The Journey Begins….
Kyla awoke with a stinging sensation on her side. She was in some form of house. It was neatly kept but didn't strike her as a city home. There was a female voice to her left.
"Ah, your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased." It was the witch, Morrigan. Kyla sat up slowly, gripping her side.
"I remember you, the girl from the wilds." Kyla winced as Morrigan handed her a cup of water. Morrigan inspected Kyla's bandages and took the cup back.
"I am Morrigan, lest you have forgotten. We are in the Wilds, where I am bandaging your wounds." Morrigan confirmed. "You are welcome, by the way. How does your memory fare? Do you remember mother's rescue?" She asked. Kyla dropped her feet over the edge of the bed. She reached for her shirt. She paused.
"Wait…. What happened to the army? To the king?" Kyla asked. Morrigan shrugged.
"The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The Darkspawn won your battle" Morrigan explained. Kyla's heart dropped. Loghain had betrayed the king. Aeden was with him. Morrigan continued. "Those he abandoned were massacred. Your friends… they are not taking it well." Kyla stood up slowly. Morrigan assisted her in dressing.
"My friends? You mean Alistair and the others?" Kyla asked. She held off on equipping her drakeskin garments. She was unsure if her body would be able to handle it. She felt well enough but she was still in pain.
"The suspicious ones who were with you before and a dwarf. Yes." Morrigan said pointing to the door. Kyla smiled slightly. At least she was not alone. "They are outside by the fire. Mother asked to see you when you awoke." She turned around and went to her cupboard.
"Thank you for helping me Morrigan." Kyla said, pulling the strings of her pants and tying them in a knot. Morrigan turned to face her. Her expression was an awkward stare.
"I… You are most welcome, though mother did most of the work. I am no healer." she nodded.
"I will, go then." Kyla said, heading for the door.
"I will stay, and make something to eat." Morrigan opted. Kyla raised a hand over her eyes. The sun wasn't bright, but she'd had not expected it. She was in the hut where Morrigan and her mother stayed in the Wilds. Alistair stood with his back to her. Brytana and Daveth were off to the left, doing something else. Morrigan's mother gave her a smile when she saw Kyla.
"See? Here is your fellow Grey Warden." she said smugly. "You worry too much young man." Alistair whipped around. His face was surprised, but held a relieved tone to it.
"You? You're alive? I thought you were dead for sure." he exclaimed and gripped her in a tight hug. Kyla gasped in pain. He let her go immediately and backed away, blushing.
"Afraid you three were going to be left alone?" she said, rubbing her side. Alistair dropped his head.
"Duncan's dead. They Grey Wardens, even the king…. They're all dead." He said. "This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd all be dead atop that tower."
"Do not talk about me as if I am not present lad." Morrigan's mother snapped. Alistair looked at her. He seemed embarrassed.
"I didn't mean….but what do we call you?" He asked. "You never told us your name." The old woman gave a small smile.
"Names are pretty, but useless." she said. "The Chasind folk call me Flemeth. I suppose that will do. Daveth and Brytana had approached from behind. Alistair had gone still. Daveth spoke up.
"The Flemeth?" He said in disbelief. "I was right. You're the Witch of the Wilds aren't you?" Flemeth turned around. Brytana held her ground, Daveth however backed away slightly.
"And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic, and It has severed you all well, has it not?" She turned back to Kyla. The young girl felt a chill run down her spine.
"So why did you save us?" she asked.
"Well, we can not have all the Grey Wardens dying at once, can we?" Flemeth asked. "Someone has to deal with these Darkspawn. It has always been the Grey Warden's duty to unite the lands against the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?"
"Of course not!" Brytana said, her eyes lighting with anger. Flemeth giggled. Alistair shook his head.
"But we were fighting the Darkspawn!" he said. "The king had nearly defeated them. Why would Loghain do this?"
"Now that is a good question." Flemeth said. "Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature. Perhaps he believes the Blight is an army he cannot out maneuver. Perhaps he does not see that the evil behind it is the true threat." Alistair's face became grim.
"The Archdemon." He spat. Kyla felt left out at this point.
"What is this Archdemon, exactly?" she asked.
"It is said that long ago, the Maker sent the Old Gods of the ancient Tevinter Imperium to slumber in prisons deep beneath the surface." Flemeth started. "An Archdemon is an Old God, awakened and tainted by Darkspawn. Believe that or not, history says it's a fearsome and immortal thing. And only fools ignore history." Kyla didn't like the sound of fighting an Old God. They were said to be dragons. She thought she had seen a dragon while she dreamed. Was that the Archdemon?
