Outlander

by GreaterGoodIreland

A United Nations Peacekeeper without knowledge of the games is transported to Thedas. Unsure if he will ever be able to return, he is sucked into the conflicts of Thedas as he tries to survive with his new companions and build a new world.

58. Chapter 58: Rorke's Drift

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Rorke's Drift

It took us two more weeks to get the the rest of our equipment off the ships.

Unlike people, a lot of it couldn't just be walked off the things. The wagons were easy enough; we had just disassembled them. One of the cargo vessels had its lower deck filled with nothing but wheels and axles, all numbered and lettered so we could know which went with which in case they got jumbled for whatever reason.

But the industrial equipment, especially those for milling, pressing and casting metals, had to be craned from the deck of one ship onto the next and the next until reaching the shore. Considering not all of the ships had cranes, so we had to build an A-frame we could move from deck to deck to get the job done. It rained the whole time too. The people we had assigned to it were entirely miserable. I had to rotate assignments on it, simply because it was so unpopular.

Not much better was the job of clearing the space that would become the core of Troy itself. Clearing trees with powder charges wasn't possible in the wet, and we weren't about to waste our reserves or what little 'gun cotton' we had to do it either. So, it was to be axes and muscle all around. This took longer, and was almost as bad a job as the unloading, but at least had the advantage of providing undamaged raw materials required for buildings.

The carpenters were soon hard at work building on the seven hills, the number of which were a good omen. Basic housing for nearly forty thousand people didn't get made overnight, but the February storm season didn't generally arrive until the middle of that month, so we had plenty of time. Aside from that, we needed facilities for everything that was coming off the boats. For the moment, this just meant digging a pit and putting a basic roof over it to make a primitive warehouse.

However, the most astonishing feat was the Assembly building, built on the Capitoline Hill, so named because it's where the city's administration was to be located. Today, the hill is entirely engulfed by the Palais de la Liberté. Back then, it was just the one with the flattest top to it, and was also one of the two central highpoints. The other, le Mont du Mars, is where the Hotel de l'Armée and the Hotel de la Marine are, and is the place where I am writing this chapter at present.

The Assembly, before getting its current granite walled buildings with Tevinter columns, was graced with the first building in Troy, an excellently engineered two-floor wooden structure. It gave off a real American West feeling to me, like it was a gigantic saloon; all-oak construction complete with overhang balconies doubling as covered walkways, spaces for windows with shutters and muddy pathways all around it.

It was as if we had just slapped together twenty four large but ordinary houses in a circle and put a roof in the gap between them, much like the current Assembly is more or less just a circle of Chantries or temples with a roof in between, albeit one based on the Pantheon temple from my Earth books.

The offices of government and the opposition were on the periphery, while the Assembly chamber itself was in the middle. Of course, the chamber at that time was more or less just a rocky floor; the creation of the room hadn't even been started yet. Velarana really liked the look of some of the old Greek and Roman theatres as the basis of floorplan, just as she liked the temple idea for the roof. It would be nearly 9:41 before the work to quarry into the rock began to create the stepped hemicycle you can see today.

When the first formal meeting of Velarana's government was held, almost nothing but the basic structure was complete. The most of the building, especially that part supposed to be allocated to the opposition, to Julie and Armen, was just made up of the foundations and the support frames.

Julie, having already installed Leha in the government, found herself duly appointed as "Secretary of State for War", so she was naturally going to be there. Velarana was clearly using her as the stick with which to threaten anyone who might screw with us. My wife happily agreed, but it was obvious that Velarana wasn't appointing anyone military, Julie's honorary membership in the Guard regiment aside. Fisher Senior wasn't appointed either.

So I found myself being dragged up to one of the completed parts of the l'Assemblée Nationale from Camp Jerusalem in the company of Julie and Tam, the rain pissing down on us, also having grabbed Mariette from the tent she was hiding in so to push her request through while I was at it.

---

The Cabinet Room was big, but very modestly furnished.

Unvarnished floors that at least had the virtue of being flat, a shuttered window frame without glass, slots for two fireplaces that had yet to be filled by anything but placeholder planks to keep the wind out, and near total natural darkness. The doors didn't swing, but slid, because we didn't have any metal hinges for the things. The most luxurious piece of furniture was a padded leather-covered chair stolen from the library of Anora's Watch, in which Velarana's ass was parked.

Luckily, we weren't stumbling around in the dark, as the multiple mages present kept glowing magical balls up at the ceiling, to the point that it was almost as good as actual electrical lighting. The brightness dimmed noticeably on my entering the room, my immunity extending beyond my person as it usually did, but not so much that it would stop us from doing what we had come to do.

The War Council table now sat in the middle of the room, with Velarana at its head.

To her left was Leha, Minister for Finance, Marable, Minister for Magic, and Fisher Junior, Secretary of State for the Navy. Julie's seat was also on this side.

The High-Chancellor had very neatly gathered the people who weren't her direct subordinates or allies to one side. Leha and Julie were more or less hostile but necessary presences, Fisher Junior was her father's eyes and ears, and Marable was an apolitical Isolationist, someone who could be counted on to keep magic's interest at the fore.

On Velarana's left were her loyal Aequitarians, with two exceptions. Two mages and two Soporati held the positions of Minister of Police, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State for Agriculture and Housing, and Cabinet Secretary respectively. The two mages were female elves, the others male humans.

What their names were, I don't remember. They never came into real prominence in their own right, and were always an extension of Velarana's personal will. One or two served under the next Aequitarian chancellor, I think, but again, didn't make waves themselves.

The two exceptions were Grand-Cleric Brandon and Knight-Commander Barris. They could be counted on to be loyal to Velarana, more so than either of the Fishers, because she wanted to restore a formal place for the Chantry in order to fend off the possibility of an Exalted March entirely. She had told the Trevelyans that the Divine had bigger fish to fry, but the probability of ol' Justinia turning around to use our city as an excuse to keep the Templars on her side was not zero either.

With our arrival, the meeting had its full complement and could begin.

"Marquise, Marquis, Warden-Commander," Velarana said in greeting as we entered, before noticing that Mariette was with us too, "Welcome."

"You stole our table," I noted jokingly, pointing at the offending item as Julie took her seat.

Velarana smiled, a dastardly look across her eyes. "I was unaware that Lady de Villars would be joining us," she replied, "Especially as I don't recall inviting her."

"We intend to make a proposal regarding her," Julie cut in, "The spying thing. Although it would be best if she explain what she intends to do."

Velarana examined the harlequin for a moment. Mariette didn't flinch, but then, the High-Chancellor wasn't displaying any magical talent at the time. Instead, Velarana seemed to just be considering if she should object.

"Very well," she said at last, "We can talk about it before you are dismissed. In the mean time, please sit."

There was a game of musical chairs for a moment. The ministers shuffled their seats up to let us have space, but I pointedly took the space at the other head of the table. It didn't look like there were enough seats, so Mariette jokingly offered to sit on my lap, which I managed to fend off until Tam found her one. Eventually though, we were all sitting and relatively comfortable.

"Note to the record," Velarana frowned, "Make sure there are extra chairs."

The thin Cabinet Secretary nodded his head, and scribbled something in a shorthand I didn't recognise on a piece of paper before speaking.

"First item for military consideration," he announced, "A statement to the Free Marches declaring our intentions and principles going forward."

I just stared at him. "What does that mean?" I asked, "A statement written by who?"

"By me," Julie said, pulling a rolled document out of a leather cylinder, "Although I don't think it's my best work..."

"Of course it isn't," said Velarana, with a roll of her eyes, "It doesn't come from your heart, I know, but it should at least come from the brain. Especially considering I sent you what I wanted said. We need to use your fame to make sure people read this all over the Minanter River basin and beyond."

"Well, that's practically guaranteed," I said to her, "I guess no one really knows you yet. Let's hear it."

Julie nodded, her mouth tight with dissatisfaction. She stood up, held the document out, and began to read out its words in the Common Tongue.

A Message to the Free Marches

Peoples of the Free Marches, we refugee Orlesians give you greetings from Valhalla!

As you have no doubt heard before reading this, the Army of Free Orlais and the exiled children of the Eastern Dales have landed on your shores.

