Teagan Guerrin was about 23 years old when Eamon decided to send Alistair away. The ex templar remembered now, now he was back in Redcliffe, he remembered the conversation –or argument- the two brothers had that day. He never thought much about it, and certainly at the time he was too swollen by his own rage to even pay attention to it. But now, with the perspective of years and adulthood, he remembered. Teagan didn't want to send him away to the Chantry, but at the time Isolde's wishes weighed more that Teagan's in the household.
Teagan would be around 35 five now, Alistair thought, and Eamon more than 40. He hadn't seen them in ten years. Alistair wondered if they would recognize him, specially Teagan, he hoped Teagan would. He had looked after Alistair for many years, played with him when he was little more than a toddler, sneaked cheese from the kitchen for him and finally became the last bulwark of resistance when they decided to send him away to the Chantry.
Alistair kicked a stone and it rolled down the road. It felt like the years that had passed.
The boy slipped on the slime that covered the wood of the docks and fell backwards, causing his companion to chuckle a bit before helping him up.
"Oi Spark, stop it already, it hurt."
The elven girl pulled out a cloth from her belt and wiped the boy's naked back from the green dirt. "You're fine, Alistair, it's just a bit of mud. Besides, you're all grown up, aren't you, little warrior?"
The boy scowled. "You don't need to call me that, I'm not a baby anymore, you know?"
She laughed. "No, you're right, eight years old today, nearly a man!"
"Spark! You're laughing at me!" His brow furrowed and the elven girl pulled him closer and kissed the boy's cheek. He blushed.
"Happy birthday, Alistair." She kissed him again. "Come on now, let's not waste your gift, time flies!" They resumed they race to the docks, ready for a bath. Spark, the young elven servant had little time to waste, she had work to do at the castle, but she'd managed to sneak out to spend some quality time with the other orphan there. Little Alistair had very few friends, and even if she was 8 years older, she liked spending time with him; Alistair was a nice boy, good, funny and brave, and their lives weren't so different, after all. Spark wasn't her real name, everybody just called her that, because she laughed a lot, they said; she was the daughter of a servant and had been serving in the castle since she could hold a vroom. She had no father, and her mother had passed away a few years ago. She'd been Alistair's foster sister since he was only a baby, and the only gift she could offer him was time together and games. A bath in lake Calenhad… and some fine cheese, of course.
Alistair swam away from the docks and dived into the deep waters until he touched the black bottom with his hand and grabbed a handful of little rocks. He broke the surface of the water and swam towards Spark.
"Spark! Spark! Is there something good in here?"
"Uhmm… let me see… oh sorry Alistair, no coins, but I can see… oh!"
"What is it? What is it?!" The boy paddled in the water and nearly sank with excitement before rising again and pulling himself up to the wooden dock. "What is it, Spark?"
She smiled. "It's the head of an arrow. See? Pure steel." Alistair grabbed the tiny piece of weaponry and examined it. "It's a sign."
"A sign?"
Spark winked an eye. "Of your future, your destiny. The blessing of Andruil."
"Alistair! Spark!"
The sudden appearance of the third voice made Alistair wince and he dropped the head of the arrow, which fell into the water again. "No!" The boy didn't think twice before jumping again into the water.
"Alistair!" Teagan called.
"My lord Teagan!"
"Spark, what is he doing?"
"Oh, my lord. He found the head of an arrow, and it fell again." They figured the young boy would come out of the water soon, but it took longer than expected, and when he did, Teagan was already out of his boots.
"Alistair! What do you think you're doing?" He demanded.
"The arrow! The arrow! The sign of Andruil."
"What is he talking about?"
Spark turned red. "I… I told him that…" The lad was already down water again before he could hear the end of the sentence. It took him even longer to rise to the surface this time, and he did it only to breathe fresh air before diving again.
"Alistair, what…?
Seconds passed, and minutes, and there was no sign of Alistair. Spark and Teagan both got rid of their shoes and launched themselves into the darkness of the lake. They met Alistair there and brought him up again. Teagan was furious, and Alistair's eyes were red. There was water in his cheeks, both salted and fresh.
"Maker's breath, Alistair! What in the Fade were you doing?" He grabbed the child's arm, his voice was tainted with anger and fear. The boy had his eyes closed and his lips pursed.
"I found… I found…"
"Please, lord Teagan, don't punish him, it was my fault." Spark leaned forward and held the boy against her chest. Teagan sighed.
"How can it be your fault, Spark?" He said, his features softening, looking down at the elven girl. He noticed how the wet clothing clung to her body and blushed a bit.
She was still hugging Alistair when she answered. "He found the head of the arrow in the bottom of the lake, and I told him it was a sign of Andruil." A calm settled them between them, only broke by Alistair's muffled sobs. Teagan sighed again.
"Andruil?" He asked, genuinely interested. He arched an eyebrow.
