Night had already fallen in full when Dinah finally woke up, Cadfael, Atarah and Reginald were leaning over her looking down at her eyes full of concern. Their eyes were glowing, there was a ring of glowing silver in their iris's. Atarah let out a sigh of relief as Cadfael dragged Dinah up into a hug lifting her up to her feet in the process. There were thick grey clouds overhead, heavy rain was going to fall any moment now it seemed fitting to Dinah, she figured King Cailan would appreciate the weather based drama but it was a bad omen. Looking around she felt a sense of relief on seeing everyone had survived the Joining, though Mahalath wasn't doing as well as she was pacing back and forth non-stop and was clearly shaking.
"Too many, so many, they're everywhere, everywhere, I can hear them, they're so loud too loud" she was muttering in a chant sounding close to hysteria, her eyes were glowing too but much brighter than Cadfael and Atarah but hers looked torn and tattered around the edges. It must have been a side effect from having so much of the taint within her body already, to have had to consume more to cure her of the death portion of the taint. Without a second thought Dinah went over to the archer and slapped her across the face, the shock forced her to take a shaky breath snapping her out of the mantra. Slowly Mahalath raised her arm pointing out into the forest, through the darkness there was a glow of bright orange with smoke rising into the air. Dinah struggled to swallow down a gulp of air as she realised what they were facing, there were more darkspawn than she could even fathom to count. She was scared.
"I hope we win" she said quietly
"Not dying today" Sigurd said firmly
"Your resolve won't assure an overall victory" Rhiannon pointed out, her mabari was sitting at her feet looking calm.
"Wow full house, we don't usually have this high a success rate for the Joining" Alistair said as he walked up to the group "I mean, I'm glad to see you're all awake" he reiterated realising how bad what he had said came across. "Duncan wants us to attend the strategy meeting before the battle starts"
As she walked past Brynja gave Dinah's arm a reassuring squeeze, Sigurd too did the same but paused an extra moment longer to give her a smile. The man just had the aura of a big brother, it reminded her of Cadfael though Cadfael was more serious than Sigurd was proving to be. Atarah slowly came up, lightly placing a hand on Mahalath's elbow urging her to move forward, she was starting to revert to her stoic emotionless expression but Dinah had the feeling it would take her some time to adjust to their new life state. Her hand went to the pendant around her neck, her "you passed the Harrowing" gift from Cullen. She'd sent him a letter shortly after they arrived telling him about tonight's battle, she promised she'd write once everything was finished up but.
"Rotten. You'll be fine. Don't start doubting yourself right before your first battle as a hero" Cadfael told her noticing her hesitation.
"I'm scared"
"I know, so am I. And that's okay, but we shouldn't keep the others waiting" he said calmly offering her his arm which she took a hold of. Reginald had wandered up climbing up Dinah's leg until he was perched on her shoulder. Together they wandered down the stairs into the remnants of a great hall, now house to a large war table complete with detailed map of Ostagar. There were little flag pins with skulls on some that were positioned over the forest part of the map, gold and grey flags were positioned near the ruins where the flat ground converged. The last set of flags were positioned on a higher area of the landscape. The King and Loghain were arguing.
"You are the King, it is foolish to be playing the war hero fighting on the front lines with the wardens" Loghain argued, Cadfael explained that in chess the king piece was the most limited and weakest and shouldn't be used on the board, it needed to be protected by the other piece's cause if it was caught the game was lost.
"If you are so sure it's a bad decision perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces to arrive?" Cailan said with a smug look, from where she was Dinah could see Mahalath give the King a disgusted look.
"It's a fools notion, we don't need Orlais to defend us"
"Our feuds with Orlais are in the past. And I remind you Loghain you are speaking to your King" he said starting to sound more annoyed, if memory served it was when Maric was still alive that they succeeded in ridding Fereldan of the Orlesian's so it would still be raw for Loghain. She knew she wouldn't be happy about calling on the aid of someone she had only recently considered an enemy.
"Lucky Maric did not live long enough to see you inviting back those who enslaved us for a century"
"I guess our current forces will have to suffice, won't they?" he asked rhetorically, when no one said anything else he and Loghain turned to the war table. "Are your forces ready Duncan?"
"They are, your majesty"
"Very good, and I see all the recruits made it. You should be honoured" he said earnestly, Dinah didn't feel very honoured right now though that might have been because the rain had started trickling down.
