The next day was a hive of activity as everyone bustled around the camp in preparation for the upcoming battle. Finally, the day had come.

After a fairly long day of training with the other wardens, Ana found herself once more finding solace in the Chantry tent. The tent - which normally sit vacant - was now near packed as soldiers from all retinues silently prayed to make it out of the battle alive. Bowing her head as she sat on the pew near the statue of Andraste, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the loud, frightened whispers and gentle sobs from the wives who stood off to the sides. "Sword-shattering fear filled me overflowing. Grandeur of godhood no gaze should defile. Trembling, I called out: "Forgive me, Most High, I should sing Your Name to the heights of heaven, but I know it not, and must be silent." Ana whispers. She could feel the fear radiating outwards from her heart as it pounded in her chest. Her lip trembles. "Andraste begs the Maker to give mortals another chance, then did I see the world spread before me. Sky-reaching mountains arrayed as a crown. Kingdoms like jewels, glistering gemstones. Strung across the earth as a necklace of pearl. 'All this is yours,' spoke the World-Maker. "join Me in heaven and sorrow no more.'"

She then hears her name, a soft whisper that makes her open her eyes. She looks around until she notices Alistair kneeling beside her.

"Sorry if I scared you." He frowns. His gaze meets hers and he once more thinks about the kiss they shared the night before. His eyes flick down to her lips. Feeling the heat rise from his collar, he clears his throat. "We've been summoned by the King."

Her brows draw together. "The King? Why would he want to see us?"

Alistair shrugs, earning a sigh from Ana. Signing herself with the Maker's eye, she rises and dusts herself off before motioning him to lead.

Walking silently beside him, Ana strains herself to think of all the possible reasons for this sudden summons. Her thoughts drift to the night that Cailan hit on her and her heart begins to race. Could he be seeking one final fling before the final battle? Pushing it from her thoughts, she tried not to think about it.

The sun had been starting to set, the fading light casting long shadows within the ruins. The meeting place was no exception. The young wardens descended the stairs into what looked to once have been a great hall of some sort. Majority of one of the walls still stood, casting most of the partial room in shadow. Along a long table littered with candles -which flickered with the slight breeze that managed to slip through-maps and a surprising amount of tankards for the various people standing about the room.

As they reach the end of the small set of stairs, they find Duncan bent over one of the maps while Loghain and Cailan looked on with varying interest. When he rises once more, Loghain says something to the King to which he gets a sigh in response.

"Loghain, my decision is final." Cailan says. "I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault."

Ana glances at Alistair who looks on in confusion. Loghain shakes his head, his two thin braids shaking as he does so. "You risk too much, Cailan! The darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you on the front lines." He sneers. From the corner of his eye, he sees the two young wardens approach but focuses his ire on his son-in-law.

"In that case, perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces to join us, after all." Cailan smirks as Loghain pulls away with disgust.

Duncan takes a swig from a nearby tankard and turns away. Spotting his recruits, he motions them over.

"I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we need those masked imbeciles to defend ourselves." Loghain hisses. "What are they going to do? Pull out their ridiculous yellow feathers and tickle the darkspawn to death? Be reasonable, Cailan!"

Cailan flinches as though struck. "It's not a 'fool notion'. Our arguments with the Orlesians are a thing of the past." Cailan retorts. "And you must remember who here is King."

Loghain rolls his eyes. "How fortunate that Maric did not live to see his son ready to hand Ferelden over to those who enslaved us for a century!"

Duncan clears his throat and, after a moment of glaring at one another, both men turn their attention to him.

"Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty; They're here."

Cailan turns, a wide smile spreading across his face as he spots the two young Wardens. "Ah, you two are indeed a welcome sight! Please, step forward."

They do as they're told and Cailan walks up to Alistair. "You must be Alistair." He smiles. "Duncan has told me a lot about you. Your family would be so proud of you. To be a Grey Warden is quite the honor."

Alistair's face flushes. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan." Loghain growls from nearby. "We must attend to reality."

Cailan's smile remains intact but Ana notices the tension in his jaw as he turns to face her. Taking her hands in his, he smiles and kisses her hands. "A pleasure to see you again, My Dear."

"Cailan." Loghain urges. Cailan's hands drop from Ana's as he rolls his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, yes." He mutters. "Let's discuss the plan then." He turns from the old general and places his gauntleted hands on the tables while everyone gathers around.

