AN: So, er... Hello all... Kind of fell of the face of the Earth for a while there, huh? I apologize immensely for that and as a token of my apology... How about a new chapter?

As always Bioware owns, I just play an add twists.

Enjoy!

Liam and Arianna walked side by side at the head of the group as they descended down the hill that was the entrance to Ostagar. In hindsight they probably should've been in the back and Daveth the front since they came from the Circle, and he having been born in these very Wilds. Well, a little ways away in a small little village but still. The sun was descending on the Horizon so they would more than likely have to spend the night in these Wilds, which terrified them to their souls. Not that they would mention it to anybody. They figured they'd be okay though if they set up a watch, two people per rotation 'til the last. They had agreed on this prior to entering the Wilds.

Once they reached the bottom of the hill, the rancid stench of Darkspawn and death filled their noses and Arianna held back a gag. They were also promptly greeted by a pack of wolves. Pushing her terror to the back of her mind, Arianna blasted fire from her fingers at the wolves with one hand, while the other was reaching for her staff. Liam had done the same, and backed away to let the others pull ahead and hack away at the wolves. Standing by Daveth, who was working his bow to use the wolves as pin cushions, she sent an Arcane Bolt into one wolf, knocking it back and killing it with the force when it crashed into the tree behind it. Looking around, she saw two wolves by Ser Jory as he bent and twisted with his blade, decapitating both of them in one solid motion. Seeing this Arianna realized why Duncan decided he was a good candidate for the Wardens. Alistair was a few steps away from the other knight and was bashing his shield against it to daze the beast and the slicing down with his sword, causing the wolf's blood to gush out on the forest floor.

With Alistair having dealt with the last one, everyone began to sheath their was when all of a sudden, Arianna was knocked down by another wolf and the rest of its pack ambushed their group. Arianna heard Liam yell out in shock and anger as the wolves separated her from him. Thinking fast, Arianna clamped the wolf's jaws down with one hand and sent a Fireball into its chest with the other. Jumping up as fast as she could, she quickly sent a heal over her just in case of wounds, and sent a Cone of Cold out over the wolves around her group. When the beasts froze solid, Alistair and Ser Jory smashed the hilt of their swords into the bodies, causing them to shatter. Once they were sure that no more wolves were coming, they all put their weapons away and Arianna saw Liam hurry over to her, healing spell at the ready in his hands. Alistair and the others hurrying behind.

"Are you okay, Ari? Are you hurt anywhere, anywhere at all? A scratch even?" He fussed and without letting her answer, he focused his healing spell on her. She pushed his hands away gently and said with a chuckle. "I'm fine Liam. No need to worry. There are worse things out there than a little wolf. They'll have to try harder than that to keep me down." She rolled her eyes when he still looked at her with worry. "Relax, Liam. I'm not some flower with petals that will tear at the slightest pressure." That's when she suddenly remembered with a snap of her fingers. "Oh! That Wilds Flower that the Kennel Master was asking about. Remember to keep a lookout, brother." She said dismissively and looked at the wolves whose pelts weren't damaged too much. "We could probably take these pelts and use them for something." She suggested. "Or we could also sell them." Liam added with a slight mumble and Arianna nodded when Alistair and Daveth began skinning the animals. Shuddering a bit at the sight when they were done, she and Liam took the lead again, only to have her stopped by Daveth. "If I may, my lady, could I suggest that you take up the middle with our Junior Warden? It seems that it would be better for your health, and I know the Wilds a bit." Arianna hesitated, but she nodded. It made sense, she just wanted the comfort of being close to her brother in such a different environment. She pulled back a few steps so she was walking by Alistair and Daveth was in step with Liam.