"We must focus on the matters at hand, not your fascinations with legends" Loghain said sounding tired, Dinah was starting to get the impression Loghain didn't really like Cailan.
"Fine, speak the strategy. My forces and the wardens will draw the bulk of the horde to us and then…"
"You'll light the beacon signalling my men to charge from our cover and flank the horde"
"The tower of Ishal, who shall we send?"
"My lord if I may, I suggest sending Alistair, Rhiannon, Dinah and Atarah be sent to light the tower while the rest of the new recruits join us on the battlefield" Duncan suggested, a lump formed in Dinah's throat and she tucked herself into Cadfael's side not wanting him to be sent into the thick of things while she was too far away to help. A man dressed in circle robes came up to the war table.
"Your majesty the beacon is not necessary, the Circle of Magi could…" he started to say when a Chantry sister angrily stormed up.
"We will not trust any lives to your spells, save them for the darkspawn!" she angrily snapped at him
"Hey!" Dinah blurted out "Just because our magic is more useful than praying"
"How dare you!" the sister yelled, Cadfael quickly moved so he was standing between the Chantry sister and Dinah. The woman just as quickly backed off when faced with the taller man.
"With that all decided we should make final preparations, thank you for all your help Loghain. I can't wait for that glorious moment. The King of Fereldan fighting alongside the Grey Wardens stopping the tide of evil" Cailan said smiling proudly
"A glorious moment indeed" Loghain said quietly, as the King and advisor parted ways. Duncan gestured for everyone to gather around him. Another Grey Warden came over, his armour made him look like he was a higher-ranking member of the order.
"Brynja, Sigurd, Mahalath and Cadfael I would like you to accompany this man. He will take you to where the rest of our men are positioned, I will join you shortly" instantly Dinah wrapped her arms tightly around Cadfael's torso, earning a perplexed look from Duncan. Cadfael wriggled in Dinah's grasp until she let go letting him kneel down eye level with her.
"This is not where the story ends, you know that. Don't fear for me, just make sure you stay safe" he told her reassuringly, the rain was starting to get heavier now.
"Promise if things go bad you'll get out?" Cadfael dragged her over in a tight hug.
"Lothering, it's less than half a day's walk from here. We passed it on the journey remember? if the battle turns we will meet there" he whispered in her ear before letting her go and standing up with the others. "Keep her safe" he said looking to Atarah who had a momentary look of surprise but nodded. The group chosen to join the forces gathered around the lieutenant, with a last look they followed him away.
"Now as for the rest of you, once the battle has begun in full you are to head to the top of the tower of Ishal to ensure the beacon is lit. This is by order of the King I must reinforce, if the beacon is not lit Loghain's men won't know when to attack" Duncan explained directing them towards the bridge leading to the tower.
They waited together on the bridge for the battle to start, looking down at the armies of indistinguishable faces. Alistair was voicing his annoyance at being put on beacon duty while the rest of the Grey Wardens were going to be in the main battle. It was a little silly sounding to be honest, they did have the biggest chance of surviving where they were, and the King was insistent. The rain was really starting to come down now and Dinah wished she had something to shield herself from it as her hands were starting to go blue from the chill. They had to wait until the battle had started in full before they could move to the tower, at which point it was just a simple race up the tower to light the beacon. Why they couldn't have gone up already and waited at the top of the tower for the battle instead of making it a race where the longer it takes to get to the top the more people who die.
She could just make out King Cailan in the crowds of soldiers, though that was only because he was the only man wearing shining golden armour befitting a King. It was likely Duncan was somewhere nearby him. On top of the hill Dinah could just see the light of a couple small torches showing where Loghain and his men were standing waiting for the signal.
There was a roar below, the darkspawn horde had emerged from the trees, there was no sign of a dragon though. Everyone started charging into battle and catapult ammunition was being set ablaze, they flew through the air crashing into what was left of the ruins and crunching as they hit people. Dinah hugged Reginald close to her chest as she started running for the tower. An arm wrapped around her waist and she was jerked back as a flaming boulder slammed into the side of the bridge sending rubble and embers flying past Dinah's face. It was Atarah who pulled her back, she gave her a scolding look as she took the lead. It was difficult to run without moving her arms but Dinah didn't want to risk dropping Reginald, instead she willed him to help shield her as a transparent bubble materialised around her as she ran past the panicking soldiers running the opposite direction. A couple of bloodied soldiers ran straight up to them forcing the group to skid to a stop, Dinah landing on her back as she had no traction at present. Without a thought, Alistair grabbed the collar of her dress and dragged her back to her feet.