The circumstances of our being here should also be well known, but are worth repeating; the necessary but doomed battle against the tyranny of the Orlesian throne, our march through the Deep Roads, our invasion of Ferelden, our defeat and capture of King Alistair, our occupation of the great city of Amaranthine, and our voyage to Valhalla on board perhaps the largest fleet ever assembled.

No doubt questions are being asked about what this means for the Free Marches, about what we have planned, about the future of your cities. Rather than letting the world wonder about this, or worse, dream up every possible nightmare or slander imaginable, this declaration shall endeavour to explain.

First, we have established a city named Troy, to rule over the territory within the borders of Valhalla from the Last Mount in the west to the River Alba in the east, from the south of the Vimmark tail-hills to the Isle of Dogs and the Bay of Dolphins.

We do this in the full knowledge that some Marchers claim this territory for their own, but note that these claims have not been acted upon. They say Valhalla is theirs, but do not act like it is, leaving it to its own devices. We have found a wild, untamed land here. There are no settlements save for our own. What few hunting lodges exist are not occupied more than two months out of the year by every report. Animals come and go with little regard for people. Resources and land remain unclaimed and unexploited.

Therefore, we assert our superior right of settlement. On the basis of our establishing legal order, free commerce and security from attack here for the first time in history; this land is ours.

From this point onwards, Valhalla is the sovereign territory of the Trojan Republic; a democratic, Orlesian and independent realm.

Second, we shall defend our city and territory to the death.

Any Marcher realm, mercenary group, criminal organisation or merchant conglomeration that attempts to violate the sovereignty and laws we hereby establish shall be met with absolute force, both civil and military. Any person violating the borders we establish shall be taken from Valhalla forthwith. Any person legally present that breaches our laws will be imprisoned or executed according to the severity of their crime. Repeat offences will be dealt with harshly. This is necessary to protect our lives, prosperity and values from outside interference or attack.

We believe any other Marcher realm would do and does the same. We ask only the same consideration you would expect from others in this regard.

Third, we do not plan to declare war on our neighbours for any reason except immediate self defence.

Our war in Orlais was not one of conquest, but for the liberation of our own people. Even now, the Orlesian people struggle in whatever way they can against the chains that hold them. However, it is not our duty or right to make war on other realms, or to liberate people who would not liberate themselves.

However much we welcome the people of the Free Marches emulating our example, it is not for us to force them to do so.

Fourth, we do not intend to encourage rapid change to the societies or forms of government of our neighbours.

While we desire that all peoples will one day rule themselves as we do, and shall not hide this desire, we will take no direct hand in organising those who agree with our ideals. However, should suppression of these movements take the form of mass murder or warfare, we reserve the right to intervene in the interests of the common good, but in no case shall this result in the conquest or permanent occupation of lands other than Valhalla.

Likewise, we shall not accept the coming into Valhalla of those so inclined without citizenship, the terms of which have yet to be decided. Exceptions granted in extraordinary circumstances will not be allowed to become the rule. Only legitimate political or magical refugees shall be accommodated. Any attempt at mass deportation of dissidents for the convenience of their political opponents will be considered an act of war.

Fifth, we declare that the murder of non-combatants, rape as a weapon of war or politics, the mass destruction of property, the forced deportation of arbitrarily defined groups, the conscription of those below the age of sixteen for purposes of war, the suppression of free and peaceable political organisation, piracy on the high seas, banditry on the highways, and slavery or involuntary servitude have been, are and always will be crimes against humanity itself.

Those that carry out these crimes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of our courts, regardless of their status, when these crimes were committed, to whom they owe allegiance or any other privilege they may have. If they fall into the hands of our armed forces, or step foot on Valhalla's soil, they may be tried according to what evidence exists.

Sixth, we intend to build a voluntary and equal alliance of Marcher states.

Threats to the liberty of all Marchers abound. To the north, the Qun and Tevinter remain locked in battle but their attention does not always stay on one another. To the west, the ambitions of Nevarra and the House of Chalons are limitless, even if they are checked for the moment. To the east, the pirates roam free and rule the Amaranthine Ocean. To the south, the impact of the Fifth Blight and the Orlesian Civil War continues to be felt.

The Free Marches cannot remain complacent. The events at Kirkwall in particular have proven that there is a need for a gathering of strength and an opening of trade. We are newcomers to your shores, but our deeds and capabilities are not unknown to you. We have much to offer any potential alliance, and not just in the form of our advanced weapons or military techniques. Advancements in agriculture, manufacturing, sanitation, medicine, finance, alchemy, and yes, in government too, all these can be and will be shared.

The benefits to all concerned in such an alliance are considerable.

In the coming months and years, we hope to maintain the peace in the face of what will no doubt be numerous challenges. There will be those among you that preach war, to prevent any chance of our spreading rebellion and revolution among the realms.

We ask that you listen to the voices of reason and restraint, and assure you all that doing so will not go unrewarded.

Signed on behalf of the People and Republic of Troy in Valhalla,

Julie Hunt, Marquise de la Fayette.

Velarana, High-Chancellor of the Trojans.

Sam Hunt, Commanding-General of the Free Army

Raymond Pecheur, Admiral of the Free Navy.

Apparently, signing off on declarations is expected.

It was a document of compromise, I thought immediately as I heard it

It was clearly geared towards protecting our own people first, rather than exporting the Revolution. It brought my mind to the French Revolution specifically, when America had to resist joining France in fighting its counterrevolutionary enemies.

Velarana, having read that history as I had, likely believed that it was only a matter of time before more revolutionary rebellions began. She wouldn't intervene unless things got so out of hand that the consequences would have been felt by us regardless. Mass murder tends to send people fleeing, and where would they flee but to us, the arch-Libertarian nation, if their nobles started killing them?

By now, Julie's first pamphlet, Le Sens Commun, had already made the rounds across the Marches as Common Sense, published by Kirkwall's printers, whom had seen how popular it was with the Orlesophile merchants and lower nobility. They were never above printing other people's work for their own profit. Our reputation was well established in both theoretical and practical terms.

This new declaration was not an appeal to rise up, but one of patience. One of peaceful reform.

In other words, it was the Aequitarian philosophy all over. That Julie wrote this was perhaps a concession on her part that war against the world was not something she herself should start. That it should be a defensive war, not one of aggression. I began to get the feeling that she was softening on the issue of warring with anyone who didn't acknowledge the people as sovereign.

I also saw a glimpse of Velarana's plan to create a throne for our people and put Julie on it, should I refuse to sit there; Julie was the first person named as a signatory, and not just because she was the most famous. I still wonder if Julie had an inkling of this at the time, but she denies it when asked. Always has.

Julie finished speaking, put the page down, but didn't sit down again. She looked to the High-Chancellor.

Velarana gave a small nod. "It is better than I thought it would be," she said, "And you included everything I said to. I was expecting you to leave some of the more... pacifistic points out of it."

"You were right," Julie said, "We need to make a show of unity if we are to keep our country safe. The people voted for your plan, not mine. I cannot betray them by provoking a war they do not wish. Even if I believe that war will come regardless."

"If that is true," said Fisher Junior, "This could buy us months we can use to achieve more than we otherwise could have. Not to mention complete our settlement of this place."

There was a round of agreement at the table at that, even Julie conceding that time in this case was useful.

Something was bothering me, however.

"A democratic, Orlesian and independent state," I quoted, "Do you not intend to accept Marchers who share our beliefs into the city? We could use the manpower and the contacts. The Orlesian part of that sentence gets in the way a little."

Velarana frowned. "General, the matter of citizenship is one for the Assembly, not the military," she said, "But no, I do not intend to allow Marchers to become citizens just by showing up, or residents without my leave."

My eyebrows arched upon hearing this. Considering her ideas about how to spread the wealth of our people around, this was an unusual position. At least, to someone used to a different political system.

"Why not?" I asked, "Like I said, we could use the manpower."

"Security of the state and and the unity of our people," the High-Chancellor replied, "I do not wish to allow a vector for Crow assassins paid by the Marcher nobles to move and kill freely. I also wish to preserve the culture of our people, so it can be a rallying point for us, something everyone can have in common."

I scowled. What we had in common was our commitment to destroy tyranny. I tended to forget that the people around me weren't... American.

