Chapter 11: The Hawke and the Dragon Fly Together

Sorry this chapter is short but I needed something before we get going on the truly unseen part of the darkspawn story. Now I get to be creative:)

Finding the human village had been easy. Following the road along with a detachment of three hundred of his warriors Skorge had left the great, wide forest behind and almost immediately come upon the site of a small town which was mostly devoid of people. The still houses with swaying, creaking doors, the empty dens meant for critters and the ground covered with discarded clothes, packages and even foods. This hadn't stopped Tartarus and his group to completely ravage the town, burning the buildings along with the sacks of vet and hay. They had found a few huddled humans left behind in the houses, most of them being of the sort with pointy ears. These unfortunate souls were shown absolutely no mercy by the darkspawn as they were slaughtered where they sat or lay.

Skorge was currently walking through the town, watching the wooden buildings burn and fall one by one. The black burned wood crunched under his heavy boots. His nose flared with the smell of smoke and gore. He watched as the town, and the wide landscape around it, was covered slowly by the taint which always followed their very footsteps. Leaves cascaded from the trees as it reached them and crawled up their petrified trunks like some fungus. The grass died and seemed to disintegrate in hours, leaving bare, dirty ground. It was a wasteland by now as far away as he could see. He left the town behind to walke over a small field to a large stone bridge, giving him a good view of the land and the river, which were now much darker than it had been at their arrival due to the bodies of humans thrown in it. Commotion broke out down the large walkway of the bridge and when Skorge turned to see why it was just in time to spot two armed, young human men, a young woman with a staff and an older woman jump over the side and down onto a path leading to the collection of large hills away from town. They were followed by Tartarus`s warriors led by an emissary and accompanied by an ogre.

"Survivors!" Skorge thought as he sprinted after them, intending to draw some blood for himself. He saw both groups disappear into the far country side areas and the occasional flash of yellow and white, indicating magic which he assumed was used by the emissary, though they caused an awful lot of hurlock howls of agony. Skorge was too far behind them to see exactly where they had gone so he ran down a dirt road which led him passed a small forest glade of tainted trees. He heard the much too familiar sounds of battle some ways ahead as he shriveled leafs and branched cracked and snapped under his feet. A tree close by simply fell with a loud whine of the bark and a crash as it hit the ground, hiding the sounds of steel on steel for a moment. He reached an open clearing and was about to jump a thin stream of water which had branched out from the river when he froze in his steps. His mind went gloomy and the sounds around him dampened as his eyes went blank. It was the feeling he got when a vision was about to make itself known but this time it was different. He clutched his head as a buzzing like a thousand angry bees had made a home in his skull. He clearly felt the work of magic. It was as if someone was forcing this on him as his head snapped back.

He stood at the exact same spot but the edges of his eye still had the shimmery blur of his visions. The area was covered by the taint like he had left it but now, instead of a dark shadow it glowed a dull crimson, pulsing like a heartbeat. He looked around just as a monumental roar ran from just above his head. A shadow covered him for a split second and then the earth shook as a huge creature of scales and horns landed in his way, throwing up a dust cloud. Once it settled back down he saw that it was a crimson dragon, the same one he had seen battling the Master in a previous vision. It sat on the dirt path and observed him with a glint of curiosity. Skorge was spellbound by the eyes until something moved further up on its head. Reverting his gaze he saw a hawk sitting between the two massive horns, casually cleaning itself. It lifted its head, watched Skorge for a moment and then let out a shrill shriek and flew away until the dragon blocked his sight of it. He had an odd impulse to follow it, to hunt it down.

"For all our sakes, I cannot permit you to reach him."

The voice came from every direction. It sounded like a human female`s voice, old and yet it hid strength within. The dragon cocked its head.

"Who are you?" Skorge demanded. None but the Master could give him visions and yet somehow this creature had done so, on two occasions now. The dragon said nothing for a few long seconds before it lowered its head and a shine like the sun bloomed out from it, forcing him to cover his eyes. When the blinding flash disappeared and he removed his arms from his face a human stood there, and yet there was something very…unhuman about her.

The woman was dressed him crimson robes and pieces of shining armor on her knees and forearms. He noted a headpiece crown that any emissary would have died for and that he long white hair had been shaped like the horns of the dragon that had recently sat in her place. Her golden eyes pierced him own white ones like a spear as she walked towards him with slow grace.

"My, my what a marvelous creature you are." She said as she reached him. She did not stop but instead walked around him, as if inspecting him. He did feel on display and turned to face her.

"I said, who are you?" he growled. "Speak quickly human."

She laughed. "Human? my that was long ago. No, I am but a watcher, and observer of events. And I have observed you, spawn of the deep. You are unique." She cackled and looked back in the direction she had come from. Following her gaze he saw the hawk, still flying towards a faraway land only it knew of.

"He has a destiny to fulfill, and it is not to fall to your axe." She turned back to him."So do you, creature."

Skorge snarled. "And what might that be, creature?"

The woman laughed. "Wit from a darkspawn? This is turning out to be quite the day." She shook her head with a smirk. "Let me introduce myself. I am Flemeth, at least to most humans. I have watched you advance from a simple brood spawn to the supreme commander of a Blight, not bad. Especially since you represent quite the danger to my plans for the Warden you seek."

Skorge snarled and growled. "You stand with her? Than you shall die as well." He said and lunged at her, hands formed into fists. He aimed a punch that would have crushed a human`s face but was met with nothing as Flemeth dissolved into dust, only to reappear behind him.

