Chapter 37 Morrigan

She could not remember flying to be this tiring. She envied the birds soaring high above her, their light bodies being lifted up by the smallest of gusts. For her, the winds were not favorable today, and keeping her giant body suspended in the air proved to be harder a task than expected.

After her initial outburst, her anger had carried her a long way: over snow covered hills gleaming in the morning sun, to green forests full of life -their coloured leaves stirring up as she flew overhead. Soon Lake Calenhad was below her, with its fishermen and merchant ships. 'Twas hard not to plunge down and wreak havok, submitting to her current mood.

But then the evening came. And with the setting sun, her rage subsided; exhaustion set in, as well as hunger. The hunt following her descent proved unsuccessful. High pine trees made it impossible to hunt from above, so she tried sneaking up on her prey from behind... However, it did not take long for the noises she caused to alarm any and all residents of the forest to her being there. If she were human, she would have cursed. As it was, she merely growled, scaring the last remaining animals away. Hungry and frustrated, she resigned and laid down to at least get some rest. Her mother would be alive for years -if not centuries- more, which meant that one more day or night of sleep would not be of consequence.

When she woke, most of the following day had already passed and the evening sun just barely showed behind the Frostback Mountains. Her stomach was empty and her mood foul, but at least the night sky would hide her from curious eyes.

During the previous day she had tried to stay away from any roads and towns, but following the coastal line of Lake Calenhad, she had seen a few settlements as well as farms. Which could only mean that they had seen her as well. Humans seemed to be everywhere. Even with a significant distance between them, she knew that the sheer size of her would alert them and after that anyone nearby.

She would have preferred to go unseen. She did not want any of her companions to find out about her plans and follow her to where she was going. Especially not the bard. Leliana was a curious thing, in more ways than one. 'Twas a distinct possibility that she might try and come after her.

Until now, Morrigan had not even thought about the others. Her rage had taken over, consumed her, freed her of all thoughts but one: Flemeth.

The name evoked nothing but anger and disgust. She had always thought that there was more to Flemeth's age and immortality than the old hag had let on. But knowing now that the witch had plans for her body in the future, she could guess at the ways she had prolonged her life in the years before her birth. She did not know how old her 'mother' was, or how many 'daughters' she had had, but she would be sure to find out.

And make her pay for every single one.

Days and nights blended together. She knew she slept more than she spent time in the air, and sometimes she had barely taken flight before exhaustion and hunger pulled her to the ground again. Food was scarce, and when she saw a lone merchant travel the roads on his ox cart, she was tempted to kill him and the oxen then and there. She resisted the urge, but later that night when her insides seemed to twist and contract in agony, she wished she would have taken his life. One human more or less could not make much of a difference after all the ones she had killed when she had been under Flemeth's spell.

The day after, Morrigan was so exhausted she could barely stand. She rarely moved and slept most of the day, but there was no improvement. Until she gave up on sleeping and just lay there, waiting for the day to pass. Finally exhaustion took over and she slipped into a dreamless state of rest, conserving energy as efficiently as an animal in hibernation. The high elm trees barely hid her sleeping form; purple scales reflected the evening sun in a way that bathed Morrigan's surroundings in a gloomy light, preventing anything and anyone from approaching.

When she awoke days later, she felt less exhausted, but no less hungry. Once the sun set behind the trees, she lunged into the air and travelled further east.

She had not flown for long when she saw a herd of horses roaming in the grass of the Hinterlands. They heard her approach, but it was too late. The horses started running in a panicked canter, merging together in the hopes of staying safe. Coming in from above, it was easy to crush one of the animals with her giant claws, killing it instantly.

She could not remember the last time she had feasted on something as grand as this. The meat was juicy and warm, and dark red blood sweetened the experience. She dug in, revelling in the taste of this fresh kill. Forgotten were her companions, long gone her love for the bard, and even her treacherous mother was driven from her thoughts. Her mind went blank. Survival. 'Twas the only thing worth thinking about.

Hunting and sleeping, hiding from anyone curious enough to look, she had finally made her way into the parts of Ferelden that looked familiar. Soon Lake Calenhad would be behind her, even now as she was following its small brother east, she knew that Lothering was close. The scents carried towards her by the wind told her she could not be that far from home. 'Twas a bittersweet moment, as were the memories conjured up by her mind. Days long past when she hunted deer with the Chasind while in the shape of a dog, or when her mother instructed her in the basics of magic, teaching her how to conjure up lightning and fire...

Part of her longed for those seemingly perfect moments, but knowing that all of it had been a farce made her wish she could forget rather than remember.

Lost in thought, she was startled when she realized that just a short distance away were the ruins of what had once been called the town of Lothering.

Empty streets and burned down houses spoke of Lothering's not too distant past. Darkspawn of all kinds had overrun the small town in waves of fire and blood. Few buildings could still be recognised; too thorough had been the destruction the Darkspawn had laid upon the unsuspecting town. Not many of its inhabitants had survived even the first wave, as was apparent by the amount of bodies littering the streets and former houses.

Flying overhead, Morrigan had trouble keeping the remains of the small huts apart, the only buildings she recognised were the tavern and the Chantry. The tavern had burned down completely, its second floor having collapsed and burying whatever had been underneath. It surprised her how the mere sight of the tavern affected her in ways she did not comprehend. Her mind conjured up images of Leliana, and she remembered that this was the place she had met the young bard for the first time. Shaking her mighty head, she tried forcing the memories and images from her head, but with minor success. Resigned, she turned her attention towards the Chantry, which had fared only slightly better.

Charcoal black bodies laid huddled together in the Chantry, the only building that had been built with stone. Its remains were darkened, the rooftop gone, but most of its shell had stayed intact. Morrigan decided to make this the place where she would spend the next day, and maybe the following night as well. She did not want to encounter her mother during the night, and she was close enough now to reach her hut in less than a day's time.

As she went down, the gust of wind she produced sent ashes and dust flying, and she felt bones and other things break under her weight. Before she fell asleep, she could feel the dirt settling down on her scales, covering her in a thin layer of ash and dust.

TO BE CONTINUED.

A/N: Sorry for any and all mistakes, and I hope you enjoyed these few moments with Morri :)