"The towers been taken, darkspawn ambushed us from the lower levels. Nearly killed everyone in there" one of them panted out.
"Great, that's great" Rhiannon grumbled "Maybe I'd have been better off escaping by myself the getting involved with the Wardens"
"You realise I would have helped you escape, right?" Atarah asked
"I… did not"
"We really should get moving, the more time we waste the more people die" Alistair said as he drew his sword and shield. Dinah nodded and made a gesture with her hand, coating her companions with sparkling light. "Mage, right" he mumbled and they started running for the tower again.
The sound of battle was near deafening now, the screams of the darkspawn and soldiers were indistinguishable from each other. Dinah didn't want to think about what was going on down there, the logical part of her brain knew Cadfael would be fine even if the battle failed but it still wasn't something she wanted to think about it. Some of the ambushing darkspawn had leaked out of the tower into the surrounding area near the entrance. Dinah hung back while her weapon holding teammates charged forward, leaving her with Reginald and Digby who had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on her. A couple of the darkspawn pushed past her team, Dinah jumped on the ground focusing her magic into her feet. When she hit the ground, it forced all the moisture out and upwards into spears rising from the ground impaling them. The water dropped with a solid thud, that always entertained Dinah about water was how much like a solid it could act. At her side, Digby started barking as the rest of the team had moved, Dinah sprinted forward summoning fire in the palm of her hand but there ended up being no need for it. She caught up with the others as they were braced against the door, leaving Dinah awkwardly holding a fire ball. Insistently Rhiannon pushed Dinah back so she was standing at her back, her and Alistair were posed to charge in first. A count of three passed and they rammed the doors open, instantly Dinah was hit with the smell of rotten flesh and heat.
The room was set aflame, the air thick with smoke as most of the front room was burning not that the darkspawn seemed to mind. Alistair, Rhiannon and Digby charged in darting through the gaps in the fire to meet the darkspawn. Dinah held out her hands willing the fire to move, it started to pull together rising in a vortex with a snap of the wrist the flames went straight into Dinah. She felt her entire body burning but it left no mark and did no damage to her or her clothes she absorbed to magic back into her. The palms of her hands were glowing slightly orange, anymore fire magic would cause them to start blistering. Hopefully that was the only major fire in the building because there was a limit to how much energy Dinah could absorb without damaging herself, though she could sense many more darkspawn in the tower there was something big on the very top floor. She could feel the heartbeats of the creatures pounding in her ears. A body slammed into her knocking her to the ground, it was Alistair pushing her out the way of a giant arrow as a ballista malfunctioned. She touched his armour as he jumped back to his feet, it glowed faintly. Quickly she ran over to pick up the giant crossbow bolt, double backing to ran after the others. Darkspawn tried lunging for her but she sent a shockwave through the air knocking them backwards, she set out another wave into the surrounding statues sending them falling down crushing onto them with a sickening squelch. Shame though, the tower did have a lovely look, very atmospheric slightly reminded her of the tower. She went to run on when her legs gave out as she stepped on shattered glass, her feet were caked in blood. She glared at them slamming her heels into the ground, concrete came out of the earth and coated her feet with a layer of rock armour. Jumping back up through an open-door Rhiannon was stabbing into a grounded Hurlock, Digby was tearing into another. She couldn't see Atarah but she could hear her nearby.
She pushed passed Rhiannon trusting in the woman's skills to take on a few darkspawn, Alistair and Atarah were in the room where the stairs to the second floor were. There was a giant hole in the floor, the stench of death wafting from it. That would explain how the darkspawn had gotten ahead of the rest of the horde, as some were still crawling out of the hole. While Alistair and Atarah kicked the scrambling darkspawn trying to claw their way out of the hole, Dinah ran up the stairs to the large heavy door pressing her hands into the hinges. It started to creak loudly as they slowly rusted over, all of a sudden it burst open sending both it and Dinah flying down the stairs. Her head slammed into the bottom step, through her now blurry vision she could see the door had landed in the hole blocking it off. Atarah knelt beside her helping her sit back up, she held her chin inspecting the bleeding gash on her forehead. At their side, Reginald ran up holding up some bandages which Dinah grabbed and tied it around her head, there was a shriek from the door as the darkspawn on the second floor were running towards the noise. Dinah tried to stand but found her balance completely gone, instead everyone except Digby and Reginald ran up the stairs. The metal door started thumping loudly, more darkspawn were trying to get through and it wouldn't take long for them to burst through. Ignoring the pain in her skull and feet Dinah sprinted off up the stairs trying to catch up with the others.