"Maybe not so different after all." She mused. Skorge had stopped immediately after his attack and now they locked gazes. Those dim golden eyes did not twitch for a second but was averted when Flemeth gave a snorting laugh and looked down on the ground between them. Skorge looked as well and cocked his head at what he found.

A white rose sat there. Its bright, almost glowing petals eliminated the air around it. He saw that the taint surrounded the base of the stem but not quite touched, as if held away by the light. Flemeth went down on one knee, picked the flower and stood up again, holding it between them.

"Is it not amazing? This is life in its purest form. It grows, it reaches for its full potential and strives to persist. Among this endless darkness it struggled to live and reaches for the sky. Just like you." She said in a reverent tone and walked closer. "You are life, a true, sentient creature among creatures who`s minds are clouded by blackness. You will be an example of light to your kind, just like this little rose." She held it out for him. With hesitant fingers he reached out and took it in his right hand, inspecting it closely.

"Persist, grow and live marvelous creature, for your destiny lies beyond this conflict your master has put you in. I see your journey as clear as a streaming river before me, and it is to transcend your race`s natural limits, strive to reach it." She chuckled and the flash that followed indicated the end of the vision.

Skorge gasped as he came to his senses again. He clenched his hands and felt something crunch in his rightpalm. Looking down he saw the white rose. He stared at it for several minutes, amazed at the pureness if the thing until it began to shrivel and curl and blacken by the taint from his skin. With a snarl he threw it to the ground and moved on, leaving this last piece of beauty to be devoured like all the rest behind him.

After passing a path littered with darkspawn bodies he came upon a summit where the group of humans he had seen being chased apparently had decided to make a last stand. He stood on a large hill, hidden mostly by a small pillar of smoke coming from an overturned log at its base. He had arrived just in time to see the ogre being slain by a man with a large sword and the group huddling together as Tartarus sent all his remaining warriors to surround them, filling the small, almost circular field. It looked like the humans would perish after all and he crossed his arms, awaiting the coming slaughter.

The same thunderous roar he had heard in his vision sounded, making everyone snap their attention to a high cliff above the field where indeed the crimson dragon sat, overlooking them all. With a leap it threw itself off the edge and dived towards them, spewing fire at the darkspawn. Skorge growled, wondering just how much he should heed the words of one who had just minutes ago offered advice and spoken of fates and now massacred his brothers. This was when he spotted Tartarus himself. The commander threw himself out of the way of another torrent of fire, barely avoiding it and stood before ordering the retreat of the survivors. The dozen or so who made it soon rushed the hill all around him, barely paying attention to him as they ran passed. Tartarus himself stopped next to him

"Commander, what do we do?" he hissed, glancing back at the dragon.

"We do nothing."

Tartarus looked at him "But…"

"I said, nothing." Skorge growled.

"Might I ask why?" he said a bit hesitantly

"You might. How many of us would you see killed by that creature before we manage to bring it down? IF we manage at all? You and your warriors failed already, I will not see your defeated repeated" he said coldly. Tartarus bowed his head submissively.

"I understand commander."

"Good, bring what remains of your group back to camp, I will join you shortly."

The scarred Hurlock was quick to comply and ran off, holding a wound in his side Skorge noticed just now. He knew it would be healed soon; they were made for pain and recuperated from it quickly. He turned his eyes back to the summit and saw the woman, Flemeth, talking with the humans. Half of the field now burned with crisped darkspawn bodies. He lost interest quickly and headed after the others at a slower pace.

Once back he first noted that the entire town had now been leveled with the ground, no doubt by a vengeful Tartarus. He could appreciate the other hurlock`s aggressiveness but not that he acted without his strict order. While he had little use for the buildings, it would make it look as if Tartarus could hand out orders to the entire horde, and not just his assigned group. This could not be tolerated. And yet, had he not asked for this by giving the Fang speech and reason in the first place? He had at first assumed this would only give them those traits alone but the spell seemed to have triggered or unlocked something. His commanders were developing personalities, though he had a hard time figuring out just what that was. He entered the camp and soon found Vorenus, the tall Hurlock who seemed to have become somewhat of an enforcer for Skorge.

"Vorenus, give the order to Tartarus that he is to take a new group and head on without us and scout the land ahead of us. I want to know the state of the humans, if they are gathering a new force to stop us." He said and the muscled commander did as asked with a grunt of acknowledgement before running off. He knew that sending Tartarus ahead would serve to make it clear to the warriors that Skorge was at the head not Tartarus without actually hurting or disposing of the after all competent commander.

He left the camp once again and wandered about the outskirts. He returned to the river which was now black with taint instead of blood. He followed the dirt path again and froze when he saw something. It was the now black rose. He knelt by it and picked it up once again.

"Destiny…" he thought." Who is this human to speak of destiny? I live for the Master and his cause. Yet she claimed I will not be part of it in the future. Does that mean...no. It cannot be." He pushed away from the thought that their great campaign would end, it could not. The Master and his people were unstoppable, they could not be bested.

He wanted to throw the rose into the river, let the taint have the flower and drag it down and bury it within its darkness forever. Yet he did not. Instead he gently placed the rose on the ground again, and he did not know why. It unnerved him a little as he turned his back and stepped away hastily. He saw Tartarus run at the head of a new group away down the large stone bridge.

"Go Tartarus, go and seek the humans. But by the Master and his greatness, if you find the Warden and slay her, I will gut you with my bare hands."