The new wardens were at the back allowing the senior wardens to take the front lines with the ash warriors and their hounds. Deadrick was in front of them, why he'd been placed back with them versus at the front they didn't know and were too preoccupied to ask. Lyonel looked at Kallian. She held her swords so tightly her knuckles were practically white,

"Relax, you won't be able to get any good hits in if you're all rigid like that." He offered.

"How would you know?" Kallian asked, not harshly.

"Believe it or not before I developed my magic my parents trained me to be a warrior, they sure didn't get what they bargained for." He said with a slight smile.

"I'm sure they didn't." Kallian said.

"You surfacers ready to kick some darkspawn ass?" Natalia asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Lyonel said.

"Hey! Don't forget you've got that cutie waiting for you once all this is over." Natalia gave Lyonel a theatrical wink.

"Believe me I know." Lyonel said with a calm smile.

"Remember kids, we don't need any heroics, if the archdemon shows up leave it to the senior wardens." Deadrick said over his shoulder.

"Yes sir." Kallian said, "Also uh, Deadrick?"

"Hmm?" He responded.

"Uh." She bit her lip, concern written across her face like splattered blood, "Stay safe."

The old warden smiled, "No need to worry about me, I've been at this about as long as you've been alive."

"Yeah but, well try not to die. Please." She said, trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

"I'll try my best kid." He said, tapping her shoulder encouragingly before once again turning his back on the new wardens behind him.

There was a tense silence as the new wardens looked among each other. Lyonel made sure to take note that Kallian was on his left and Mirah on his right, as long as he stayed near them they could all keep each other safe or at least safer. Mirah held her shield in front of her, her sword parallel to the ground. Lyonel held his staff in one hand, a healing spell on the tip of his tongue.

The lines of wardens in front of them were charging into battle. Lyonel's hands gripped his staff tightly. The darkspawn were breaking through the lines like they were nothing. Lyonel saw a warden in the distance getting overwhelmed. Lyonel mumbled a spell under his breath and sighed with relief as the healing glyph appeared at the stranger's feet. A genlock came running at Lyonel, he smacked it in the face with his staff, no point in wasting spells when he could use his staff in more common ways. He saw Natalia charging into the more heated parts of the battlefield out of the corner of his eye. While he had the moment he cast a healing aura around her. Fighting was never his strongpoint but he would put his healing skills to use while he could. The battle was rough but for the moment seemed survivable, especially once Loghain's troops joined the fray.

Kallian let out a terrifying scream unlike anything Lyonel had heard in his life. He looked at her to make sure she wasn't being torn apart. She was unmoving, that's when Lyonel saw Deadrick's headless corpse in front of her. Lyonel realized the blood all over Kallian was probably not darkspawn's. He shot a freezing spell over her shoulder. The Hurlock that was about to behead Kallian with a hatchet was now frozen in place.

"There'll be time to grieve later! Stay alive Kal!" He yelled to her over the frenzy of the battle.

She snapped back to reality and eviscerated the Hurlock Lyonel had frozen. Kallian's scream of terror had shifted to a horrifying battle cry for vengeance. Lyonel was unsure if he was terrified or impressed when Kallian ripped a darkspawn's ear off with her teeth. He tore his eyes off of her as a shriek knocked him down. He felt it drooling on him as a surge of electricity ran through his arm. He pushed the corpse off his body and cast a mind wave out. He'd bought himself a few minutes but had also used quite a bit of mana in the process. He smacked a Hurlock with his staff. The stunned beast fell down. Lyonel focused as he lit it on fire, primal magic had never been his strongpoint. His stun spell was beginning to wear off and he knew within moments he'd be surrounded by very angry darkspawn.

He shot an ice bolt at one of the darkspawn, he began backing away from it but the others were drawing closer. He yelled as he began shooting spells left and right, panic rising within him. He wanted to call for someone's help but didn't know who, he hadn't seen Natalia since the beginning of the battle and Mirah was probably as likely to stab him as any darkspawn. He was alone, he grimaced as he raised his staff above his head, eyes faltering on the staff's blade before he brought it down on his leg. He let out a pained noise before drawing energy from his own blood. He would survive this battle, one way or another. An aura of red spread from his hands. He stole the life right out of one of the hurlocks. He felt the dark power course through his veins, it was intoxicating and yet still stung like acid. Blood magic was unlike the other schools, it demanded awareness every time it was used, you had to fully commit yourself to it or you would fall, and Lyonel didn't plan on falling.

Lyonel saw soldiers falling all around him, somehow in all the chaos he'd lost sight of the others. He knew this battle would be no victory. He grimaced as he took out his dagger, he slit his palm open and summoned a demon, a fiery spirit of pride clawed its way out of the earth,

"Kill the spawn." He commanded it. The twisted fade creature began knocking darkspawn to the ground, it wouldn't change the tide of the battle but it might buy some soldiers enough time to flee. He switched his dagger to his other hand and was preparing to summon another demon when he felt a longsword rip through his chest. He looked down at the blade, there was blood everywhere. The blade was pulled out as his assailant kicked him to the ground. He fell face first into the dirt, fully expecting to die like that, but apparently whoever had stabbed him had different plans. Mirah was standing over him her teeth bared and a mixture of blood and dirt on her face,

"They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones. They shall find no rest in this world or beyond." She spat as she got up and left him to die. His head lolled to the side, he saw darkspawn getting further and further into their lines. He looked up to the tower, he prayed that Alinn and the others got to the signal in time. Lyonel's eyes traveled all the way to the top where he saw the signal fire blazing away. Lyonel smiled as he felt his life drawing out of him. His final thoughts,

"Suledin ma Halla."