"Will you help us fight this Blight Flemeth?" Brytana asked. Flemeth turned to an angle that would let her look at all the present Wardens.
"Me? I am just an old woman who lives in the Wilds." She said, raising her hands. She was full of it. Kyla could tell. "I know nothing of Blights and Darkspawn."
"Well…" Alistair said. "Whatever Loghain's insanity. He obviously thinks the Darkspawn are a minor threat. We need to warn everyone that this isn't the case."
"And who will believe you?" Flemeth asked. "Unless you think to convince this Loghain of his mistake." Alistair's face flushed red.
"He just betrayed his own king! If Arl Eamon knew what he did at Ostagar, he would be the first to call for his execution." Kyla nodded in agreement.
"Eamon was Cailan's uncle. He wouldn't let Loghain get away with that." she said. Flemeth laughed.
"Such determination." she mused. "How intriguing." Alistair looked at Kyla. His eyes were weary and strained.
"I still don't know if Arl Eamon's help would be enough." he sighed. "He can't defeat the Darkspawn Horde by himself.
"Surely there are other allies we could call upon." Brytana said. Alistair slapped his palm into his face. He pulled out a bag and pulled out three rolled up pieces of paper.
"Of course!" He shouted. "The Treaties! The Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages and other places! They're obligated to help us during a Blight!"
"Sounds like an army to me." Daveth said approvingly, crossing his arms.
"So can we do this?" Alistair asked. "Go to Arl Eamon and these other places and build an army?"
"Why not? Isn't that what Grey Wardens do? Brytana said.
Royally Screwed….
"Where's Carver?" Kiara asked when she returned from tying the horses up.
"He went to get fire wood." Daylen said. Kiara looked to where Daylen had laid King Cailan. He was still covered in the grey cloak Daylen had wrapped him in, plus a few blankets.
"How does the king fair?" She asked. Daylen shrugged.
"He's breathing." Daylen nodded. "Otherwise I have no idea." there was a rustle from the trees. Carver came out, still dressed in his full suit of armor, carrying several pieces of wood in his arms.
"This was all I could find." he said, dropping the wood and piling it up. "Any Darkspawn around?"
"No, we've gotten ahead of the main horde." Daylen said, helping stack fire wood. With a wave of his hand, Daylen set the kindling on fire. Slowly, a warm fire built from it. "We've got a day's ride till Lothering. Would your family be willing to house us? I used to have family there myself. But it's been a long time since I've seen them." Carver shuddered.
"I don't think that's a good idea." he said. "My family is not used to company." Daylen nodded.
"Of course. It was rude of me to ask." He said. Carver started to und his greaves.
"I'll be honest with you. You saved my life so I owe you that much." he dropped his greaves to the ground with a clank. "My sisters are apostates. I'd rather not draw too much attention to them." Daylen clenched his fist abruptly, making the fire shoot out. He shot to his feet and glared at Carver.
"What is your last name Carver?" he asked quietly. Kiara looked to the soldier.
"What's wrong Daylen?" She asked. Carver stood up and looked at the mage.
"Hawke. Why?" he said. Daylen closed his eyes. Carver slowly removed his helmet. He had pale skin and black hair. His eyes were blue. Kiara saw a strong resemblance in the two men. Daylen glared at Carver. He walked up to him and picked him straight off the ground. Carver struggled briefly. Then he froze. He studied Daylen's eyes closely. His own eyes widened.
"Daylen?" he asked quietly. "Daylen Amell?" Daylen dropped him. He raised his hand to Carver's face, bathing it in flames. Kiara walked over and slowly put her hand onto his forearm.
"Daylen whatever it is you're about to do, don't." She said. Carver straightened.
"Let him. I deserve it." Carver said calmly. Kiara was confused.
"What is going on here?" she demanded to know. Daylen turned his glare at her for a second. It was full of hate and sorrow.
"Kiara, meet Carver Hawke." She growled. "My little cousin and the rat that got me sent to the Circle when I was five." Kiara looked at Carver and then back at Daylen.
"Your cousin?" she whispered. Thoughts of Soris and Shianni came rushing back to her. "Daylen. I'm going to say this once. I would kill to see my cousins again. You said you were five, how about you calm down? It was a long time ago." Daylen looked at her. He slowly extinguished his hand.
"Luna. Where is Luna?" he asked Carver. Carver sunk his head. Daylen looked like he was about to kill him just because of that gesture.
"When we were ten, I got into a fit side the Chantry." He said. "She used magic to keep me from getting my head bashed in. The Templars came and took her that night. We don't know where she went." Daylen clenched his fist again, but no flames appeared.
"I need to talk to my mother then. Where is she? And my father?" Daylen said. Carver shrugged.