Velarana saw my look, and attempted to explain. "I find this to be extremely necessary, precisely because our nation is a democracy," she said, "If the people do not have a fundamental identity in common, if they do not believe they are one people, they will divide. External forces will exploit this, and we will be conquered as a result."

That sounded a little too familiar for comfort.

"We already have non-Orlesians," I said, "Half the Templars are Fereldan or Nevarran, the mages are from everywhere, and the Avvars have two bloody regiments!"

"The Templars are loyal to the Chantry, first and foremost," Velarana replied, "Mages are from the Circles, which are influenced by the realms they stand in. And the Avvars are integrating perfectly, because they believe it is the divine will of the Lady of the Skies to follow you. You speak Orlesian and have yourself become Orlesian. They will follow you, religiously. None are any great threat to our unity."

"Except," Grand-Cleric Brandon interrupted, holding up a finger, "If the Avvars start calling on spirits openly. That would be a problem. That would be an intolerable blasphemy."

"Indeed it would," Velarana said, "They do it away from prying eyes."

"I'm sure they do," Brandon huffed, "As much as I'd like to stop them, they've proven themselves in battle defending our holy cause. They'll only harm themselves by consorting with demons. Our Templars stand vigilant should this threaten anyone else."

Velarana gave a generous exclamation of agreement, before turning her attention back to me. I shook my head in disbelief.

"I don't understand," I said flatly, "We need weapons and warm bodies to carry them. Julie's going to take care of the weapons, but this government needs to get the bodies. Thirty-five thousand or so troops can't possibly hold off the entire Free Marches forever, and that is the worst case scenario we have to plan for regardless of our hopes for peace."

"You will have the bodies, Marquis," Fisher Junior replied, "From Orlais."

That seemed entirely impractical, bordering on the jabbering of a lunatic.

"What are you talking about?" I said, straining my voice, "You're going to march people all the way here through Nevarra and the other Marcher states?"

Velarana opened her mouth to overrule the reply from coming, but the Secretary for the Navy was on a roll now, and couldn't be stopped.

"No, we are going to take Jader," Fisher Junior said, "And from there, we shall send refugees from the civil war by ship here."

I found myself on my feet at once, anger burning in my throat. At last, the cost of the Jaderites' political support for Velarana had been revealed; the liberation of their hometown. Of course, such an operation was totally within our capabilities as far as I was concerned, but I had not heard a single word about preparations for it.

"And just when did you plan on telling me this!" I said loudly.

"Apparently, right now," Velarana replied, sending a glare at Fisher Junior on account of her big mouth, "You were to be briefed after the storm season, when preparations for our defence were to be made."

"And me?" Julie said coldly, leaning across the table towards the Aequitarian side, "Madame Pecheur, Jader is something I could have promised you had you informed us of your desire for it."

"Marquise, Lady Velarana came to us with the proposal," Fisher Junior replied, a little harshly.

"As for you Marquis, the operation against Jader will require only the Navy. Its harbour is protected by our fellow Jaderites, who will probably mutiny as the crews of the galleons at Amaranthine did. Even if they don't, we can defeat the Orlesian squadrons with our new weapons, sail into the harbour and bombard the keep of Lady Seryl. She will have no choice but to flee, surrender or die."

All of which was very optimistic... and we're very lucky there was another way to do it. Even then, I could tell there was no dissuading the Jaderites from this course. They controlled the Navy. They could do it without us if they wanted to.

I stood stunned, stunned that this could have been kept quiet. Either the likes of Paulie Walnuts and the other captains kept excellent poker-faces or they didn't know jack shit about it themselves. Either was a possibility.

A palm came and rested itself on my shoulder, and another reached over and did the same for Julie. It was Tam. Both Julie and I are stubborn. We often don't know when to stop fighting, unless put in an absolutely hopeless situation. It's what makes her a good politician and me a good soldier. You don't get anywhere by caving in. But it could always go too far. Tam had no such problem, and this was another moment that showed off our great luck in having her by our side.

We both sat down again.

"Thank you, Warden-Commander," Velarana said, pushing a strand of hair out of her face, "As ever, your good sense brings you honour."

"I did not do it for you," Tam replied, "Sam and Julie are right to be angry. But I am sure that they will get the chance to object in a more appropriate way. Your proposals must be voted on, must they not?"

"Yes, they must be," Julie said, realising that for herself, "This isn't over."

"We'll see," Velarana said, "In the mean time, we have other things to talk about with the Marquis."

The Cabinet Secretary cleared his throat, taking her words as an order to announce the next item on the agenda. He stood, coughed again, and spoke.

"Reform in the Army," he declared, "The Marquis' proposals for compliance with the Chancellor's policies."

"Cuts in the Army are probably more accurate," I said sourly, before easing off, "But having seen how much work needs to be done on the city, it probably makes no difference. So many of our people are needed for construction and resource gathering, they'll be away from drill and combat duty for months just to avoid delays."

"I'm glad you approve," Velarana said, "I know you've been speaking to the Marquise about this, so tell me, how many troops will you be keeping? Far too many, no doubt."

The implication being that because of her deal over the state finances with Julie and Leha, she expected far more to be kept on that she wanted.

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, actually," Julie replied, "He went far lower than I would have."

Velarana shot me a look saying 'get on with it', so I did.

"Sixteen thousand," I said, "Three cavalry regiments, twelve infantry, one magical, organised into five brigades, each containing three thousand two hundred combat troops."

Our High-Chancellor's mouth opened slightly at that. The figure was far smaller than she could have anticipated.

"Another two thousand to work as a Logistics Corps," I continued, "They can double as a civilian organisation. A thousand men and women to be made into Gendarmes under your Minister for Police over there. Everyone else will be in the National Guard, their weapons to be held in depots or forts."

Velarana gave a quick tilt of the head. She approved. I sighed with relief. Sneaking in another two thousand like that was more of a touch and go proposition.

"Who commands the brigades?" she asked, "And the National Guard?"

I pulled out a folded piece of paper from a chest pocket, and read off the order of battle I had drawn up.

"Baroness de Villars commands the Guards' Brigade, with all three cavalry regiments." Not even a divine being could have torn that command from Louise's grasp, and there was no one at all as capable at commanding cavalry.

"Soprano leads the Ranger Brigade, with her Ranger regiment and two more firelancer regiments." Soprano was the most aggressive officer I had, at least when it came to fighting on foot, so she got the foremost infantry regiments and her original regiment of sharpshooters, so her natural instinct could be well exploited.

"McNulty the Grenadier Brigade, two firelancer regiments with the Grenadier one." McNulty was the coolheaded one, at least in a real fight. He'd be the one to throw into the worst situations, like storming breaches or putting in against the enemy's best.

"Mike will get three firelancer regiments mounted up as a Dragoon Brigade." Dragoons, for non-military readers, are mounted infantry soldiers. They ride on horses, so they can get around very quickly, but they dismount in order to fight (unless caught on the march). Mike's virtues were her disciplinarian nature and her excellent instincts on the defensive. The role of dragoons is the begin the fighting by riding ahead, seizing a point on a battlefield, and then holding out until the rest of the army arrives. Mike was perfect for this. Besides that, I had too often relegated her to a more general command of the less capable troops, and felt this wrong, considering her contribution.

"And I'll command the Highlander Brigade directly, with both Avvar regiments and the Foreign Legion, as well as overseeing the National Guard with Mike as my deputy." The Avvars weren't going to follow anyone but me in the long term, at least until they were better assimilated into our society. Amaranthine had done a lot towards moving them that way, thankfully. The Legion, being Aurelia's personal bodyguard of a thousand mage-soldiers and their retainers, also had to be attached to my direct command for political reasons. My taking responsibility for the National Guard alongside Mike was related to what I had said before; she had played too large a part for me not to relieve her of much of that burden.

"The Libertarian mage regiment and the artillery batteries will be dispersed among the brigades as we usually do." If it ain't broke, don't fix it being the logic here.

"The Foreign Legion will take up the role of magical assault from the Aequitarians, whom will be stood down as you requested, to release them for administrative work." Velarana's governmental reforms required a lot of paper pushing, as you can imagine. That meant not only literate folks, but people used to working in that sort of environment. The Circles are essentially giant research institutes, albeit ones where actual research is strictly controlled. Both of those facts means that bureaucracy is a fact of daily life, and mages themselves were well aware of how to go about organising another. The Trojan Civil Service is to this day still very much dominated by Aequitarians, mage or otherwise, thanks to me going along with Velarana's initiative.