A few moments passed with them walking in silence until Alistair whispered a warning for them to be careful. They looked all looked at him curiously and when he mouthed "Darkspawn" that stopped any further noise. Arianna was not keen on facing more Darkspawn so soon, but she knew that this was going to be part of their test. Daveth hid in the shadows that the trees were making, while Arianna and her brother took Ser Jory's spot at the back when he joined Alistair at the front. All of this was done in relative silence, and they all crept forward as silently as they could. Looking past Alistair and Ser Jory she could see Darkspawn crowding in on a still figure on the forest floor. Remembering what Duncan said to them after their first encounter, she shuddered at the thought of what they do to survivors and even the dead. With a start, she realized the figure had moved. Alistair gave the signal then, and she lit their weapons with fire, as Liam sent out a Fireball, mindful of the heap on the floor, just in case, and Daveth sent a fire arrow at one Darkspawn that flew back as it was pinned. Alistair and Jory charged out with a battle cry. Having the Darkspawns' full attention, she sent out a Flame blast, setting two Darkspawn on fire and causing them to run about crazily, as if it would put the fire out. Daveth put them out of their misery by firing two quick shots into both of the genlocks' heads with pinpoint accuracy. Jory was attacking a tall Darkspawn, and she couldn't quite remember what they were called. Alistair was taking on two genlocks, using his shield to block blows from one, while matching blow for blow with his sword on the other. Arianna sent a frost spell at the one trying to get through his shield, and he smashed into it without a moments hesitation. Looking around, she made her way through so she could defend the shaking heep from further harm. Once she got to the injured person, she set up a barrier to block any stray blows or arrows. More Darkspawn came from the shadows and surrounded her. Making sure that the barrier was up, she sent a mind blast at the Darkspawn to get some room. She sent an Ice Shard at two of them, killing them both as it speared through their chests. Turning to the three others that were just recovering from her mind blast, she sent a Fireball their way. Turning to check that no more Darkspawn were coming from the forest, she looked to her fellow recruits to help out further with the other group, only to find that all the Darkspawn were dead, and everyone was gaping at her. She stared back, "What? Why do you lot look like you just saw a dragon?"

Liam took down the last Darkspawn with a Stone Fist to the gut and turned to where he last saw Arianna dash off to, only to find her surrounded by Darkspawn and a barrier up behind her. He channeled a spell into his staff, only to stop once he saw her glow the same light blue as before when dealing with the Quartermaster. Only this time she wasn't showing the abnormal strength but extreme dexterity. Quickly using Mind blast, she had twisted with a certain speed that only people like Daveth should posses, and shot an Ice Shard piercing through both of them through their chest. Without looking, she then shot a Fireball behind her, landing square on the three remaining Darkspawn and finishing them off. Liam watched as Arianna looked around and the glow diminished as she slowly realized the danger was passing. Her gaze stopped on them and Liam realized with a start that they were all staring when she pointed it out. "Seriously guys, you're acting like I'm going to turn you all into toads. Come on, this man needs our help." She said in dismissal before they could respond and took the barrier down and bent to his level. He stirred when she gently shook his shoulder. "Who... is that? Grey... Wardens?" He spoke in a weak grating voice.

"Well, he's not half as dead as he looks is he?" Alistair mused. The man groaned. "My scouting band was attacked by Darkspawn. They … came out of the ground and the trees!" he was stopped by a bout of coughing before he continued. "Please... help me. I've got to... return to camp."Liam waited as Arianna thought for a moment then she answered "Let's try to bandage him up. We don't have enough lyrium potions to heal him ourselves." She looked around and Alistair kneeled beside her taking off his pack. "I have some bandages that could help him." With that he and Arianna set about bandaging up whatever was bleeding and helped the man up. "Thank you!" He praised and groaned with the effort of standing. "I... I've got to... get out of here." He said with a nod at Arianna and limped off in the direction they had just left from. They started forward again and Jer Jory suddenly stopped them, his emotions bursting at the seams. "Did you hear that? An entire battalion of seasoned men killed by the Darkspawn!" He whimpered pathetically and Liam wondered how he had even learned to wield a sword. Alistair sighed and tried to calm the man. "Calm yourself, Ser Jory. We'll be fine if we're careful." Jory wasn't having any of it. "Those soldiers were careful! They were still overwhelmed by the beasts! How many Darkspawn can the five of us slay? A dozen? Two dozen? There's an entire army in these forests!" Liam had to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes and slapping sense into the man.

