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I awoke slowly, still woozy from blood loss and uncertain as to why I was still alive. I made a mental check of all functioning body parts and other than a deep pain where the arrows had pierced my body, I was intact. I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar room but the person sitting by the bed was possibly that last person in all of Thedas who I would have expected. It was the witch, Morrigan and she was waiting for me to say something to her, to prove that I was indeed among the world of the living.

"Awake at last, I see. I imagine you were sure that you would not have survived but then Mother seemed certain that you would. How are you feeling? Do you remember who I am?" she asked as I continued to stare at her.

"You're Morrigan, the mage we met at the abandoned Warden tower in the Wilds." I croaked, my throat dry. She gave me water to sip slowly and I looked around the room, wondering again how I had come to wake up in this unlikely place.

"If you are looking for your companion, he is outside with mother. He would not leave your side until she assured him that you would not die from your wounds." I drank more water slowly. "I may have threatened his manhood once or twice after he knocked over a few of my things, the big clumsy oaf. How you can tolerate him is beyond my comprehension." She said in a huff and I tried my best to give a small laugh. I had a nagging thought that was trying to come to the surface but every time I thought I had it in my grasp it slipped away again and I found my eyes closing once more.

I bolted upright hours later and immediately regretted it. I was still in pain but it was immensely less than it was earlier but the room was now spinning. I knew that if Morrigan's mother was healing me, she was forcing my body to do it quickly and now I was almost whole but still protesting. If I could have given myself more time to rest, I would be fine and on my feet in a few days' but what had jarred me awake was the screams of the men I had seen cut down as the tower doors were breached. I looked around and found Morrigan attending the fire.

"Awake again, I see. I hope this time you are well enough to travel. Mother says that even in this part of the Wilds, we may not be as safe as we once were from the darkspawn horde." She turned and looked at me as I looked down at the bindings on my chest and stomach, still seeing the arrows that had almost killed me. "Do you hear me? I'm trying to tell you it's no longer safe for you here. You will need to take that idiot companion of yours out of the Wilds and soon. Mother says that when you get up she needs to speak to you both."

"Wait. I do hear you but first I need to know what happened. How did I get here and what happened at the Keep?" My question stopped her as she was heading towards the door. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and she came and sat down next to me.

"Do you really wish to know?" she asked, looking at the door. "I was not there. I can only relate what Mother told me."

"I need to know what happened, Morrigan. Please, anything you can tell me, I would appreciate it." She closed and opened her eyes before she would look at me.

"Mother knew that despite all the men that were stationed at Ostagar, it would not be enough. After you left, she waited until nightfall and then went to the keep. It was she who got you out of that tower with your friend, the other Grey Warden."

"How?" I didn't recall seeing anything past the large creature that was trying to get to me from the windows.

"She transformed into a dragon and pulled you both out of the tower, though you were heavily wounded when she returned here." I gave her this look of disbelief, for I had never heard of a mage having the ability to shift into any creature. "Tis true. Mother's magic is far more powerful than any other mage you have encountered and it is an ability not taught to the circle mages, for good reason, I imagine."

"Why did she save us? Surely there were others…worthier than Alistair or myself." I somehow knew that the answer I was about to receive was not something I was willing to admit to myself when she again sighed and looked at me.

"Because there was no one left to save. She said what drew her to the tower was a beacon that was lit and far below there were men dying on the field." She paused and looked at me. "No one was spared, not even the King himself, who was foolish enough to be on the battlefield when the darkspawn attacked the Keep."

I felt as if my heart had stopped. I knew Duncan was to fight besides King Cailan and if he fell, I knew there was no hope that I would ever see my beloved alive again. I fought back the tears by taking shaky breaths and finally was able to turn to her again.

"What else did she see?" I asked calmly, again in control of my emotions.

"She was curious as to why a legion of men were led away from the battle right after the beacon was lit. She said some cryptic about "betraying the ones we love" but I was unable to get an answer to what that meant."

"Wait, then the Teryn's men did not join the battle? Surely she must have been mistaken!" I could not believe what I was hearing. Surely Loghain would never have left the King, his King, to die when he could have saved him.

"Mother may be old, but she is not blind. I am to assume that the beacon you lit was to be a signal for these men to join the battle? Well, perhaps the Teryn saw a better opportunity with the King now dead." She said bluntly. "Now if you're able, you should go and speak to Mother. She can tell you far more than I can about what happened."