"It's a dalish goddess, my lord. There were these tales my mother told me… I know I shouldn't have said anything…"
"It's alright. It's alright." Teagan was barely 21 and willing to please every young woman around him, human or elven, especially if they were pretty and smart like Spark. Besides, Alistair didn't deserve all that yelling for being just a little bit reckless. "Come on now, I was looking for you two, and now we all need to get changed. Don't mention this to my brother, Spark, you know how he is, he'll get all hysterical over nothing."
"Just like us, mylord." She said with a smirk, and that made Alistair snort.
Teagan blushed again. "Yes, just like us."
That night, Spark invited Alistair to the kitchen and with the special permission of lord Teagan he was able to eat until he thought he would explode. Spark made a cake with sweet oranges and they ate it drowning the pieces in milk. After a while, the two of them and the cook heard a soft knock on the door. Then, Teagan Guerrin came in. He had something clutched in his hand. He dropped an object on the table, and they all saw it was the head of an arrow. Pure steel.
"I am sorry you lost yours, Alistair, so I asked Owen if he might have some to spare. If it's a sign of… well, that goddess, I'm sure it will bring you luck."
The young boy took the tiny piece of metal between his fingers and looked at it intently. He was pleased, but somewhat disappointed. "Thank you, Teagan." He managed finally, but it didn't feel right. It was a nice gift and all, but that wasn't the sign, it wasn't his treasure from the bottom of the lake. It wouldn't work the same way. He had a weird feeling about that. Spark had said that it didn't matter the treasure was lost, for the sign was still there, even if he didn't have it with him anymore, but Alistair knew, somewhere in the bottom of his soul, that it just wouldn't be the same. Nevertheless, he accepted Teagan's gift and for some time he carried it around everywhere, two years, until Eamon told him he was going to be sent away to be a templar and Alistair finally admitted to himself that the new arrow head that Teagan had given to him wasn't bringing him any luck.
Alistair sighed, trying not to slip on the gravel. Spark was right in the end; the sign had been seen, and now that uncertain destiny was starting to become true. Not the way he'd planned. And now he was coming back to Redcliffe and his past was going to be there waiting for him, the truth wouldn't hide much longer, he thought. He'd told the other wardens about the Calling, and now the time had come to confess the last big secret. Oh Gudrunis going to kill me…
He stopped walking abruptly, kicking some dust that made Iola sneeze.
"What is it?" She asked him. Alistair pursed his lips and let out a nervous chuckle. He looked at her and then at Gudrun and Miach that had already stopped.
"Can I talk with you three for a second? Iiiinnn… private?"
Gudrun arched an eyebrow but nodded, and the four wardens walked towards the bushes that decorated the side of the road. Alistair gave a long, deep, melancholic sigh before starting his speech. They were getting used to his sighs.
Gudrun, Iola and Miach stared at Alistair for a few seconds, and then the bomb exploded.
"I can't believe I've been so stupid!" Iola was the first to react. "It's been there all the time! I can't believe I haven't seen it, you look so much like Cailan! So so much! It was obvious! Maker's breath how can I be so stupid! And I call myself a mage of the Circle? A fly in the soup of a templar, that's what I am! Look at him they're almost twins!" She said at no one in particular. Well, 'twins' was a bit of an exaggeration, Alistair thought. They may have had similar features but 'twins' was stretching the reality a bit too much. Iola continued his rant and he winced when she slapped her forehead.
Miach cracked up a smile. "So, you're not just a bastard, but a royal bastard."
Well that reaction was better, much more natural. "Heh, I could use that line." The elf was looking at him sympathetically, and somehow Alisair felt comforted. He knew Miach didn't really care about the human politics. It meant nothing to him that Alistair was the son of a king, an arl or a priest; if anything, it gave the elf ammunition to play some jokes on the templar.
Then Alistair turned his gaze towards Gudrun. The dwarf hadn't said anything yet, she was just staring at him, doing a lot of staring, actually. While Iola's mind was spinning with the new information, Alistair could feel Gudrun's brain building conclusions like castles, exploring all the possibilities, maybe more than the ones he had already thought of himself. Well, she had experience with all that, she had grown up in a palace. She knew.
"I see. We'll talk later." The dwarf finally said. Two sentences that made Alistair shiver. It wasn't going to be a good chat, he was sure of that. What was he expecting from a princess, really? Alistair Theirin, you idiot. Gudrun patted his arm before turning around and Alistair swallowed hard.
Miach cast one last sympathetic look at him before following her, as if he knew she would skin Alistair alive as soon as she had some time. His reaction felt good, in a way, and bad at the same time. It comforted him that they didn't really seem affected by the news, but in the other hand, that was his greatest and most painful secret and it took a lot of strength to confess it to them to have Gudrun and Miach just… walk away.
"… and all this time I just assumed that your father was the arl but you didn't want to believe it!" Iola was still going on. Until she realized they were alone.
"Oh… I'm sorry about that. I know… this must be hard for you, and here I am talking about myself. Forgive me for the selfish rant, please."