"Last I heard your mother was living in Deneriem." he said. "Your father disappeared after you were taken. He said he couldn't except it. He said he was going to get you back, we never saw him again." Daylen grunted. He turned and walked off into the woods. Kiara turned to Carver.
"How did you get him sent to the Circle?" she asked. Carver sat back down and continued removing his armor, not looking at her.
"I shoved his sister to the ground when we were children." he said. "To say I was a brat back then would be an understatement. He got so mad that he caught me on fire with his magic on accident." Kiara sat down in front of the fire. She decided it would be best to let the conversation end there. It really was not her business. There was another rustling sound from behind her. She didn't sense any Darkspawn. She was about to turn around when Grey Marsh trotted out of nowhere to the fire.
"How do you do that?" she asked. Carver had gripped his sword and was ready to attack the wolf. Grey Marsh snarled at him.
"I could kill you before you stood human." he growled. "Stay your blade." Carver dropped his sword in shock. The wolf looked to Kiara.
"I was called." he said. Kiara pointed towards the woods where Daylen had gone. The wolf started in the direction she had shown him.
"Can I ask you something?" Kiara asked. The wolf turned back to her.
"What is it elf?" he asked.
"What did you mean by spoilers?" she asked. "You said spoilers when we asked if the king would live or not." Grey Marsh grinned.
"What king?" he asked before rushing into the woods. Kiara groaned and put her face in her hands.
"What was that all about?" Carver asked. Kiara shrugged.
"He's like that." she gave a mock smile. " we should see about dinner. For some reason I am starving." After a few hours Grey Marsh and Daylen returned. Grey Marsh snatched up a piece of raw meat from a deer Carver had killed for supper and took off into the night. Daylen went over to the chest he had grabbed from the Warden's tent back at Ostagar.
"What's in there?" Carver asked. Daylen pulled out several items. Warden cloaks, pendants and the animal skin that held the Joining mixture.
"Supplies. I thought we might need them. We may very well be the last two Warden's in Ferelden." he said, weighing the skin in his hand. "There is plenty left for more recruits." Kiara sighed.
"I don't suppose you've been able to talk to Valor yet have you?" she asked. Daylen shook his head.
"Nothing. He still can't reach Daveth yet. Something has been blocking him." he said. "It's very likely that he could be dead."
"How are we even supposed to go about recruiting?" She exclaimed throwing her hands in the air. "We don't even know what it means to be Wardens." she was getting frustrated.
"We will manage Kiara." Daylen said. Kiara stood up and started pacing.
"We'll manage." she spat. "How Daylen? We probably have to fight the Archdemon alone. We don't have the treaties, we don't know how to contact the other Wardens outside of Ferelden and nobody is going to join the two of us willingly. How about you Carver? Want to be a Warden?" she snapped at the other man. He froze and looked at Daylen.
"Uhm…No?" he said. Kiara kicked a rock, trying not to flinch at the pain.
"See?" she said, pointing at Carver. "That's what I mean! Fine then Carver!" she yelled. "I hereby conscript you into the Grey Wardens!" Carver spat out the chunk of meat he had in his mouth. Daylen stood up.
"You can't do that Kiara. You need to calm down." He said. Kiara threw a rock at his head.
"The hell I can!" she snapped. "I didn't have a choice! I would have been killed. So would you." Carver looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Daylen picked up the skin and tossed it to her.
"Then do it." he said.
"What!" Carver snapped.
"You want him?" Daylen snapped. "Get him then. Go pour it in his mouth." Carver stepped in the middle and was about to interrupt.
"Shut up Carver!" both Wardens snapped. Carver slowly backed away.
"I'm warning you, however" Daylen said, stepping close to her, summoning his sword from where it rested. "Should my cousin die, I'll kill you all the same there will be no one to prove I didn't." Kiara dropped the skin and grabbed her sword.
"Are you really going to try and scared me Daylen?" she snarled. "I'm all out of fear right now. I'm pretty sure I can land a few hits before you can work your mojo on me." Daylen stepped even closer.
"I am really going to try and stop you from making a mistake." Daylen said calmly. "You're upset. You want to complain about being given a practical death sentence? Then why would you give one to Carver? Why would you take him away from his own family?" Kiara growled in frustration. She threw her sword to the ground and stormed off much as Daylen had done earlier.
Only this time, she was followed. "Will you leave me alone Daylen?" she snapped. The mage just kept following her.
"No." he said simply.
"Why not?" She asked.
"Because you want your family, right?" he asked back. She stopped and turned to face him.
"Yeah, what of it?" she asked in irritation. Daylen folded his arms.
"Well here I am." He said. The words hit Kiara like a punch to the gut.