She started to get up but I reached out and put my hand on her arm. "Wait, Morrigan. I need to ask." She sat again and looked at me.

"Were my injuries…"

"I thought you dead when Mother brought you in but she was certain she could heal you. You friend was mostly unharmed but I fear his mind is clouded with grief. I suppose it would be unkind for me to say that he…"

"They were his friends, Morrigan. And one in particular was like a father to him. I understand his grief," was all I could say, hoping she would not take my words as offensive. I could see that Morrigan was a woman who was used to speaking her mind but right now I was fighting to keep myself in check. I could tell that she disliked Alistair but she would not be the one who would have to help him through his grief. I could not afford to show him that I mourned Duncan as well as he did. So I did what I knew best, I willed my heart to grow cold once more.

"I'm sure you both lost people you cared about. I was once told that this King of yours was a good man as well, though a bit foolish." She said, trying to curb her tongue.

"Yes, he was a good man. But I hardly knew anyone at Ostagar." I lied. "I had only just arrived on the day that I met you and your Mother. I had become a Grey Warden as soon as I returned to the Keep and soon after the battle began. I never got a chance to meet any of my fellow Wardens other than Alistair and Duncan who recruited me."

"So what are your plans now, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I suppose that depends on Alistair. We will probably need to get word back to the other Wardens who were not at Ostagar. We will need their help to stop the darkspawn. We may even need to see who is left in charge since the King fell." I replied, already setting my mind to ignore the pain I was still feeling and get myself on my feet. I began looking around for my armor as Morrigan got up again to leave.

"Morrigan…thank you for helping us. And for putting up with my questions. I did not mean to offend you in any way."

"You're…welcome." She hesitated at the door and gave me a small smile. "I will look in making some food, if you feel you up to it. You will need your strength for your journey." She said and left me to gather my armor.

I looked in dismay at the damage that was caused by the arrows, hoping that I could find a suitable blacksmith along the way to hopefully repair it. I had no choice but put my armor back on and hope for the best. I was thankful the rest of my armor was intact and that I didn't lose too many of my weapons. I was happiest when I found my locket still hidden in my pack. At least I still had something small to help me mourn later on. I stood in front of the door and gathered myself as best as I could.

I opened the only door to the small cabin and stepped out to find Alistair and Morrigan's mother. He was looking intently at the fire that was burning in front of the cabin and was lost in his thoughts.

"Here is your companion now, boy. You can see for yourself she is unharmed, as promised." Morrigan's mother said to Alistair, who looked up at me in surprise and then his face lit up in utter relief. He quickly got up and walked to me, looking at me so intently I was tempted to cover my body even though I was fully clothed by my armor. Finally he closed the distance between us and put his arms around me carefully. I could feel him slightly trembling and I bit the inside of my cheek to retain the calm I had worked so hard for.

"Thank the Maker, you're alive! When I last saw you, I thought I had lost you too." He said, his eyes red. "If it weren't for Morrigan's mother…"

"Don't speak of me as if I am not here, boy," she scolded him as she stepped forward and looked at us both.

"I mean no disrespect, it's just I don't even know what to call you." He said, sheepishly.

"Names are pretty but useless. The Chasind call me Flemeth." She answered and we both bowed our heads in gratitude. In the farthest recesses of my mind, I knew that her name should mean something to me but right now I had many more questions that needed answering.

"Thank you for helping us, Flemeth. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but may I ask you why you saved us?" I asked.

"Sometimes I wonder that myself," she muttered to herself. "Well we cannot have all the Grey Wardens dying all at once, can we? Someone has to deal with the darkspawn. It has always been the Grey Wardens duty to unite the lands against the Blight or did that change when I wasn't looking?" she laughed. "If you're wondering why I saved you and not your fellow Wardens or even your King, I can only say that by the time I made it safely to Ostagar the battle was nearly over. The only things moving on the battlefield below were those creatures."

"So it's true. Cailan is dead. Duncan is dead. We've lost." Was all Alistair said as he walked towards the water that was next to the cabin. "This just doesn't seem real."

"You're alive, are you not, boy? And a Grey Warden. I should think that you can think of something that can help you defeat these creatures. As only the Wardens can." She looked shrewdly at us both. "Surely there are others you can look upon for help."

"The treaties! Alistair, do you still have them?" I recalled that once Duncan read them, he had given them to Alistair for safe keeping. He found his pack and was relieved that they were still there and he handed them to me. I quickly glanced at the papers and was relieved that what I was reading could be the help we desperately needed. I handed them back to Alistair.

