I came across as serious, but I doubt I did. He smiled again, and began the tale. I have recorded as much of it as I could.

(*)

The warden responsible for ending the blight, and reshaping the country of Ferelden, started his life as a Noble on the Arl of Highever. As the younger son of the Cousland family, when the call came out to send troops to Ostagar to support the king, he was to be left to tend the land, while his father and brother went to war. The head of the Ferelden Grey Wardens, a man know to legend only as Duncan, happened to be in the Arl in search of new recruits to combat the growing hoards of Darkspawn.

As fate would have it, the Arl of Amaranthine, the treacherous Rendon Howe, convinced the Wardens father to send the bulk of his forces marching, with the excuse of waiting for is own troops to catch up. That very night, Howe's men descended upon Highever, the resulting slaughter claming all the lives shy of the Warden, his faithful hound, and the Warden Duncan. The Warden traveled with Duncan to Ostagar, where, aided by the Ex-Templar Alistair, passed the Joining and became a full fledged Grey Warden.

Now, there are several remarkable things that marked this Warden and followed him everywhere he went. One was that everywhere he went, death and dismay were already being inflicted, or would follow. Most of the people around him would die, and he would emerge barely scathed. Some attribute this to his tremendous will, and others, including one of his close followers, believed him to be a tool of the Maker. All that is known is that whatever he touched was changed, and others took to his example as if taking on water.

The battle of Ostagar was, in the words of most, a terrible failure. It was not found out until after the Blight, that this was due to the War Hero Logain, General to the king, fleeing with his troops at the signal that was supposed tell his men to charge in and flank the engaging Darkspawn. With out the reinforcements, the troops were overrun, and the everyone was slaughted, and again, only the Warden, his hound, and his companion Alistair lived.

The Warden awoke to find himself in the hut of the swamp witch, Flemeth, who, for reasons unknown reasons had saved the two, now the last two Wardens in Ferelden, and sent them off to fight the blight with her beautiful and talented daughter, Morrigan. Now, You may recognize Flemeth as the same woman you magic-ed in on top of the mountain when you first met Hawke. This does, by all accounts, seem to be the same Flemeth that appears in all of the ancient tales that bear woman of the same name.

After the disembarked form the hut, they arrived in a small village, Lottering, or Hawke's home town, as you may recall. It was here that the group found that Logain had retreated to Denerim, and blamed the Grey Wardens for the King's death at Ostagar. After stocking supplies, and joining company with an red haired Bard, the set out to procure an army to fight the blight, while Logain's men hunted them as traitor.

The cleaned a cursed Forest of werewolves, securing the help of the Dalish, crowned a new Dwarven King in subterranean Orzamar, flushed a demon infestation that almost destroyed the Circle of Magi, and saved the Arl of Redcliff from dire illness by finding the urn of Andraste's ashes. The Warden even slew Morrigan's mother, the ancient shape shifter, although we know how much good that appears to have done. Finally, they had a force that could challenge Logain's claims on the throne, the Warden Alistair being an illegitimate son of the king. So the Arl of Redcliff called the Landsmeet, and they marched on Denerim. The Warden had not been within the city a single week before he avenged the death of his family, slaying Rendon Howe, getting thrown in to prison, breaking out, and busting up a Tevinter slaving ring within the Alienage. At the Landsmeet, he gained popular support by his word alone, and had Ser Logain renounced by his fellow Nobles, where upon he was executed by Alistair for his crimes. Based off some wrong intelligence, they marched back to Redcliff, where it appeared the bulk of the hoard would strike.

Now, many story tellers tend to… overlook the importance that the swamp witch had to the Warden. Now, we all know, see as Fereldan isn't a land of solid Darkspawn now, that the Warden defeated the blight by slaying the Arch Demon. But, he was the first Warden to do so, and live. Now, I first heard the tale from a retelling of the story directly from on of the Wardens traveling companions, and according to her, it was Morrigan who prevented that death. But that is not just what I mean when I suggest her role was very significant.