Loghain sighs heavily as he approaches the table. Everyone leans forward closely, pushing Ana and Alistair a little too close for comfort. Neither say anything as Alistair begins to blush. He forces himself to pay attention to Loghain as he begins to explain. "According to the Warden-Commander's reports, it seems that the darkspawn horde that has amassed just beyond the border between the Wilds and Ostagar is much larger than we had anticipated; So much more that they seem to outnumber us by twice as much, maybe more." Loghain pauses and moves a few of the pieces between the Wilds and old fortress. "West of Ostagar is a small valley. It's not much but it's narrow enough to get a fairly small group through. This small group will act as bait to lure the darkspawn in."

Duncan studies the map before him, nodding. "Then I'm assuming the rest of our forces will be lying in wait behind them. They will ambush and herd them through the valley where we will have them surrounded. Correct?"

"Almost." Loghain says with a smirk. "I wonder when you of all people learned battle tactics. Surely without a Blight you'd have little reason to learn."

Duncan opens his mouth to retort but Cailan beats him to it. "Now, Now Loghain." Cailan says, his irritation showing through his smiles. "We have more important issues at hand. What group do you suggest using as bait?"

"I was thinking the Grey Wardens." He replies, nonchalantly. He raises a hand to stop Cailan as his face reddens with anger. "Save your tantrum, Cailan. This is not personal, it's strategic."

"I can't wait to hear this." Duncan mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. He motions for him to continue.

"The Wardens have a fairly sizable amount within their ranks; Just enough to at least lure the darkspawn in so we can strike."

Ana's heart pounds widely in her chest like a caged bird. Would Loghain really send them all into the lion's den?

"As I stated before, I will stand with the Wardens. I will lead this excursion myself with Duncan, his Wardens and my honor guard."

"Cailan…" His father-in-law warns but his concern is merely waved away.

"No. The Grey Wardens and I draw the darkspawn into charging our lines and then what?"

Loghain sighs deeply, knowing well that Cailan had set his mind. "Then," he grumbles, "you will alert the tower to light the beacon, signaling for my men to charge from their cover-"

"To flank the darkspawn, I remember." Cailan finishes, his eyes lighting up. He smiles as his eyes roam the map. He points to a small structure near the corner of the map. "This is the Tower of Ishal, correct?"

"It is, Your Majesty." Duncan nods.

Cailan nods and turns his attention to Loghain once more. "And who will light the beacon?"

Loghain clears his throat. "I have a few men stationed there. It's not a dangerous task, but it is vital."

"Then we should send our best." Cailan says, straightening. His gaze falls on the two youngest Wardens and he smiles. "I say we send Alistair and the newest Grey Warden, Ana, to make sure it's done."

All eyes shift to them and Alistair's brows furrow. Ana suddenly can't breathe. "What?" She squeaks.

Loghain grimaces. "You rely on these Grey Wardens too much, especially these younger ones." He sneers, motioning in their general direction. "Is that truly wise?"

The look that Cailan shoots him is chilling. "Enough of your conspiracy theories, Loghain." He hisses. "Grey Wardens battle the Blight, no matter where they're from or how young they are."

Duncan clears his throat, and all turn to look at him. "Your Majesty, you should consider the possibility of the archdemon appearing."

As he says this, Ana begins to feel faint. An archdemon? Isn't that a dragon?

"There have been no signs of any dragons in the Wilds." Loghain retorts.

"Isn't that what your men are here for, Duncan?" Cailan asks. Duncan glances at Loghain, his brows creasing. "I…" He glances over at his recruits before nodding. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Two older mages whispering nearby cease their chat as one of them comes forward. He takes a step toward the king and two templars and Loghain nearby reach for their sword, watching the mage with suspicion.

The mage kneels, bowing his bald head. "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold?"

He nods. "Go on."

The mage glances warily at the men watching him before rising. "What I was going to say, Your Majesty, is that the tower and it's beacon are unnecessary. The Circle of Magi-"

An elderly chantry sister garbed in gold and orange robes clicks her tongue. "We will not trust any lives to your spell, mage! Save them for the darkspawn!"

"Enough!" Loghain roars. He shoots them both a glare. "This plan will suffice." He points to the young wardens. "The Grey Wardens will light the beacon." He straightens, his gaze sweeping over the leaders from each faction. "If all goes well, the darkspawn won't stand a chance."

"Thank you, Loghain." Cailan says with a smile. His eyes light up as he looks down at the map as though he can see it all being played out before his eyes. "I cannot wait for that glorious moment!" He swivels and clasps Duncan's shoulder. "Just imagine! The Grey Wardens battling beside the king of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil!"

