Doreen slept. Those big green eyes didn't look at him as Juli still lay on his cot. She looked so peaceful sleeping, like a squirrel hibernating. This girl…I'd give anything to keep her safe. A trickle of dread ran down his spine—what if I lose her today?

It was the day, according to the Grey Wardens, that they would face the darkspawn. The day that he would face his nightmares— the witch and his demonized Father. Would the darkspawn look exactly as the nightmares he'd had? The wicked creature looked exactly like Father. However, he knew this wasn't Father. His father would never hurt Mother. Let alone kidnap her.

"Hey." Doreen's voice was as heavy as stone .

"Hey." Juli said. Those big green eyes bore into his.

"I don't want to get up." Doreen pleaded. "It's scary out there."

Templars attacked them. Uncle had died. Shannon was about to die. Mother and Tobias were being tortured somewhere. Father had turned into a darkspawn and was making their lives miserable. Darkspawn, apparently, were after them as the creatures had attacked them a few times at this point. Their situation was so dire, that the legendary Grey Wardens were brought in by Quinn. Doreen had the right to be scared. If she's scared, I'm terrified.

"Me too."

Her eyes still on him, went left and right. "We have each other. That's something, right?" She gave him a shy grin.

She almost abruptly got up.

He still lay on his bed. A thin orange line went down the midsection of her body— from neck to waist. In the mildly lit tent, the white robe made the girl with the big green eyes looked as regal as ever. She slightly extended her right hand to the her side— offering it to Juli. For a brief moment he hesitated, as if her hand was a hanging hook. He gripped it tight, and she helped him get up.

Now they both stood side by side, fingers interlocked, the thin line of light that peered through the slit ran down the middle of the joined hands.

The looming brown-haired mage turned to him, "Together."

He nodded.

They stepped outside of the tent, into the scary reality that awaited them.

Everyone bustled loudly about the camp. Despite the sun being young, everyone was getting ready. The Wardens were huddled in a circle, whispering amongst themselves. Juli assumed that was some type of before-battle ritual, maybe? Patrick and Lou were arguing intensely. Their bickering suddenly stopped when Quinn and Omar walked towards them.

Theodore hugged his mother tight. Is it fair for him to come with us? He is so young, and we're dragging him to accompany us into this ordeal that we don't know if we would ever come back from. Juli felt an urge to speak up, however, it dwindled as he saw the young powerful healer rush enthusiastically towards Omar and Quinn. Does he have any idea of how dangerous and deadly darkspawn can be? Or is he straight up nuts? Or, Juli reconsidered, the boy is brave enough to want to help us. After all, they could really use a healer as they don't know what types of dangers await them.

Theodore was on their heels. The timid healer had a new staff. The stick was as short as he was. It supported nothing at the top, its peak was a solid surface. Juli couldn't tell if it was made of wood or not as it was as white as an eggshell.

Erick and Theresa wore heavy armor, it was at least the heaviest Juli had seen any hunter wear anyway. Their armor went from sternum to waist. Their limber arms were covered in silver shiny new armor. Even though the armor was akin to that of the Templars, this one appeared to be more…flexible than that of a Templar. Their pauldrons looked like thin leafs above their padded shoulders. The breastplates were a dark silver.

Doreen's hand escaped his, "Look." She said pointing a finger across the camp.

A person Juli couldn't quite recognize. He or she wasn't quite walking as the person limped about. As he squinted his eyes, he was able to tell it was a woman. Her hair looked strange as it was in clumps. In some spots on her scalp, there was none. And her skin was the color of an old parchment. Juli's eyes trembled with fear as he noticed her hands; they were claws. Like the talons of a darkspawn. He reached for his bow.

Doreen put a solid hand on his shoulder, "That's not a darkspawn. That's Shannon."

He looked at Doreen in disbelief. Then his dreading eyes turned back to see the woman, and he realized that this was indeed Shannon. He hadn't noticed her black black bow and quiver until now. Her hands looked bumpy and blackened. Was the Shannon he knew still there?

Doreen walked up to her. For a moment July hesitated, however, Doreen made a sharp gesture to follow her. He followed, his pace a clumsy one, as he didn't know what to expect from the woman tainted with darkspawn blood.

"How are you Shannon?" Doreen asked.

The woman had her backs to them as she tried to put on a boot. Shannon too had that sleek shiny armor that Theresa and Erick had. She seemed to have ignored Doreen as she went on to put on a black gauntlet. She turned.

They both jumped at the sight of her. Her face was blotted with black marks. Her lips were curled inward, baring yellowed teeth at all times.

She abruptly turned her face away, apparently shamed by her looks.

For a brief moment they both looked at each other. Juli gave her an uncertain shrug. Doreen reached out to Shannon and placed a hand on the embarrassed hunter, "We didn't mean to…"

"It's not you." She cut off Doreen.