"The Templars will be returned to the command of Barris alone under the watchful eye of Mother Brandon, and the Grey Wardens will be under the command of McNulty when operating with our Army." Another of Velarana's reforms, this time rolling back our 'nationalisation' of the Templars. A sop for the Chantry types in the form of a guarantee of Templar independence, as then they could run investigations into illegal magical activity without interference. How far that would get us in terms of public opinion elsewhere in the Free Marches, I had no solid idea about.

"All of them except Barris will form a General Staff, so we can begin making war-plans to fit as many of the possible scenarios going forward." Better to have plans than to not have them. The declaration of war against our enemies in Orlais, and the Halamshiral Campaign, had all been before we had the chance to properly plan. Wasn't going to make that mistake twice.

Velarana rapped her knuckles off the table, smiling widely. She was pleased. So was I. A fight over this was the last thing our enterprise needed.

"I presume the Foreign Legion are our Tevinter friends?" Velarana said, "So you believe that they will join our nation?"

"The Legion will be for anyone who wants to become a citizen, ultimately," I replied, "And they'll be put through the same language lessons and discipline procedures as the Avvars. So far, it's worked nicely with them, the Highlanders are speaking Orlesian as much as anyone, albeit with an accent. Their Common wasn't exactly great before. And I see no reason why Colonel Tiberia wouldn't cooperate with me to get the job done."

Indeed, Aurelia was greatly pleased to help.

"They are used to mages ruling, however," Velarana mused, "But then, I am a mage. That should ease the transition. I suspect democracy itself is more alien to them, or perhaps the fact the majority are elvhen."

Julie hummed her agreement. Tevinter contempt for elves was well known. They were never citizens, even when not slaves. Even elf mages were merely Liberati, even after they joined the Circle of Magi.

"The Tevinters will be watched," I said, "But they should be loyal to me through Aurelia. The troops they'll be leaving behind are for her protection, as well as the protection of our children. It would be idiocy to agitate for a magocracy, or to subvert things here. Our country is the thing that'll shield the children from harm. Aurelia cannot bring them to Tevinter, because it's a nest of vipers, completely unsafe. And I wouldn't allow her to take them anyway."

That little speech settled the matter of the Tevinters' loyalty.

This should not have been the case. A strange thought occurred to me, as no one challenged me on it. That Velarana was right about one thing. The loyalty of several groups to me personally, rather than our institutions, the deference I was granted, the damned cult that seemed to be forming around my person. It seemed to point to one thing.

I had the authority of a monarch already.

The Chancellor's cool gaze told me that she knew that I had noticed it too. I was about ready to kiss the next person to change the subject.

"It seems like very few," said Fisher Junior out of the blue, "Is sixteen thousand really enough? I know everyone will still be armed and drilled, but they will take time to get together in an emergency."

"It is enough," I replied, "Look, I am the first to admit that I know very little about fighting with swords, spears and bows. That's not the warfare I am familiar with, or the type I studied. But firelances, they are something I know. Sixteen thousand troops with firelances, cannon and magic could probably beat ten times their number in levies or mercenaries."

I had all of their attentions now.

"We had only about six thousand at the Hafter, which forced us to take a defensive stance. We still beat off thirty thousand Fereldans. And Alistair had mages. The Marchers won't. With sixteen thousand firelance-equipped troops, I could have defeated Gaspard, never mind Alistair. I can go on the offensive with that number, not just occupy good ground and hold it like we did in Ferelden."

Fisher shrugged, apparently convinced. If I said so, it must be true. She had no reason to doubt that the word of the Commanding-General was good on military matters, at least on land.

"Besides that, there is another idea that will increase the odds in our favour even more," I said, "I propose that we create a group of spies, assassins and saboteurs under the umbrella of a single organisation to coordinate them."

"Lady Mariette's idea, I presume?" Velarana replied, looking to the harlequin, "Perhaps she could tell us more?"

Mariette inclined her head forwards in respectful acquiescence, her masked face revealing nothing of her feelings.

"Your Excellency, the defeat in Orlais was not just military," she said, "In fact, in military terms, the Free Army was unbeatable, and the firelances aren't the only reason for that. The Army was the most disciplined ever seen in Orlais. It also had the support of both nobles and commoners. The chevaliers, the peasants, the bourgeoisie, the traders. This was of great concern to Gaspard, I can tell you. He personally charged me with leading the assassinations of your leadership. Whoever had attempted the same before prioritised the wrong targets. I did not intend to make the same mistake."

The assassinations that had preceded our declaration of war against the Empire remained shrouded, our ability to investigate who was responsible for them completely gone. But it was no great surprise that Gaspard did not seem to have a part in them. Well, not that he would have admitted otherwise to Mariette either, who was a chesspiece at best in his playing of the Game.

Velarana looked on with curiosity. "So you do not believe that we lost because we became too ambitious?" she said, "Why am I not surprised. Your Libertarian leanings are well known, even if your reasons for holding them are a complete mystery to me. Why do you think we lost?"

"Free Orlais fell because it was half-blind and fought with one hand tied behind its back," Mariette replied, "It relied on uninterested dwarva parties to relay critical information, and refused to play the Game."

Leha let out a low growl of objection. "Are you saying that my contacts betrayed us?" she said, "Because let me assure you that I gave up no information to them while they were passing it to me. It was entirely a one way street. I am not stupid, I made absolutely sure there was no possibility for treachery."

Mariette shook her head. "No, I am not suggesting you or any of your contacts betrayed the cause," she said, "I am saying you relied on people who did not have access to the halls of power. You did not make spies out of ladies in waiting, servants or guards. You did not entice bards to assassinate your enemies. You did not employ mercenaries or infiltrators to interfere with the Royal Army's supplies."

Julie crossed her arms, regarding the harlequin with unbelieving eyes.

"There is a reason for that," she said icily, "We were trying to make something better. Playing by the old rules doesn't make us better, it makes us the same as those we're fighting. Never mind the fact that it would be entirely naïve to suggest that we could play the Game as well as the Maker-damned Empress, to say nothing of Gaspard. I was there when the entire des Arbes family was killed before my very eyes, along with my sister and her husband who just happened to be in the way. That sort of atrocity is something we were fighting to end forever."

Mariette was not impressed, a pause before her reply communicating it.

"Indeed, you would not have been able to outplay the Empress," she said, "As for your moral objections to the Game, I understand your instinct but you cannot afford to hold them so tightly. Play or be played, this is the way of the world."

"I know it is," said Julie, "My answer is that the overwhelming force of the people is greater than that intrigue."

"It is," Mariette agreed, "But it wavers with every changing circumstance. It is impossible to marshal in your cause for any real period of time."

"Watch me," Julie replied with a grin, "Or better yet, watch Lady Velarana. We know how to move the people to act. That is what all this has been about. We've proven you wrong before, we can do it again."

"Then things will be harder for you," Mariette said, "You might not have been able to beat the Orlesian high nobility at the Game, but you can certainly beat these backwater Marchers. Nor did you have a certain asset of great value for this purpose when you faced Gaspard and Celene; Myself."

Julie did not respond, just staring at the harlequin from her corner.

"You have much confidence in your ability," Velarana said, "You are young. Perhaps confidence is natural for you, but is it warranted? Can you organise the things you propose?"

"I am a harlequin," Mariette replied simply, "Everything I propose, I have participated in before, and due to my diligence in such actions, I have also been granted command over others in doing the same. Besides that, for every successful bard in Orlais that lives is another that is either dead or in exile. The exiles I can leverage to our cause easily enough. The children of high nobles do not become bards, most are commoners or low nobility, both of whom are sympathetic to our cause."

"Assuming they aren't of the opinion that they dislike their place on the hierarchy," Julie added, "Rather than the hierarchy itself."

The High-Chancellor gave a single nod, acknowledging both points.

"Marquis, do you endorse this plan?" Velarana asked, "Despite the objections of your wife?"

Julie looked at me, already knowing that I did. But then, I already had a compromise in mind.

"I do," I said simply, "We need this. Especially if you want to avoid going to war. We have to know who is acting against our interests and react accordingly. And all we need to do to avoid falling into the darkness on this is make rules and follow them. Strict ones. First of them, that the only people we target are legitimately our enemies. Not their wives, not their children, not their servants."