"Of course. The treaties from the ruins! We can use these to call upon the Circle mages, Dalish elves and the dwarves to aid the Wardens!" Alistair exclaimed as he read them.

"But what about Loghain? What reason could he possibly have for betraying Cailan?" I couldn't help but wonder out loud and saw that my question made Alistair frown but Flemeth give me a knowing smirk.

"Why indeed? Was he not tasked to give the King advice? What could he possibly want that he would willingly leave him to die?" she said, saying what I had feared. "Come now! He would not be the first king to gain his throne that way!"

"Would he really abandon the son of his oldest friend?" I asked Alistair.

"I would not have thought it possible yet here we are." he said as he carefully placed the treaties in his pack. "If what Flemeth says is true, then Loghain will most likely lie to the queen. If there truly is no one left from Ostagar, who will dispute that he didn't try to save Cailan?"

"Do not doubt that what I tell you is true, boy." Flemeth glared at him and Alistair winced.

"I didn't…I apologize."

"Good. But what you say is true. Without someone to tell Ferelden what the Teryn has done, it may soon be too late to save ourselves and once we fall, there will be no one to stop the darkspawn. What you need now is someone who can inform others of what Loghain has done to the rest of the kingdom." Flemeth advised.

I looked at Alistair as he shook his head in agreement.

"Arl Eamon had not yet arrived at Ostagar before the battle had started. If we can speak to him, tell him that Loghain abandoned his nephew, I'm sure that he will also help us!"

"How are you so sure he will help us?" I asked.

"He was Cailan's uncle and I know him, he's a good man and well respected in the Landsmeet. We could go to him and appeal to him for help!"

I could not help but share a little of his optimism, knowing that if we once again had a chance to defeat the darkspawn, knowing we might have allies we could call upon, despite Loghain's treachery. But first we would need to reach Arl Eamon…

"An Arl to plead your case to and an army of mages, elves and dwarves to aid you. Sounds like there may be hope for Ferelden after all." Flemeth smiled at Alistair as well.

He turned to me and asked, "So can we do this? Go to Redcliff and the other places and build an army?"

"Why not? Isn't that what Grey Wardens do?" I answered him and he smiled back at me.

I turned to Flemeth, crossed my arm across my chest and bowed my head to her. "I thank you again, Flemeth, for saving us and saving my life. I hope to one day repay you for all you've done for us here." I told her formally as Alistair reciprocated my movements.

"Always so formal, Warden but do not worry, I ask for nothing in return. Perhaps there is still one last thing I can help you with but know this, what I offer is most precious to me. Without it, you have little hope of defeating the darkspawn."

"I would not decline whatever help you wish to offer." I told her, silencing Alistair before he could protest.

"I should hope not." She said.

Morrigan walked out of the hut and joined us then. "Mother, the supper is ready. Shall we have two guests for the eve or none?"

"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly. And you will be joining them." Flemeth informed Morrigan.

"Such a shame…what?"

I could not believe that the help she offered was her very own daughter and I turned to Alistair before he spoke out loud what I could clearly see on his face.

"Thank you but if Morrigan does not wish to join us, we will not force her. Maybe it is best for her to remain. You may need to leave the Wilds soon if the darkspawn…"

Flemeth interrupted me and said. "Her magic will be useful to you. Even better, she knows the Wilds and how to get past he horde."

I could see that Flemeth's mind was made up even before we had agreed and that there was no talking her out of it, even though Morrigan briefly looked at Alistair with such disdain that I wondered exactly what was the real reason she was coming with us. I Finally I agreed that Morrigan had been useful to us before and if she would be willing to join us, I had no objections. I looked at Alistair and he held back his argument's when I pointed out we needed all the help we could get since we were only two lone Wardens.

They argued and finally Morrigan relented and went to collect her things. I could see that Alistair was not pleased she would be coming with us but I had given him no choice in the matter. Morrigan would be our guide once again and I needed something to move towards or else I would wander back as close to Ostagar as I could get and hope to take as many darkspawn before I finally fell.

Alistair had moved back to the water's edge, his arms crossed over his chest and I knew that at some point we would argue over my decision. But I could see that he had looked to me to lead and so I did. Slowly I approached Flemeth now that I had the privacy to ask her one final question. She gave me a knowing look but shook her head. I had hoped that somehow Fergus had made his way out of the Wilds.

Now I was truly all alone.