Alistair seemed to be losing his patience with the man but still held through. "There are Darkspawn about, but we are in no danger of walking straight into the bulk of the horde." Ser Jory scoffed at this and countered, "How do you know? I'm no coward," Could've fooled me Liam thought slightly amused. "But this is foolish and reckless. We should go back." He ended with a nod and a step back towards Ostagar, only to be stopped when Arianna stepped in front of him. "Overcoming these dangers is part of our test, Ser Jory. You must see that." She rationalized. This seemed to get through to Jory, and he reluctantly agreed. "That's... true..." Alistair stepped up beside Arianna and gave her a look that made Liam grumble. "Know this; All Grey Wardens can sense Darkspawn. Whatever their cunning, I guarantee they won't take us by surprise. That's why I'm here." Daveth smirked and stepped in. "You see Ser Knight? We might die, but at least we'll be warned about it first." Liam inwardly groaned. Leave it to him to say the wrong thing. Luckily Jory didn't seem too affected by it. "That is... reassuring?" Liam jumped in to lighten the mood and shut the cowardly knight up. "Well, if Arianna keeps doing that glowy thing, I don't think we'll have a big problem." Alistair shook his head with a smile and dismissed. "Seriously though, this doesn't mean I'm here to make this easy, however. So let's get a move on. We'll also need to find a place to camp for the night as well. No way we'll find that archive before nightfall." Daveth and Liam both took the lead again and they all fell in as before. Walking for about half an hour, they came across the Wilds Flower and a piece of paper that was shredded at the edges that Daveth had found.

"So, this guy was supposed to meet up with his son here, of all places?" Arianna asked incredulously and Daveth nodded his head. "They were Chasind folk, you see. Most of them live here anyway. So I was thinking, that we follow the signs to see if this guy's son is by the meeting spot, and if not we could help ourselves to some of the supplies? If he hasn't already, that is." Liam wasn't too keen on stealing this stuff, they had what they needed already, and he knew that Arianna felt the same. No surprise that it'd be Daveth to suggest such a thing. "Well... We'll just have to wait and see. I mean, what if his son hasn't arrived yet anyway? I'd feel terrible if we just took it when he probably needs it more than we do." Arianna had offered and Daveth sighed. "Alright, I get your point. Just a bad habit to break is all." Arianna patted his back with a glint in her eye that only Liam knew to be mock sympathy. Liam also saw an appreciative look in Daveth's eye that he didn't like at all. "We best be off now though, still much to do. Nobody even bothered filling their vials after the first group of Darkspawn." Arianna pointed out. They all took their places again and traveled on in silence once again for an hour. There was still light in the sky so they would still be traveling for a time, but it will become dangerous soon.

Alistair was getting irritated with the constant boiling of his blood. It wasn't so intense as when they were close to them, but it was still there as a reminder that they were in the beasts' nest. Not only that but Ser Jory's constant whimpering behind him was grating on his patience as well. It was clear to Alistair what Duncan saw in Ser Jory, and that was his fighting skills, but at the same time Alistair found it hard to see why he would recruit him as well. It was obvious that he didn't have the courage to be a sensible Grey Warden. Then there's Daveth. To be honest, Alistair wasn't sure at all why Duncan recruited him. The last few chests that they found to be locked proved to be too difficult for the so called pickpocket. He also seemed to be a little too interested in ladies. Well, in Arianna at least. He had decent fighting skills, though Alistair didn't exactly how to rate a rogue's fighting skills. Thinking back though, Daveth did have more bravery than Ser Jory, so that could be why Duncan thought him to be good.

The siblings, however... They were good, and there was no doubt in Alistair's mind as to why or how they piqued Duncan's interest. Not just Arianna but Liam too. They both had excellent fighting techniques, while Arianna did glow a cool blue colour, and they both seemed very brave considering they haven't seen most of this stuff aside from the many books Alistair remembered to be in the Circle. Either that, or they were really good at not showing it. Liam's comedic timing seems it will be great for tough situations, and Arianna's firm kindness seemed to be more of a motherly sort, and it was strange for someone so young. She also seemed to have a comedic side too, but was more closed in. They were really intelligent too, and that probably came from all those books. Even though his older brother protectiveness has shown that it will be difficult to talk to Arianna in the future, it is sure save her from harm. He also shows great leading skills and that will prove to be very handy. They are both quite mature for their age, and that was more than likely because of their mage background. Not to mention, Arianna was very pretty.