You see, the Warden was taken with her, and the tales of her striking beauty live little wonder of why. The Warden took her to bed not long after their journey begun, as she was one who took delight in the pleasures of the flesh of those she found worthy. But, as a daughter of the mythical Flemeth, she was incapable of the strong emotion not based in the physical sense. The lay together many times, her never feeling more that a physical attachment to the man. The Warden, however, would not be contented with the mere body of the woman. One of his greatest, and most helpful abilities was a near telepathic ability to judge the motivations and desires of people. E would ply her with gifts perfectly suited to her personality, challenge her where she wanted a fight, and relent without seeming to have let her win. He was confident that he was gaining ground in opening the girls closed heart when he encountered a problem. One night soon before the Lands meet, she snapped at him when he went to lay with her, and remained stand-offish on the subject for the weeks remaining until the horde would be engaged.

The night before the march on the besieged, he sat by the fire working his problems over in his mind, and was approached by the Orlesian bard.

"Worrying over the battle tomorrow?" She asked, sitting near him, by the fire.

"No, he said, turning to her, a sad smile across his rugged face, the scars of battle shining clearly. "Nothing that simple, I am still trying to figure how I upset Morrigan so." She looked faintly surprised at these words, as she knew they were genuine, herself having formed a close relationship with the Warden during their travels.

"The eve of the biggest battle of our time, and you aren't working out your strategy?" She quired.

"Nope," he replied casually, "already got that figured out. This," he picked up his wicked hooked left hand sword, "is going into the Arch Demon's right eye, and this, "he lifted the dragon bone right hand sword, "is going through his lower jaw, and out his crown."

That segment of the story is one of the best looks into the personality of the Warden, retaining levity and concern for others on the eve of almost certain annihilation. It also show just how tremendous the will of the Warden was, for that night he discovered what it was that had upset his female. He had shown her love, and it had frightened her. She denied him of the physical relationship, think that it would serve to spurn his affections. With the battle looming, she joined him for one night as his lover, and not his consort. They arrived in Denerim while the city burned, and lead by the Warden, rallied the surviving defenders and carved a bloody swath through the horde to the roof of Fort Drakon and the Arch Demon. The Warden slew it, and the remaining Darkspawn fled into the waiting dwarves back down in the Deep Roads.

Long story short, Alistair was crowned king, the Warden was named Commander of the Grey. Morrigan disappeared, the Bard went to Orlais, the Dwarf joined the army, the Qunari returned to Par Vollen, and the Elf assassin went his own way.

From there, the Warden went to the Arling of Amaranthine to rebuild the Ferelden Order of Grey Wardens. What he found when arrived was army of Darkspawn led by a speaking one. In fact, the whole area was plagued with intelligent Darkspawn. It is unknown exactly what happened, as the Arling was soon under full assault and much was destroyed. The Warden himself defended the city of Amaranthine, while his other Wardens held the Vigil's Keep. Now here is where the legend starts to get weird Daisy, because the most prevalent tales say that there were actually two warring tribes of Darkspawn. It is said that one group was just trying to protect their race, and wanted to end the slaughter caused by the blight as much as the humans. it is also said that the Warden assisted this Darkspawn, and allowed him to take his troops back under ground after slaughtering his competition. It is even stated that he befriended Nathaniel Howe, the son of the murderer of his family, and helped him regain the honor of his family.

After securing the situation and rebuilding the city, the Warden disappeared, and no one has seen or heard from him since. The most plausible possibility, in my opinion, is that he went searching for his missing love, and something happened along the way, but I may just like storys that have that kind of beautiful tragedy to them.

(*)

The story itself was a lot longer than I wrote down, but it was already late into the night, when Varric finished, and I fell asleep before I could record it while it was fresh.

This does help add a little understanding to the images in my dreams, although it adds new questions.

Why am I dreaming of real people, even before I knew who they were? Who is the child, and why does it morph into a Dragon? Why do I see them only in the Eluvian inside of the dream?

I just need to apply myself, and fix the damn thing, and see where it goes from there!

End part 9