"Only the tyrant dies?" Velarana said with a smile, "That is noble of you, but I wonder how long it will last should war loom on the horizon."

"It will last," I said, "Because we don't need to rely on spies, assassins and saboteurs to win. We only need them to tip the balance, in conjunction with our military and diplomatic efforts. Besides that, killing uninvolved persons weakens the moral basis for our cause, as Julie said. That is not some irrelevant thing. If we act immorally out of a lack of discipline or out of desperation, we lose support. You've read Sun Tzu. You know what I'm talking about."

The High-Chancellor looked up at the ceiling, considering my words. For a moment, I thought I had perhaps gone too far with the whole moral standing thing, but in the end, she just settled back in her seat and raised her hand.

"I call a vote," Velarana said, "Does the Government endorse the Marquis' plan for Army... restructuring?"

Couldn't help but put a spin on it, could she? All the assembled ministers and secretaries raised their hands. The Cabinet Secretary made a show of counting the hands nonetheless, pedantics a qualification for that position.

"Does the government endorse the creation of..." Velarana continued, "What is the organisation to be called?

"Organisation des Services Strategiques," Mariette replied, "Or OSS, since Sam is so much in love with those 'acroynms' of his."

"A little too much in love with them if you ask me," Tam remarked, opening her mouth for the first time since the meeting began.

I couldn't help but shrug, exaggerating the movement to display my admission that it was true. Velarana smirked at me, knowing full well I felt ganged up on and taking pleasure from it.

"All those in favour of creating the OSS," Velarana said, "For operations of espionage, sabotage, and clandestine warfare outside the borders of Valhalla?"

Choosing her words very carefully there. In effect, reserving internal spying and dirty tricks to her own office. Mariette was no doubt amused, but said nothing. I thought it a very sensible idea personally. There was no reason for the military to be involved internally. That was for the cops to handle.

All the ministers and secretaries again raised their hands. No objections. There seemed to be a strange amount of palpable relief on the faces of Velarana's Aequitarians. Their business with me had concluded. Evidently, I made them nervous.

"Votes carried unanimously," the Cabinet Secretary noted aloud, "That is the end of matters for the Army High Command. They may be dismis.."

"Wait," Tam interrupted, "I have a matter to raise."

All heads swivelled to look to her at the corner of the table, Julie and I first among them. Tam had said absolutely nothing about having her own business at the meeting to us before.

I examined her face for some clue as to what was about to happen, and found it as hard as silverite plate. A serious matter, in other words.

"Warden-Commander, the floor is yours," Velarana said, seeing the same thing I did.

Tam looked around in confusion for a split second, before understanding the idiom and standing up.

"Warden-Constable Stroud has received information that darkspawn are active near the Deep Roads entrances to our north," Tam said, "I would like your permission to take our entire force of Grey Wardens, with an Army escort, to a hunting lodge that is close to those entrances."

Velarana's eyes widened slightly.

"All of the Wardens?" she asked in disbelief, "Is that really necessary?"

"Stroud's message said that the movement of darkspawn was quite large," Tam said, "My Wardens' duty is clear. Stroud and Warden-Constable Hawke will be accompanying us, along with Marian Hawke, Admiral Isabela and a number of their crew."

"It seems the Champion of Kirkwall worries about her sister," Mariette said.

"She does," Tam replied, before turning to Velarana again, "Do I have the escort?"

Velarana's lips thinned, the suddenness of the request not pleasing her, but less so than the idea of darkspawn running around.

"I'll trust the Marquis to assign the appropriate troops," she said finally, "For now, the military contingent is dismissed." Get out, in other words.

Genuinely happy to get out of the place, I stood up immediately. Mariette and Tam half jumped up to match my movement, not having anticipated my enthusiasm for escape. I saluted quickly to Velarana. Mariette copied me.

Tam led the way out of the building, Julie's chair scraping loudly behind us as she got up to follow. Evidently the former knew what both I and the latter intended.

The guards presented arms as we exited out under the balcony, where they were taking shelter from another rain shower. We all began to redress in our furs, which not even Tam was stupid enough to forego given the wind. That gave me the chance I needed.

"Get inside," I told the guards. They obeyed without question, eyeing Mariette and Julie nervously as they half ran in the door. Well, at least they knew who to fear the most.

"Tam," Julie began softly, "Why didn't you tell us about Stroud's information?"

Tam said nothing, but continued dressing with her back turned towards us, standing at the very edge of the boards protected by the balcony, rain dripping down inches from her face. She just continued staring off to the leafless forest and the sodden ground. Her refusal was... disturbing, for some reason. She wasn't the chattiest person on Thedas to begin with, but she had never withheld her opinion before either.

"Answer!" Julie said, her voice raised. She moved towards Tam, to grab her to turn her around. I stopped the motion, gently taking Julie's arm and holding her in place. Annoyed emerald eyes looked up at me, a sight that gutted me. I held fast with difficulty, pleading with her silently to let me handle it. Her gaze darting away from me, she acquiesced.

I did the only thing I could, as I imagined it. I laid my hand on Tam's shoulder ever so carefully. She did not shrug it off, or shrink from my touch. She turned around. Her violet eyes were all steel.

"Both of you have proven your worth," she said, "I feel like I am simply... additional to requirements once again."

"You're not," Julie said, "You're essential. We couldn't have done any of this without you."

"I think you know that is not true," Tam replied, "Aside from the children, I feel that I am not as respected as you. That you are climbing ever higher above me, leaving me behind."

"We would never," I insisted, "Where is this coming from? You are Warden-Commander now."

Tam closed her eyes. "But for how long?" she asked.

"What does that mean?" Julie said, "Are you going somewhere?"

"Not at all," Tam replied, "I am going nowhere. That is the problem."

Julie and I exchanged glances. How damned mysterious did she have to be?

"I have to do this," Tam continued, "I have to lead my Wardens against the darkspawn, to contribute to this... republic, before it's too late. Before I can no longer do so."

I was struck dumb by those words, fear creeping up my spine. What the hell did that mean? Why would she no longer be capable of contributing? Julie too seemed unable to speak, either too confused or too shocked to formulate anything coherent.

But we weren't alone with our wife out there.

"You make it sound as if you're dying," Mariette said, "But you aren't... are you?"

Tam's eyes softened greatly at that, and a small smile curled her lips. I think we had all forgotten that the harlequin was there.

"No, I'm not dying," she said, "Quite the contrary."

"Then what's with the time limit?" I asked.

"There is no limit," Tam said, "All I can tell you for now is that this is something I need to do, and I did not want you to come along or prevent me from going. I want to leave my mark. Can you let me?"

I rubbed my face in frustration. The lack of any concrete information was irritating, but there was only one answer I could give her.

"Of course," I said, "How could we stop you?"

"We could tie her down in bed," Julie joked half-heartedly, "But she would get the better of us eventually."

Both Tam and I groaned at Julie, but were cheered up nonetheless.

"I'm sending Armen with you," I said, "Wherever this attitude is coming from, I can't ignore it."

"I don't expect you to," Tam said, "And I promise to explain when I return."

"You better," Julie said, "Or I will not be happy."

"We wouldn't want that, would we?" Mariette said cheekily. The harlequin ignored the subsequent glare, flipping up the hood of her fur cloak and stepping out into the muddy ground, making her way back to Camp Jerusalem alone.

Regardless, that was how it was agreed that Tam would lead her Wardens out against the darkspawn supposedly on the move.

Her Wardens marched out three days later, with a company of firelancers in tow, Stroud leading the way. One of his subordinates was left behind so we could follow the trail if we needed to get a message through for whatever reason. It was too rugged for horses, so it would be a ten day round trip, five days each way, between Troy and the rallypoint used by the Wardens.

Julie and I watched the column go out, the blue and silver of the Wardens and the green of the Free Army together. Tam lingered until the last moment with Armen, looking at us from the side, before joining the final group alongside both Hawkes.

---

It didn't take long before a message arrived from Tam.

A few days after their projected arrival date, still far too early for them to have ventured into the Deep Roads looking for trouble. I was in the first meeting of our Army General Staff, planning for the war most of our people hoped would never come. It was the first meeting we held on the Mont du Mars, our headquarters having moved there from our camp as more and more of our soldiers were permanently stationed on the site of Troy itself.