Alistair blushed when that thought popped in his mind and he prayed to the Maker that neither of them were mind readers. He looked toward Arianna, but she didn't show any sign of acknowledgment to his thoughts. Looking to see if her brother had any change in his demeanor, Alistair felt silly for thinking they could read his thoughts.

Suddenly, his blood was roaring and he hissed a warning to the others. A bit further ahead they could hear wolves howling now as well. Great. He thought. Not only are there wolves, but also Darkspawn... This'll be fun. He grumbled sarcastically.

Arianna nudged him and whispered quietly, "Darkspawn too, right?" he nodded grimly. From the feel of it, there were a lot too. Arianna swore under her breath and she slid to where Daveth and Liam were crouching to whisper in their ears. Daveth nodded and separated from the group and stealthily climbed up a nearby tree. She then nodded to Liam and they crawled in opposite directions, and Alistair knew what they were doing. Alistair looked up to where Daveth was and he gave Alistair a thumbs up. Signaling to Ser Jory to follow his lead, Alistair crept forward to flank the occupied enemies from the back. He heard something whizzing by overhead and realized Daveth was taking them out from far away and above. The two knights having walked close enough to the fight between monster and wolves, they saw the arrow hit one of the darkspawn in his eye, killing him instantly. Then they saw Fire and Icy Winds come from either side, engulfing the creatures. Alistair and Ser Jory took that chance and charged forward, hacking away at the enemies. Both Darkspawn and wolf were surprised and confused as to who they should fight. Using that to their advantage, Alistair bashed his shield into the four surrounding him knocking them down. While they were struggling to get up Alistair slashed and stabbed at them and Ser Jory decapitating the others around him. Having dealt with the first four, Alistair moved on to the two wolves that were rolling on the ground to put out the fire on their fur. Assaulting one with his shield, he sliced the other one across the gut and slashed down on the dazed wolf.

Throwing himself into the fight, slashing and bashing the enemies to the ground. The fight didn't last long, and soon Daveth was running up them to join the group again. "Hey," Alistair said with a nod to the rogue as he was filling his vial along with the others. "Nice aim there Daveth. That'll be useful in upcoming battles." He turned toward Arianna as she was getting up from filling her vial. "And you, wow. That was a nice tactic. You know, I think we work well together." She smiled and looked like she was about to comment when something behind him caught her eye and her face darkened. Alistair turned and found the source of her attention. She slowly approached the bloodied figure and knelt beside it. Looking to see that the others had filled their vials, he walked toward the lithe elf and stooped down to see what she was looking at. With some effort he was able to see a wrinkled note in her hands and waited till she was done. "Soo... What does it say?" He asked in a forced cheerful voice. When she answered it was in a quiet voice. "He's the son that was supposed to meet up with his dad... I guess in some roundabout way they did meet up. It's just... his mother is waiting for them. Ohhh Maker..." She sighed and gripped the paper tight. She was shaking slightly and Alistair felt slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't the best at comforting women, and he didn't even know what set her off. This all lasted in a matter of seconds, and then she seemed to be just fine. It happened so quickly that Alistair wondered if he just imagined it. Shaking his head as he got up and help her up as well, he asked. "So where is this woman? We should inform her as soon as possible." She shook her head as she answered. "We can't tell her yet. She lives in Redcliffe so we'd have to ask Duncan about how to deliver it once the battles calm down. If they calm down that is. But there is a strong box hidden in a camp close by that was asked to be delivered to her as soon as possible. We passed it by not too long ago." She looked up at the sky and frowned. "We might not make it there before dark, but it's a good place for a camp. What do you guys think?" She turned to the others when Alistair shrugged. It didn't matter to him where they stayed really. Just that they would be able to make it through the night. The others agreed and they set off in the direction they came from. Within the next hour they were back at the place Arianna mentioned and halfway there Liam had to use his magic to light the way. Once there though...