Those big green eyes flicked towards Juli, bewildered byShannon's words.

A feeling that he had come to hate rose inside Juli; helplessness. Juli could see the same desperation on Doreen's eyes. He wanted to do something to fix all of this. He wanted something that would bring Mother, Tobias and Uncle back. Something that would keep the darkspawn away from them. Right now, those things were far beyond his reach for him to fix. However, there was something that he could do right now in this instant, and that was to help Shannon.

He put his judgement aside and stepped forward. He was at arm's length form Shannon. His eyes glanced at Doreen. He noticed that her mouth moved to say something, but not words were uttered. He gently grabbed Shannon's arms , "Then tell us, what is it?"

Her head half-turned to look at them. For a brief moment she hesitated, but then wheeled completely to face them. Weak black tendrils of hair fell to the ground, like lazy blackened snow flakes as she turned around. She didn't exactly have a mouth so her expression was unreadable, however, her eyes were forlorn. Her gaze was low and unaware. "There are voices in my head." Her voice sounded different. It was muffled and crushed. Like the groan of an animal in pain.

Juli tried his best to keep his composure and not seemed startled by the deafening voice, as he didn't want her to feel ashamed again. "Anything you need we're here."

Now she was the one that was startled. She had the same look of a teacher surprised by her students.

"Shan," her Father called from behind. He held her baby on his wrinkled and saggy arm. The man, Juli noticed, was too old to protect a toddler.

She turned and looked at her baby. Her talons yearned for her child. If Juli hadn't known this was Shannon, from behind he would have thought of her as a darkspawn. Her talons hovered anxiously above her baby. She took Lila in her unnatural hands. Her eyes hadn't been corrupted yet and she gazed at Doreen while she held her baby gingerly, trying her best so that those talons didn't hurt her beloved Lila. Both of them seemed to be speaking with just their eyes. Without the need for Shannon to say anything, Doreen nodded. Her eyes flicked to Juli, and while her lipless mouth didn't allow a smile, his bow told him that she was saying goodbye.

For a moment Juli stared at her. For the slightest portion of a second, he felt alone with Shannon saying goodbye to someone who knew Father. Someone who knew the real Father anyway. Not that darkspawn from his nightmares. He couldn't help it and shed a tear. Shannon tried to do the same, however, her darkspawn form didn't allow any crying. All she could accomplished was a lipless grimace.

Shannon turned her attention back to Lila. The baby smiled at her. A smile, Juli assumed, that brought Shannon a great deal of happiness, but at the same time, he knew that it brought her a bit of grief as well as she knew this would be the last time she would see Lila's baby grin.

Once again her eyes glanced at Doreen. There was something earnest that was said amongst them with just their gaze.

"Are you ready, Shannon?" Omar's voice came from behind.

If she heard him, she ignored him as she turned her attention to her baby once more. She mumbled something to her Juli couldn't quite catch. She gestured to her father and offered Lila to him. The old man embraced his daughter in a hug as he took the baby. His eyes were two shiny stars as the man was on the verge of tears.

"I'll always love you, Shan." The old man said. His voice was muffled as the great knot of agony held tight at his throat.

Shannon mumbled something, Juli didn't hear it, but he assumed it was the same her Father had said.

The woman pulled away from her Father and still didn't turn from them. Her eyes lingered on her child and Father. Then, almost abruptly, she faced Omar. She nodded sharply and followed the keeper. She didn't even flinch to look back at her baby. dogwood

Doreen looked at Shannon's father and Lila, again almost speaking with her gaze. She nodded at Lila and the old man. Her eyes turned to Juli. They both started following Omar and Shannon.

"Doreen." A soft and sweet voice came from behind.

They both turned to see who it was. The blue-eyed girl wore a white robe, very much like Doreen's, and held a flower with both of her tiny hands.

"Hello. What's your name?" Doreen's hands went to her knees, leveling her body so that she would be face-to-face with the girl.

"Sam."

"What you got there Sam?" Doreen apparently had a way with children, Juli noted.

The girl's blue eyes lowered to look at the white flower she clung to her chest. For a moment she just looked at the four-pedestals beauty. She would twitch her mouth from one side to the other, unsure of what to do.

"Here." She lifted the flower.

Juli wasn't sure if Doreen was acting or not, but her eyelashes blinked, as if she was flustered by the gesture. She pointed a forefinger at her own face, asking if Sam wanted to her take the flower.

The blue-eyed girl gave Doreen a reassuring nod.

"What kind of flower is it?" Doreen slowly took the gift.

There was something beautiful about the scenery. However, in a world where corrupted creatures wander, witches, demons and even dragons exist, the gesture of a before-war offering seemed out of place. Still good for the soul nonetheless, Juli thought to himself.