Alistair shrugged, or more likely, he tried to make his head disappear between his shoulders. "It's ok… I wasn't expecting that reaction. Well, any of them."
Iola noticed he looked a little worried. "Oh don't worry about those two. It's not like Maric meant a lot to them after all, their people have their own worlds. I bet Gudrun has enough with one royal family." She raised her eyebrows. Gudrun…
Alistair even smiled. "And what about you? What do you… think?"
"Well… It has the potential to make things complicated." Really complicated, in fact, painfully complicated, but she wasn't about to tell him that right then. "But for now… I guess… it doesn't change who you are, does it? Our fellow grey warden…" She bit her lip, her eyes widening with a sudden realization. "And our friend".
Oh? Friend? He wasn't expecting that either, but he was glad she said that. He had bagun considering them friends not long after Ostagar and he was glad Iola, the person who had the biggest number of reasons to hate him, said she considered him a friend. It was so… reassuring. "You know, it's just… I hate how it has shaped my entire life. People treat me differently after they discover the truth. I am the bastard prince instead of just Alistair…"
Iola listened and nodded, and filed that information for later, when she would think more carefully about the consequences. The matter in that moment was not the blood but the secret itself, and how Alistair had finally trusted it to them. "… I guess I just wanted you to like me for who I am. I am sorry."
She gave reached out a hand and squeezed his shoulder. "I understand, Alistair. Really."
"Thank you. You're really… understanding? Hehe If that makes any sense."
Iola shook her head and put an arm around his shoulders. "Now come on, my prince. We must get back to the others before they send a search party!" She said playfully as she dragged him down the road. It was Cailian's joke. She remembered it. Ha! Curious.
"Iola? Were Cailan and I really so similar?"
"Nah, you're better looking." She cackled and it made him smile.
Bann Teagan Guerrin was now 35 years old, he had his own land and no wife, and he still professed an undying love for his hometown. The proof was that he was there with the people of Redcliff, enduring the recent events instead of flying back to Rainesfere. He knew him and the few knights of Redcliffe left were all the help the townspeople were going to get to face the army of undead that came to them at night, killing more and more every day. He was starting to lose hope when one of the villagers walked into the Chantry followed by a group of unknown people, its integrants were the strangest mixture of races genders and professions he had ever seen. In the front, leading them, there was a blond dwarf with a pretty nose and a grim expression. She looked around now and then, between confused and worried. Right beside her walked a blond man in armour whose face scratched something in the back of Teagan's head, tough he couldn't figure what yet.
"Ah, hello, Tomas, was it? Who are these people that come with you? They're obviously not from here…"
"I found them on the road mylord, said they wanted to speak to the arl. I told them about the arl sir, and the monsters, but I figured it would be best if they spoke to you, mylord, they don't seem small folk."
"Well done, Tomas, thank you. Greetings, friends, my name is Teagan, bann of Rainsfere, brother to the arl."
Alistair stepped forward, suppressing a relieved smile. "Bann Teagan, it's good to see you again. I don't know if you remember me though, the last time we met I was a lot younger… and covered in mud."
"Covered in mud…?" It felt like a lightning had just struck the man, his expression relaxed, his features lit up, and his eyes widened while the identity of that familiar face dawned on him."A-Alistair? It is you! Isn't it? You're… you're alive! This is wonderful news!"
Somehow, those words made Alistair uneasy, his companions noticed, as if the thought of being alive made him uncomfortable. "Still alive, yes," he said "but not for long if teyrn Loghain has anything to say about it."
Miach never thought Alistair capable of putting so much venom in a sentence. The bann didn't notice the bitterness, or he shared it. "Indeed, Loghain would have us believe all Grey Wardens died along with my nephew. Amongst other things."
The elf spoke the first. "Well… not all of us died"
Teagan looked at him for the first time and raised his eyebrows. Surprised an elf made it out of the forest… ha! Miach gave him a predatory smile in exchange. "So… you are a Grey Warden as well?"
"Surprised?"
But before the bann could answer, Gudrun stepped forward and drawn his attention to her. "Yes, we four are, including myself and Amell here. We wished to see the arl, and came here on Alistair's recommendation, he spoke very highly of you." That last statement was a lie, Alistair hadn't told them anything about Teagan, good or bad, but Gudrun had been a princess once, and thought she usually felt more comfortable with an axe, she knew how to wield flattery as well.
Teagan sighed and rubbed his forehead. He reminded Gudrun of herself. "Ah, my lady, though I'm glad you are all alive and that you came, seeing my brother right is going to be… well, complicated."
One last chapter before Christmas! I know is short and it hasn't too much action (ok, no action at all xD), but don't worry because next chapter the heroes will be fighting the army of zombies and maybe visiting the arlessa. More blood, ice spells and all that stuff.
I plan to make a little sneak peak into the past of each warden just like I did in the chapter with Alistair.
Thank you for reading and following! Everything belongs to BioWare blah blah blah especially Teagan's dialogue. Spark is mine though! Hahaha And her name is another little tribute to Geralt O.o