There was a lot to talk about, long into the night. The huge fleet had finally set sail, a break in the weather letting them go on home. The Tevinter flotilla stayed, with no hope of rounding the Cape of Rivain before the February storms caught them. That meant we had the privilege of its protection until March at least, which was a fearsome deterrent against attack.

Together, we decided how best to use that time. All the generals and I. Or at least, how we thought it would be best to. One meeting wasn't going to solve anything, there were investigations to be done about the lay of the land before we could confirm most of it.

What exactly these plans were is best told when they became relevant, but what you need to know at this juncture is that we had plans to sweep away our immediate neighbours before ever mobilising our part-timers in the National Guard.

The only thing we hadn't covered at the time of the message's arrival was the pirates.

Apparently this Ianto character we had been told to fear on the beach when we were taking the frigates was going to be a problem.

"The Terror of Llomeryn is his nom-de-guerre," Mariette said, addressing the entire green-clad meeting, "In the course of investigating the threat, I spoke to members of crews from many ships in the fleet, including Admiral Isabela's flotilla and our own Navy. Ianto is a name that rings out on the Eastern seas."

"And our good Chancellor decided to steal his ships," Louise added, "On a whim."

The disappoval of both de Villars cousins was not hidden. Neither wore masks on my orders, and it was a little freaky due to them looking more like sisters than cousins, but it had plentiful benefits for me being able to read their moods. Honesty in this process was an absolute requirement.

Piracy was something that had been part of my training and education, however. I guess we can thank the Somalis for that.

"Pirates are hosti humani generis, the enemies of all mankind. Along with terrorists and slavers," I replied, "Their ships and assets can be seized by any realm at will. They can be tried by anyone too. The High-Chancellor wasn't simply acting on a whim, she saw an opportunity to show a little solidarity with our neighbours by acting as they would if this Ianto showed up almost defenceless on their own territory."

Soprano cleared her throat. "Are we in a position to make that distinction?" she asked, before pointing at one particular member of the General Staff, "Considering our own alliances?"

The person in question was none other than Aurelia, of course. The unflappable magister remained so in the face of this inquiry.

"I've freed every single slave I personally own," she replied calmly, "Which was extremely expensive, and will be entirely to your benefit as the bulk of them will come to settle here, if your government allows it. I am no longer a slaveholder."

"Be that as it may," McNulty sniffed, "I'm not sure it'll make a difference to our neighbours when we have a Tevinter fleet protecting us, the slaves in it being ones you can't free because they're not yours to free in the first place."

Which was very true, but not something we could do anything about either; a defence against accusations of supporting such slavery, if only a partial one.

"We're getting off point," Soprano complained, "This Ianto, how likely is it that he will attack us for what we've done?"

"It's practically certain," Mariette replied, "His reputation wouldn't survive letting this go, and if he did so, I would imagine that merchant consortiums would start to approach us about protection from him."

"It would be the beginning of the end for piracy generally, in other words," Mike said with a shake of the head, "This pirate is going to be on us like fleas on a dog."

"Perhaps not that bad," Mariette said, "He had five ships before this, usually crewed minimally. The fear he inspires works both ways, many don't want to work with him. That means few recruits and fewer allies. We took three of his boats, leaving him with two. If he fights us, it won't be openly."

"He operates out of Llomerryn, you said?" I asked, "What is he doing here, careening his ships or whatever it is?"

"When the February storms are coming, it's a big mess on the seas," Mariette said, "According to our own captains, both merchants and pirates begin a great scramble for profits. Merchants, knowing they can charge danger fees and get away with it, pirates, knowing that there are so many ships trying to get in on this action that their chances of taking a prize are higher than normal."

I nodded. I could see that being the case. It wasn't like there were interstates threading the entirety of Thedas, the Imperial Highway being a poor substitute for them, never mind trucks to move things hundreds of miles in a mere day. Interrupted supply would mean interrupted profits, so the merchants had no choice but to pay bigger shipping fees. Fees that were immune to the presence of more ships, supply and demand completely overtaken by the threat of storms and pirates.

"So Ianto sent three of his ships here to prep for the pre-storm hunt," I said, "And to use our bay as a base to attack the Antiva-Orlais-Ferelden trade routes."

"Exactly," Mariette said, "That's another reason we can't ignore him; our city sits astride that major trading network. If the pirates want to make a living, they will eventually cross ships carrying things being brought to us, to say nothing of our own Navy."

"Is this not the Navy's problem then?" I said, "I don't see what our troops can do, they can't exactly walk on water."

Mariette scowled, her head dropping as she looked at the table, containing many unladylike cursewords no doubt.

"I have informed the Navy of the danger," she said, "Admiral Fisher is far more interested in the planned attack on Jader, than on..."

A private of the crossbow troops rushed into the tent, stopping Mariette mid-sentence. She doubled over, leaning on her knees and panting all the while.

"My lord, a signal flare!" she said, "From the north!"

Blinking, I I sprinted from my place, out of the tent, and spun around on the spot outside to look over the tent to the north; the general direction of where Tam and her Wardens had went.

A thin beam of magical light was shooting up into the clouds like a laser in fog, glowing a bright red. Red, the colour agreed upon to send a particular message back to us; "Heavily engaged, send reinforcements." Every fear I had for Tam came screaming to the front of my brain, and I reacted in the way I knew I could.

"General Soprano, which brigades are at full readiness for manoeuvre at the moment?" I asked, knowing the entire General Staff had followed me out of the tent.

"Your own alone, my lord," Soprano replied from behind me, "The Avvars and the Tevinters do not make good construction workers, so they've been assigned to the defence while we prepare for storm season."

Good, I thought. Both were not mounted troops, both had experience in fighting in forests and the Avvars on hill and mountain.

I turned my back on the signal and back to my officers.

"Aurelia, go to Asala and tell her to take command of the brigade," I said, "Get it ready to march as soon as there's any light in the sky."

My wife-by-Tevene-law took umbrage, an eyebrow twitching upwards briefly.

"I will take command myself," Aurelia replied.

A statement that put my teeth on edge, and not because she was incapable.

"You are pregnant," I said, "I won't have you put in danger."

Aurelia rolled her eyes and clicked the fingers of her left hand. In an instant, multiple swirling barriers sprung up around her, like a softly glowing wing moving in a micro-tornado, noiselessly. The other officers edged away from her, not sure what touching the magic would do to them but having a pretty good idea that it would be harmful to their health.

"Yes, I am with child," she said, "And my powers grow daily because of it."

The delicateness of this situation cannot be understated. Every instinct told me to deny her, but I was not in a position to argue. Nor did I want to argue with the mother of my child over something like this, especially not in public. Better to let her have the command.

"Okay, go get Asala, Cormac and Aoife," I said, giving in, "And take command until I arrive."

Aurelia let out a hmph, as if to say 'that's what I thought you said', and began moving towards Camp Jerusalem at a sprint, her naginata leaning on her shoulder. At least she got the urgency too, I thought.

"Mike, you have the command here when we leave," I continued, keeping my mind on the task.

"Yes, my lord," the diminutive general said, with a salute, "I'll have Isewen continue the reconnaissance chevauchée too."

We still didn't know anywhere near enough about our new homeland, and this was something we needed to change. Mike was the right choice. She was the cautious, methodical one.

"Mariette," I said, "Get Julie and Ciara. They're going to want to come along."

"What about you, Marquis?" Louise asked, "What will you be doing for the next few hours?"

I sighed, putting my hands on my hips as if to brace myself.

"I'll be begging the High-Chancellor to let us go," I said, "Because she knows as well as I do, if that many Grey Wardens, a company of firelancers and the Champion of Kirkwall got into this much trouble, it might be too much for a single brigade to handle."

---

In the end, Velarana not only allowed me to go but positively ordered me to.

Just as we had believed too, the High-Chancellor was of the opinion that the loss of Tam would be a staggering blow to the country. The woman that had taught adults and children alike to read and write, that had brought the music of Earth to Thedas, that had invented the idea of a new city in the first place, that person could not be allowed to die fighting monsters in the wilds.

Tam, probably as a result of her guilty conscience, always underestimated her importance.