Rolling his eyes, Loghain turns from them. "Yes, Cailan. A glorious moment for us all." He mutters. He glances at Alistair and Ana before grimacing and striding away. As the leaders begin to branch off to make ready, Ana and Alistair separate and await instruction as Duncan paces, his hand idly stroking his beard in thought. Alistair coughs and he stops his pacing to look at them as though he's seeing them for the first time. He sighs.

"This wasn't what I had imagined but perhaps it's for the best." He frowns, looking between them. "Like Loghain said, the lighting of the beacon is vital. With Ana's incomplete training-"

Alistair shakes his head. "I understand why she shouldn't be in the battle but what about me? I can fight! I can help defend the king!"

Duncan smiles sadly as he looks at the lad. He has such fight in him, just like his parents. "As much as I appreciate your courage, Alistair, this is a personal request from the king."

"So he needs two Grey Wardens standing up there holding the torch. Just in case, right?" He pouts. "I'm pretty sure that Ana can handle lighting a fire. Right?" He asks turning to her. Her eyes widen.

"I-" She begins to say but he turns from her. "Exactly! It's not a two-person job!"

Duncan sighs as he runs a hand over his face. "That is not your choice. If King Cailan wishes for Two Grey Wardens to be in the tower in ensure the beacon is lit, then two Grey Wardens will be up there. Besides," he says, motioning to her. He gives her a nod of acknowledgement, remembering the last time she was annoyed with not being acknowledged. "I specifically assigned you two to work together at all times. This time is no different."

He places a hand on the lad's shoulder. "We must do whatever it takes to destroy the darkspawn…. Exciting or no."

Alistair sighs. " I get it, I get it." He mutters miserably. "Just so you know, if the king asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line, darkspawn or no."

Ana snorts and both men look at her. A smile curls the ends of Alistair's lips as she tries to conceal her laughter. He glances back at Duncan lets out a drawn-out sigh.

"Perhaps we should do that." Ana says with a shrug. "Perhaps Loghain would be okay with using Alistair as bait instead of all the Wardens and the king."

"Me shimmying down the darkspawn line?" Alistair snorts. "Sure, we could kill them as they roll around laughing."

"This is a serious matter, you two." Duncan snaps, his dark stare boring into them. They bow their heads like scolded children as Duncan continues. "As I'm sure Alistair already knows, the Tower of Ishal is on the other side of the gorge from the king's camp. It's the same way we came when we arrived, Ana." She nods but says nothing.

Duncan looks between his recruits. "You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley."

Ana glances up, looking at him through her lashes. "Any when will we know to light the beacon?"

"We'll signal you when the time is right. Alistair will know what to look for."

Ana nods and Alistair raises his head. "Once the beacon is lit, then what do we do? Surely you'll need all the men you can get to fight, right?"

Duncan folds his arms over his chest. "Stay with the Teyrn's men and guard the tower. If you are needed, rest assured, we will send word."

Alistair opens his mouth to argue but closes it immediately with a look from Duncan."

"But what about that archdemon thing you spoke of during the meeting?" Ana asks. "If that shows up, what do we do?"

"We soil our drawers, that's what." Alistair quips. He shoots her a smile and she grimaces in return. He shrinks back.

"If it does, leave it to us in the field. I want no heroic from either of you." His gaze lingers on Alistair. "Especially you, Alistair." Alistair bows his head. With one more rueful glance, Duncan clears his throat. "Now, we don't have much time. Everyone is getting ready and the battle will begin very soon. You'll probably have an hour, give or take. I suggest you hurry. But be aware, even the best plans can go awry." He mutters. "If that happens, do what you must." He glances up to meet their gazes. "I trust you both."

"Just not enough to actually fight with the rest of you." Alistair comments bitterly. Ana rolls her eyes and, much to their surprise, Duncan gives a lighthearted chuckle. "There will be plenty of battles, Alistair. Be patient."

Suddenly, Ana steps forward and grabs Duncan's hand. His brows furrow as she lies her forehead on it before looking up at him, her brilliant blue eyes filled with worry. "May the Maker watch over you, Duncan." She frowns.

His expression softens as he places a large hand on hers, almost engulfing it completely. "May the Maker watch over you too, Lady Ana." He says, surprisingly tender. His smile falls as he looks up at his other recruit. "Watch over each other and take care of yourselves." He says, glancing at Ana. "May the Maker watch over us all."