"I think…" she pressed her small forefinger against her lower lip in thought, "it's a dogwood flower."

"You seem to know a lot about flowers." Doreen lifted her torso back up. She studied the "dogwood flower." Four white pedestals with a dotted green middle made up the gorgeous bloom.

"Theodore is the one that told me the name of it."

of course, Juli thought.

"Do you like it?" Sam asked expectantly.

"I love it."

The girl smiled and blushed at the complement. "You will defeat the darkspawn, right?" Her face was all hope.

Doreen glanced at Juli. He could see the pressure on her face. He felt the same way; this kid thinks that we are going to defeat the darkspawn? We're just tagging alone with some powerful people that might defeat the witch.

She turned back to the optimistic blue-eyed girl. Doreen's face tried to be as kind as possible. The way she softened her green eyes and furrow reminded Juli of Mother—her face was outlined with tenderness. "We'll try our best."

Sam, satisfied with the answer, smiled blatantly. "Good luck." She headed back for her mom.

"Is it ready, Patrick?" His tone was absolute as he approached the dark-skinned human.

Thin beads of sweat ran down from his hairless head. "Almost." He sounded out of breath and tired. As if he'd been working the whole night. He was studying a chest plate with the same scrutiny Juli had seen study arrows and bows. The man was a perfectionist.

Juli noted that Lou, whom was next to Patrick, wasn't doing any crafting work. He was pouring some black liquid into a wooden bowl.

"Done." Patrick said cheerfully. The human pulled away from the shiny piece of armor. He smiled widely as he was proud of his work. His lips became a flat line as he saw Shannon. Juli could see that he was trying his best to hide his reaction to her looks- so was everyone else.

He turned his attention away from them and produced pauldrons and boots. He offered the whole armor set to Omar. The Keeper took it, and then offered it to Juli.

He stared at the keeper in sheer bewilderment.

"It's for you." Omar said evenly.

He stared at the armor as it glistened off the sun.

"Told you needed better clothes to fight darkspawn, kid"

Juli almost laughed. For all the bad talk about humans he'd heard since he had the ability to build memories, Patrick sure seemed to be the exception. The man had risked his life by going to the Circle of Magi. Maybe not all humans are "merciless beasts," after all.

"Thank you." Juli said to Patrick as he gracefully took the protective gear.

He tried it on. It fit right through his head and it dropped till it met his shoulders. He felt awkward in it as it was light but robust. He noticed that the gauntlets provided protection as he put them on as well. Silver rows of squares went from the wrist to knuckles. Juli didn't think arrows could get through it as he probed the shiny squares with the fingers of his naked hand. What wasn't engraved with silver, was black and thin rubber.

He had his bow and was armored. He was ready to rescue Mother and Tobias at all costs.

"Juli is not the only one getting gifts." Quinn approached them. The mage walked towards them holding a rectangular box in front of him. He strolled towards Doreen.

Her green eyes stared up at him. Her confusion was palpable.

"Open it." Quinn said with an amiable tone.

She lifted the top half of the box. Inside, a brown staff laid. It was very akin to Omar's, except that this one was a lot more limber. And on the top, it held a blue and thin snowflake. Doreen was speechless. For a moment, Juli couldn't see her eyes as her hair covered them. She looked down at the staff as if the wooden stick held the balance of the world and it might tip over if she ever touched it. Her eyes flickered between Juli and the staff.

At first Juli couldn't read her gaze, but then he realized what it meant; she asking if he was ok with this. He realized that after taking that staff, she wouldn't be just a student of Omar's anymore. That staff, was a vow. A commitment to being a mage for the rest of her life. Regardless of whether she could do magic or not, she was still Doreen. She was still the girl that was there when Father passed away. She has been here, getting him through without Mother. She has been there when he needed her most. This girl has always been his best friend. And he had a feeling that she would always be.

He nodded solemnly.

Her naked hand grabbed the staff from the box. Her eyes went from the fragile snowflake to its crescent bottom. She first held with one hand. Then with two. She tilted the stick forward. As if testing its balance. Her eyes went straight to Quinn, "How do I use it?"

The question sounded silly, but she was right; she has never used a staff. At least Juli had never seen her use one.

"You'll know how when the moment comes." Omar chimed in.

Doreen's brow furrowed, turning her face from confused to utterly dumbstruck.

"We're almost ready to go." Marcus said. The ex-templar's tone was low and cautious.

"Give us a minute." Omar said. The keeper turned his attention to Juli and Doreen, "There's an elven tradition you two don't know yet."

"Draw elven Gods in our faces." Doreen cut in.

Everyone gave her an incredulous look.

"What? I read." She said defensively.

Omar suggested that they all painted Fan'Harel on their faces. Everyone at first bucked at the idea, however, the keeper and Omar argued that this would show they weren't afraid of anything— not even the one that betrayed the Gods.