The High-Chancellor also demanded the Knights-Hospitallers join us, but Markham refused to send any more than a few. There was a far more pressing need for the healers in camp; namely the expectant mothers, whom were going into labour at a rate of dozens a day. As his organisation was independent, we didn't have the authority to order him to move out. That said, he did come along himself, the realpolitik dictating that he not be seen to do nothing when even a small portion of the Army was under threat.

Aurelia gathered the Highlander regiments and her own Tevinter troops of the Foreign Legion in the valley betweenthe Mont du Mars and the Colline Capitoline, with nothing but their weapons and a week's half-rations. She met me as agreed on the peak of the former, along with Asala and the two Avvar officers, as I approached from Camp Jerusalem with Julie and Ciara. The four of us would be the only people mounted aside from the twenty or so scouts with Dalish ponies, far more suited to the ground we'd be covering than Bellona, who being an Orlesian destrier, wasn't exactly a mountain beast.

We sent up the return signal into the sky before it got too dark, Aurelia sending a solid beam of blue light up through the clouds, the magic roaring with a body-jarring humming from the tip of her naginata. To reassure us of their continued existence, another beam with the same colour shot up in reply to the north; the Wardens were still alive.

Our march was just as slow as you'd expect, moving through terrain without roads and barely anything even resembling a pathway. We marched an hour at a time, resting for fifteen minutes, and repeating this during every available daylight hour. It was utterly exhausting for almost all of us. The going was almost entirely uphill, although almost never in a steep fashion.

The ground at least had the benefit of not being rocky, but it did mean that anyone not at the very front of the column got their boots soaked with the mud churned up by our march. By the end of the day's marching, your hair would be slick with sweat and rain, your feet would hurt and your back felt permanently bent.

All hail the Poor Fucking Infantry. I was nostalgic about the whole experience then, as now.

The exceptions were Ciara, Julie and Aurelia.

Ciara was riding a Dalish pony, the same thing the scouts were, so she had no trouble. She used this privilege to ride up and down the column, bringing water or food to those lagging behind or shoring up morale by asking for commentaries on plants or flowers she had found. As always, Ciara was made of sugar, spice and everything nice.

Well, as long as you didn't give her reason to kill you.

As for the other two, they had Revas. Being a nimble courser, she was far better suited to the terrain than Bellona. Julie rather magnanimously offered to share the saddle, swapping places at the end of each rest stop. This, rather ironically in hindsight, was on account of Aurelia's condition. But, it created a sense of cordial relations, and gave me hope that I wouldn't end up dead on account of them both being stubborn as mules.

As for Bellona, she wasn't entirely useless. A person wasn't something she could carry while dodging trees, sudden holes and brush, but she did carry an arsenal on her sides. To one side, three assault firelances; two of the smaller British pattern ones for Julie and Ciara, and the longer H&K offering that I preferred. To the other, every single magazine we might have need for, loaded up and ready to go, and some Earth explosives.

At night, we sent up signal flares and got a response.

We ate the supposed five day march in only three, sometimes coming across places where the Wardens and our firelancers had camped out on the way up themselves. The Grey Warden guide that had been left behind by Stroud knew what he was doing at least, taking us not on the most direct path but the easiest for us to traverse as a small army on the march.

It was getting dark on the third day, when we finally made the approach to a drop in the terrain, the first we had seen since setting out. Beyond it was the much steeper rise of the Vimmark hill chain.

The incline fell off towards a lake, the far side of which had a series of waterfalls. On the 'flatter' side was a hunting lodge, at the edge of the lake itself and surrounded by a large open space. The lodge of one minor noble family called leased in perpetuity to the Grey Wardens because of the other feature of the place; two openings to the Deep Roads to either side of the falls.

Which was the reason for what we saw when we arrived.

---

We halted just far enough away from the lodge that the bare trees and the high ground we were on shielded us from view. We sent our scouts forward, while getting the column out of a marching column and into a line of battle, arming ourselves to the teeth.

The news that came was not good. A grim-faced elf came out of the woods ahead to deliver it, his uniform stained at the front with mud. He stumbled towards me just as I had assembled everyone in command.

"The lodge is under siege, my lord," the runner reported, "Significant darkspawn forces. Best guess is a thousand, but there may be more coming through the tunnels."

My eyebrows raised in surprise. That was less than I had thought. Considering how many of the damn things were supposed to have been destroyed in the course of the Fifth Blight, I was hoping for some more manageable numbers, but this was a little ridiculous

"What about the Lodge?" Julie asked, "Are our people still alive?"

"Yes," the runner said, "There is no fighting going on at the moment, but we were able to see the buildings. There are firelancers in the windows, keeping watch over a field of darkspawn corpses."

The runner picked up a stick, and began drawing in the dirt below us. First the curve of the lake, followed by the L-shaped building with the long side up against the lakeshore, and finally, a series of lines representing defensive abatis in three sections, the first bridging the two parts of the 'L' the second and third doing the same with the small outer buildings. The man explained all of this in details, including our relative position being directly parallel the first line of defences, so that we were approaching the lake from an angle.

"But they are not attacking?" I asked, "Isn't that a little unusual?"

"Warden Rogers thought so as well," the runner replied, "But the darkspawn are known to prefer darkness, not venturing far from the Deep Roads except at night."

The man gulped visibly. "When they creep out and try and kidnap women," he quoted, no doubt from the expert himself. I frowned, glad that only our officers were in earshot and determined to say something to the Warden as soon as I got up there.

"So, what do we do?" Julie asked, "We'll charge in and save them, right?"

"Not sure yet," I said, looking down at the map, which was liquefying at our feet, "Need to look at this myself. Something isn't right. A thousand darkspawn wouldn't send Tam or Stroud into a panic, not with a decent defensive position with good sightlines and a company of firelancers to exploit it to its fullest. The creatures run away as easily as men do."

"So we go take a look," Ciara chirped, "Talk to the spare Warden. Get a message to Tam to turn on her radio."

She cocked her firelance, as she had seen me do dozens of times, in a show of bravado. I broke out in a wide smile at her behaviour, particularly as it seemed to buoy up the rest of us. She had been learning.

I waved the entire brigade command forward, ordering the runner to lead the way through the pattering of the rain on the ground and tree branches. It was less than a hundred yards to the observation post.

The ground was exactly as had been reported. A gentle slope downwards all the way to the lodge complex, the area around the buildings covered in darkspawn corpses. The lodge itself was a three floor thing that looked more at home as an aristocrat's townhouse in Ferelden, if one had been fortified. It was a stout thing, and in no danger of catching fire in the rain, its roof made of slate regardless. A shield with the Grey Warden griffon hung over the front door, which looked thick enough to resist even my firelance trying to get through it.

We came up to Warden Rogers, using the thick tree trunks to avoid being seen. I went over to him, standing behind and peaking around to see. He noticed I had come, but said nothing. This attitude of detachment annoyed me further.

"Warden, I really need to discuss your behaviour," I said quietly, "Between your lack of proper acknowledgement of a superior officer, and your spreading of stories about the darkspawn that really shouldn't be spread just before we're about to fight the bastards, you're very lucky I have bigger concerns at the moment."

The Marcher Warden continued staring out over the vale, ignoring me. Asshole.

"Where are the darkspawn?" Ciara asked at a whisper, "The living ones anyway?"

"Right in front of you," Aurelia replied, "Laying on the ground."

I snapped my head around, looking out over the corpses. I didn't detect any movement, but couldn't help but think I was wrong. The rain alone was good reason to mistrust Eyeball Mark 1.

Cursing to myself, I pulled on my heatvision goggles, attaching them to the front of my helmet, and the world turned into a black-and-white world. The FLIR did its work, and the entire field in front of me lit up with white humanoid silhouettes, crawling or laying down in the mud. If I had to guess, I would say at least half the bodies I could see were very much alive, although the rain made it difficult to see where the dead stopped and the living began with real precision.

"Shit, they're using the corpses as cover," I announced, quiet as I could.

"Shrieks," Warden Rogers confirmed, "Darkspawn don't like the sun, prefer to attack at night. Even during Blights. Shrieks are often left to surround villages in the day to prevent people fleeing."

"Also leaving no good targets for our firelancers to shoot at, because they all just look like corpses," I said, continuing to inspect the ground, "The clever sons of bitches."