Ahead of her she could see Atarah on the ground just holding one of the things off her, Dinah touched Digby's scruff covering him with ice spikes and sent him running into the darkspawn coating them in ice with each scratch and bite. She sent out a telekinetic burst in the direction of darkspawn charging for Rhiannon, sending them out the already shattered window at the far side of the room. Their screams blending with the sound coming from the battlefield, and for a split-second Dinah could swear they almost sounded human and Dinah felt a pain in her heart at the sound. She ran to the window, in time to see the splattered bodies of the darkspawn, the rain was still pounding and the wind howled with the cries of battle.
"DINAH!" Rhiannon yelled snapping her out of her daze, she ran up to the warrior woman with the blood covered face. She reached over and squeezed Dinah's arm reassuringly, she was about to turn and continue through the tower but Dinah reached out and stopped her.
"There's something big just upstairs" she explained
"That's where the beacon is, come on" Rhiannon said sounding annoyed as she ran off
"Be careful is all I'm saying" Dinah shouted after her. She caught up to the group just as they were bolting up the last set of stairs, and she was suddenly grateful to Cadfael for insisting they exercise by running up and down the stairs of their tower, their faces were puffy and red. They barged through the door.
It was a large circular room, the fireplace for the beacon was at the opposite end of the room and the only thing between them was a giant ogre. Dinah briefly wondered how it had managed to fit through the doors and hallways of the tower but stopped when it launched a hunk of floor at her head. She just managed to drop to the floor in time for it to fly straight over her, Rhiannon and Alistair exchanged a look before running off one to either side of the room flanking the ogre. There was a whistle in the air, it took a second for Dinah to realise it was the sound of a boulder quickly approaching the tower. She ran forward to where it was coming from, grabbing Atarah's arm dragging her away just as the wall and roof crashed apart. She willed extra energy to surround her arm as she spun around, launching the woman into the air. Atarah gave out a yelp of surprise as she flew through the air before she aimed her blades and she stabbed them into the ogres back. The elven bride pressed her feet into its back pushing off into a backflip as she pulled the blades back out. Rhiannon and Alistair were hacking at the ogre's legs, ducking and dodging as it swung its hulking arms at their heads. There was a yelp as the ogre hit Digby, knocking him into a wall. Dinah ran over to the door they entered from where Reginald was standing, he jumped into Dinah's arms. She'd never tried this spell before because of space, Dinah closed her eyes imagining her spiritual form along with Reginald's imagining it forming into a big lumbering form.
The spirit beast let out a roar getting the ogres attention, it charged bringing its fists down at its head. The spirit caught it, holding the ogre's hands fast, Dinah felt her nose bleeding but pushed on focusing on pushing the ogre backwards towards the opening in the wall. The others quickly clicked what Dinah was doing as they started slashing at its feet, stopping it from getting a rooted foothold as it roared in frustration. With a final push, the ogre lost its footing completely and it let out a final roar as it plummeted to its death. The spirit beast dissipated and Dinah snapped back into her body, she fell to her back shaking uncontrollably.
Her skin was on fire, she could barely hear anything above the ringing in her ears. She could smell blood and feel it running down her face from her nose, ears and eyes. Her heart was pounding too fast her breathing couldn't keep up, through the black blurry lines of her vision she could just see Alistair running to light the beacon, even that light burned her brain and she squeezed her eyes shut. Minutes passed and the sound of reinforcements didn't come, there was no battle horn or rallying cry. Just despair and nothing. There was still the sound of fighting but even that was fading as they were losing, Dinah turned her thoughts to her friends willing them to still be alive and willing them to just run, they weren't going to win this they were never going to. She was harshly pulled to her feet, still clinging onto Reginald, by Atarah. The older woman was holding her up with one arm, holding the other out in front of them pointing the blade at darkspawn that were slowly filtering into the room. Thankfully Digby had woken up but the mabari was limping heavily at his masters side, there was another whistle heading for them.
A giant rock slammed into the floor in front of them, the force knocking everyone to the ground in a daze plugging a hole in the middle of the room. There was the sound of large wings flapping and the last thing Dinah saw before her vision went completely black was a winged beast descending on them.