"Darkspawn.." Alistair hissed quietly to his comrades with a bit of exhaustion. Liam dimmed his magical light and Alistair crept forward to lead the group carefully forward. Luckily there wasn't that many Darkspawn in this group so they were able to dispatch them quickly with a small Cone of Cold and quick bashes with a shield and sword hilts.

Arianna crossed the camp to the fire pit and dug down until she came back up with a small box and deposited it into her pack. She and Liam separated from the group to gather a bit of wood for the night. Walking in relative silence, the twins gather whatever wood they can find, actually getting a chance to soak in the events of the past week for the first time. They both stopped in their tracks and Liam spoke up first.

"We're Grey Warden recruits..." He breathed out as if it were said loud enough it would break this dream and send them back to the Circle.

Arianna turned to her brother and said in pure bliss and happiness, "Not only that, but we're home." She had said with a smile in her voice. Liam turned to his sister and offered her his arms for a hug which she happily took. They stayed like this for a few moments, content with the thought of belonging somewhere. Then they broke away and continued on with the search for wood. As they headed out Liam cleared his throat and said what's been on his mind all day. "So that weird little glowing thing... What's that about?"

Alistair saw Daveth pick his way back into their makeshift camp for the night and raised a brow at the rogue. "Soo.. you go into the woods in search of food and come back with... what?" He questioned slightly amused. Daveth stuttered for a bit and Alistair cut him off, "Relax, Daveth. I know you were spying on the two. Find what you were looking for did you?" Alistair questioned with a grin. Even though he couldn't be more two years older than Liam it felt like such a difference.

"Not quite, ser Warden," 'Ser' Warden? He was hardly an old man. Alistair groused. Quite the opposite actually... "I just can't figure them out. Like Arianna with her strange magic and her brother with his … outbursts." Outbursts? What in the Maker's name was he talking about?

Just then Ser Jory cut in "Yeah, they make me nervous... They seem unstable and that they would turn on us at any moment." What doesn't make you nervous? I wouldn't be surprised if a squirrel made you jump in fear. Alistair thought. He knew about Arianna and the weird glowing bit but he wasn't aware of whatever Liam did to upset them.

"Yeah, that's exactly right. You don't think they have practiced forbidden magic, do you?" Daveth put his hands to his face as he fretted and Alistair rolled his eyes. Maybe Daveth wasn't as brave as he originally thought. Alistair had had enough of this conversation so he set them out with their orders. "Alright, that's enough. Daveth, you go and hunt so we can have something to eat. Ser Jory, come over here and help with setting up the tents." They both went about their duties with a nod of their heads and Alistair buried himself in his thoughts. Did they really think the siblings did blood magic? They abilities did seem a little odd sure, definitely not what he saw being taught at the circle, but did that make it forbidden? He knew that the Chantry's thoughts on things were... skewed but there were things that he agreed with. Like the ban of Blood Magic. But other magic practices didn't seem all that bad.

He heard the mumbling of their voices die off as they neared, and from the sound of it, it was something serious. But then when they entered Alistair's eyesight all remnants of their conversation was gone and they offered a happy chirp of a greeting. Alistair narrowed his eyes when they turned to the firewood they dropped and lite it with a snap of their figures. They were possibly hiding something, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was. He was definitely going to be keeping an eye on those two.

AN: So, I hope that was an acceptable chapter to come back to? I feel I owe an explanation, so anybody interested can just PM me and I'll explain everything. Again, I apologize for the extremely long wait and sadly it will be a bit of a wait for the next chapter, but I won't keep you waiting like last time.

So, do I at least get points for warning you this time instead of giving you false hope? No? Okay, I deserve that...

Anyway, again I hope you liked the story, just maybe send a little love this way with some R&R So I know people are still interested...

On a completely different note, I have polls up on who Liam and Arianna should end up with. I wanted you guys to get a bit of say in the story so I have those, and I will have polls about the story later on.