"What did you say?" she asked awkwardly. Daylen rolled his eyes.
"Join us brothers and sister." he quoted. "Sound familiar? When we drank the Darkspawn blood, that was it. From that moment till now, I have been your brother. That is what I know. That is what it means to be a Grey Warden. Those who live, and die beside you are your family." Kiara rubbed her forehead.
"That's not what I meant by family." She said. Daylen laughed.
"Oh? So you want your real family then?" he said wryly. "I'm sorry I'm not good enough then. I guess I'll go find another spunky elf to be my sister. I'm sure I can find one somewhere, though finding one that can beat up a man twice her size would be a tad difficult to find." Kiara giggled to herself.
"What do you want me to say Daylen?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Anything other than a doom speech would be a nice start." Kiara slumped against a tree and slid down it.
"I miss my mother." she said. Daylen sat down in front of her.
"What was she like?" he asked. Kiara sagged her head.
"Funny thing. I don't really remember all that much." she said quietly. "When I was young she tried to train me, to teach me how to fight, but I wanted to be a regular little girl and play with dolls. Her name was Adaia. The only thing I have of her are these boots here." she pointed to the leather boots she usually wore up under her scale ones. Her scale boots were large enough for the leather ones to fit underneath comfortably. "She passed away a long time ago. After that I usually spent my time with Soris and Shianni. I loved my cousins, they were the only thing that kept my mind off of how horrible it was in the Alienage."
Daylen gave her a soft smile. "My mother's name was Revka." he picked up a small blade of grass and started to shred it with his fingers. "I used to spend my time on my father's farm. Usually Amell's would stay in Kirkwall. We're a noble family there I think. But my mother married my father, who was a trader to begin with until he met her. It pissed my grandparents off to no end, that was until my aunt Leandra ran away with Carver's father."
"Who was his father?" she asked. Daylen smiled brightly.
"A wanted apostate. Malcom Hawke." he said proudly. "Had three kids. Marian was the oldest. Then there was Carver and his twin, Bethany. I used to get so jealous of Them for having an older sibling to watch over them."
"But instead you had to watch over your little sister?" Kiara asked. Daylen nodded. "If your parents lived on farm, why didn't they have more children?" Daylen's smile faded slightly.
"They did. Two boys and a girl." he said through gritted teeth. "Bloody Templars took them all. The youngest boy wasn't even a mage. But the Chantry ordered him taken in case he showed any potential later on. The Amell family is cursed with a magical blood line." Kiara grimaced. If she had lost any of her siblings, she would have probably never stopped crying. "We never heard anything else about him. We don't even know if he was a mage or not. Soon enough, the townsfolk got worried and asked us to leave. Father moved the farm near Lothering so mother could be near Leandra. Then she had Luna."
"What were their names?" she asked. Daylen rubbed his head. He looked extremely sad.
"Zachary was the eldest. Then there was Amanda, the girl." he clenched his fist tightly. "Logan would have been twenty eight today. He was the only one I ever actually remembered. All I even remember is that he loved cheesecake and pies."
"Are you okay?" Kiara asked, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. He sighed.
"Yes. It was a long time ago." he said. "I'm past it. It just piss-" he was cut off by a loud womanly scream. Daylen jumped to his feet. "What was that?"
"It came from where we left Carver and Cailan." she said, taking off towards the camp with a run. "Let's go." Kiara almost tripped a few times. Upon reaching the camp the noticed Carver was staring across the fire at a screaming, naked, blond woman. She looked oddly familiar. Carver was stuttering.
"Woah, calm down lady!" Daylen said as a log flew past his head. The woman got a good look at Daylen and grinned.
"Daylen! Kiara!" she rejoiced. "There you are! What has happened?" she asked, switching to a more serious tone. Daylen exchanged a look with Kiara before answering.
"Ma'am, forgive me for I mean no offense." he said. "But who in the Maker's green earth are you?" the woman looked appalled by what Daylen had said to her.
"No offense!" she yelled. "You would call me a woman and then claim you do not mean to offend me?" She was red faced. "You should know better than to speak to you king in such a way Warden." she said. Daylen's eyes widened. He looked back to Kiara. She shook her head, her eyes just as wide as Daylen's.
"This is your fault, just remember that." she whispered in his ear. "We're screwed."
Author's note…..
I would like to do something I forgot to do in the last chapter. Special thanks to Arsinoe de Blassenville
For allowing me to use her character Danith in my story. Danith is based off of her very own Dalish Warden. Nerefir is an acknowledgement to capnnerefir.
Thank you for reading What If? I hope that what few of you have been sticking to it actually enjoy it!