They'd woken up in a small cottage owned by Flemeth and Morrigan, it was nice seeing them again. They helped them patch up and healed the injuries they'd sustained at Ostagar, the skin at the base of Dinah's feet had healed up though it was now rough to the touch but she didn't mind. Walking didn't hurt now. When Morrigan gave her the go ahead she'd gone outside and had taken to sitting beside the small lake that was beside the house. The water wasn't as clean as Lake Calenhad but there were frogs in the water. Alistair and Rhiannon were talking with Flemeth, they'd deliberately taken the conversation away from Dinah so she didn't try to approach, she was happy enough sitting by the water with Reginald and Digby who was still walking with a slight limp but looked a lot better than he was. She was absentmindedly petting the dogs head when Atarah came up and sat beside her, she looked tired.
"So apparently Flemeth turned into a dragon and plucked us off the tower"
"Ohhhh" that piqued Dinah's interest "I heard the Witch of the Wilds had great powers"
"You don't seem at all bothered by what's going on, the battle was lost, everyone died" Atarah said in disbelief
"No, not everyone. Our friends escaped"
"How could you possibly know that?"
"If they died, I'd feel it. I'd know it, in here" Dinah said placing a hand on her chest, feeling the calm, steady heartbeat beneath her palm "our story hasn't ended yet, we'll find them in Lothering and go from there. You'll see your father again, you'll see your friend smiling again as fiery as her hair"
"How did? I never told you about…?"
"You tell many stories, even without words" Dinah said with a smile, standing up and walking over to Rhiannon and Alistair. Without saying anything Dinah went and gave the man a hug, it felt strange hugging someone wearing armour but he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder and didn't push her away until she stepped back. The man let out a cough, unsure what to say but she could tell he appreciated the gesture, she like probably the rest of the recruits didn't feel much for Duncan beyond a begrudging appreciation for him saving their lives and the general wistful sadness you feel when anyone dies. But Alistair had known him for a lot longer, the pain would be much deeper for him though he was doing well not to let it show on his face though, even if his eyes couldn't lie.
"I'm sorry for your loss"
"I don't understand, why would Loghain do this? Just leave his King to die?" Alistair said angrily
"We cannot know the shadows that linger in other men's hearts, perhaps he thought Cailan a greater danger than the Blight, or he fails to realise the true danger world is in. Though I doubt this is the last time you will hear of him, maybe you can ask" Flemeth told them
"True danger? Archdemon?" Dinah asked "Old Gods awakened and tainted by darkspawn, right? So, this is a real Blight"
"This one is proving more enlightened than her appearance would suggest" she sounded amused
"As are you. Can we go now? I want to find Cadfael, can we go to Lothering?" Dinah asked Rhiannon suddenly feeling very vulnerable in front of this woman. Sensing her discomfort the woman put an arm over Dinah's shoulders, putting herself between her and the old woman.
"Before you go, I have a gift for you" at that moment Morrigan walked up to them smelling of rabbit soup. "Or perhaps consider it repayment for me saving you"
"You want us to take your daughter?"
"What?" Morrigan asked in shock
"You've been itching to leave the Wilds for ages my dear, now's your chance"
"With all due respect, is that wise? If your daughter travels with us she'll be labelled an apostate, the guard, Templars if they find out would be duty bound to take her in"
"Stop speaking as though I have no say in this. I am capable of defending myself from those people" Morrigan said indignantly.
"You see her spirit? These Warden's need to create an army and face an archdemon, they will surely fail without you"
"Your level of faith in our abilities is astounding, alright show of hands who's in favour of Morrigan coming with us?" Atarah asked, raising her hand, followed by Dinah, Rhiannon, Reginald and Digby who waved his paw at the witch. They stared at Alistair he pouted a little before reluctantly making an okay fine gesture with his head.
They waited awhile while Morrigan gathered some of her belongings and bid her mother farewell, the two didn't seem to have the closest relationship but she did still seem sad to be leaving her childhood home. The black-haired mage guided them easily from the Wilds onto the main road leading to Lothering, a mabari was waiting for them. It was the same one that Atarah and Dinah had tended to, and it was clear she'd taken a shine to Atarah. Digby seemed to like her as well, Alistair looked ecstatic at the prospect of a second dog while Morrigan looked disgusted and urged them to just leave her. They rightfully ignored her as the mabari was dubbed Adaia pattered along beside them happily as they continued along the road to Lothering.