"Not clever," Rogers replied, "It is instinctual behaviour, for the most part."

"Is that your learned opinion, Warden?" Aurelia said mockingly, "If you believe that anything about the darkspawn is instinctual, you know nothing of the Blight."

Ouch. The implication that he, a Grey Warden, knew less about the Blight than her, a random Tevinter (in his mind), actually managed to get his attention.

Aurelia did in fact know more than he did. She was related to some of the magisters that breached the Fade, after all. But that's another story.

"I don't like you," Rogers said to Aurelia, honestly enough.

"Whatever," I said, "That isn't the rest of the darkspawn force, is it?"

"No, it isn't," Rogers said, "The rest are probably back in the Deep Roads, building up their numbers again to attack tonight." He pointed off to the left and right, a good five hundred yards either direction, where there were darker outcroppings in the steeper rock beyond.

"One leads to the Primeval Thaig, discovered only a few years ago," he explained, "The other to a series of 'port' thaigs along the River Minanter. Neither are clear of debris or darkspawn, so going by them to get there is suicide."

"Not my problem," I replied, "The creatures will return in an hour or two, so we'll wait here, rest up, until they return. Not fighting those things in the Roads again. That's what got Tam blight-poisoned in the first place."

An appreciative noise came from Julie, who certainly didn't want to see Ciara or myself Blighted. As if it was possible for me to be. Tunnel fighting without automatic weapons wasn't something I wanted us to be doing any time soon either. The Deep Roads had left marks enough on us.

"So what will we do?" Asala asked from behind.

"First thing's first," I said, "I need to get Tam to turn on her radio. Armen's with her to charge the batteries, but she won't have it on constantly. Wait here."

Without warning anyone, and not particularly pleased I had to do it, I told the others to stay put and moved forwards. Going from tree to tree, until there were none between me and the open ground.

At the last tree, I paused, looking around to make sure none of the shrieks had seen me. None of the grey-white figures on the ground twitched their heads in my direction that I saw, and those stalking around on their bellies didn't move towards me. Yet the sensation of being so close to them, less than fifty yards to the nearest 'corpse', was far from a pleasant experience. Downright eerie, thanks to the rain, like I was in a horror film about someone trapped alone with corpses chasing them.

My heart wasn't so much going fast, as hard. I felt every beat, although I remained calm and steady.

The shrieks were truly disgusting creatures, especially in the dying light of day. Deformed elves with blades on their arms, sometimes grafted on. The one saving grace was that their armour was gratifyingly primitive, even by Thedosian standards. I was sure my bullets could get the job done, if it came to that.

I began to do what I had gone down there to do. Leaning against the tree, I balanced my firelance on my hip and I pushed the button for a red laser sight. It creates a very thin, precise beam of light that The thing was designed to mark targets without them knowing, but it would be doing the opposite work this time. I levelled the firelance, bringing it to my shoulder again.

The light bounced off the rain, creating a visible light between me and where I was pointing it. This could have been seen by particularly attentive darkspawn, but it was the risk I had to take to pull this off.

I aimed the light at the nearest open window of the lodge, where the sentries were looking out. Using the scope to place the laser dot on the face of the most exposed sentry, I hoped to get his attention. The red dot hovered on his face, causing him to squint and draw back.

I grit my teeth, not willing to risk an exclamation any louder than that, though the curse words threatened to burst out of me. After a minute, the sentry returned, wondering what the hell had glared in his eyes.

It was with some relish that I aimed the thing at his face again, which was rewarded as the man actually tried to swat the laser out of his eyes.

When that failed, he finally tried to discern the source of the problem rather than trying to get out of the way. I waved the laser across his position to help him out, very aware that every second the light shone out was another that the shrieks laying about in the mud might notice it.

At last, the sentry spotted me, his eyes no doubt going wide. He rushed back out of my view, other sentries leaning around to look towards me, unable to help themselves in seeing a glance of yet another Earth gimmick. Which would have been funny, except I had little doubt that it would draw the attention of the enemy.

The person who reappeared in the window wasn't the sentry, but Tam herself, looking out over the field. I waved the laser again so she could see it, and finally turned it off. I had got their attention. Mission accomplished.

My headset sent a static crackle into my ear.

"Sam?" came the voice of Tam in a clear, crisp tone, "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," I said, stopping behind another tree, "How are you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Tam replied, "I cannot say the same for some of us."

"Heavy casualties?" I asked.

"Not exactly. Seven dead, ten wounded," Tam said, her voice unwavering, "The darkspawn are being cautious, concentrating on the troops you sent with me, trying to taint them. Most of the wounded are infected from darkspawn arrows."

Darkspawn showing enough intellect to be cautious in the first place was unusual, at least as far as my limited understanding of the creatures at the time was concerned.

"How are you holding up for ammunition?" I asked, "It's a damned graveyard out here, even if only half of the bodies out here aren't breathing any more."

"We brought plenty," Tam said, "Stroud's Wardens have also been very helpful, the hurlocks can't help but get drawn into our traps. And then there's Marian Hawke."

There was a loud exhalation over the line.

"She's scary, Sam," Tam concluded.

I smirked to myself, wondering what scary looked like. Sister Nightingale was the only individual combatant I had thought it wise to be wary of before. Well, the only one outside my own Army. Mariette was pretty god damn scary with her god damn knife-shoe, somersaulting out of the way of my bullets. And for other reasons.

"Let me get Stroud, he has some interesting news," Tam said, "Here, Armen, take this."

There was a rustling as the headset on the other end of the connection was handed off, and the elf himself appeared in the window.

"Hey Sam," he said, "Don't suppose you brought any alcohol?"

"No, just plastic explosives," I sniffed, the cold and wet getting to me, "There's more than one way to have a party."

"Not what I meant," Armen said flatly, "Listen, this might be the only chance I get to talk to you alone. I'm worried about Tam. Ever since we left Troy, she's been having terrible nightmares."

"Isn't that normal for Wardens?" I asked, vaguely remembering what I was told.

"It is, but Tam's very agitated and sleep spells aren't working on her any more for some reason," Armen replied, "Luckily, all the other Wardens are having nightmares too, so no one has noticed, but hers seem particularly violent."

"So you think she'd sleep better with a little alcohol," I said, completing his thought, "That does sound bad."

"Assuming your presence doesn't help," Armen said, "It might come to that."

Alcohol was exactly the last thing Tam needed.

I glanced around, ever more acutely aware that I wasn't exactly in a position to talk about this. The creatures still alive among the corpses had noticed there was activity in the buildings, no doubt seeing the sentries look out with greater interest than before, searching for me or the brigade.

"I'll talk to you later about it," I said, "What about you? Any injuries?"

"Just tired," Armen replied, "Haven't got much sleep. There are only four Warden mages including Bethany, and I was the only combat mage that came along besides. We've been busy."

There was more noise over the comms, as yet another handover over the headset took place.

"Marquis, thank the Maker you have arrived," came a voice uncertainly, "Can you hear me on this … device?"

"Loud and clear," I said, "Tam said you had interesting news. Explain quickly."

"I think the darkspawn may have reacted to your immunity," Stroud replied, so rapidly it was somewhat hard to follow in Orlesian, "Whatever it is you do to the Fade seems to dampen the ability of the Taint to reach out."

"The Warden-Commander only started having nightmares once we left your camp, and many of the others' dreams became significantly worse, like they had only just undertaken the Joining. If true, it means the darkspawn have taken an interest in the Wardens they couldn't connect with. Emissaries are smart enough to think of them as a threat."

If someone had the ability to hide themselves from my heatvision goggles or turn invisible generally, I'd sure as shit consider them a threat. But that wasn't on my mind.

If I could look in a mirror at that moment, I probably would have seen my skin turn pale white, or even green. The horror rose in my throat like bile. The darkspawn were targeting Tam, and it was my fault. And worse, I thought I should have foreseen the possibility. Of course, how the Taint interacts with my own peculiarity could not have been known.

It distracted me, at a critical moment.

From behind me, a crack rang out. A single shot from a firelance, one my ears recognised as being from an Earth one.

I spun on the spot, trying to raise my weapon.

A corpse slumped onto my lower half, a shriek, its blades tumbling to the side of the torso, its ugly face taking a dive straight into my knee, sending a spike of revulsion into me from my leg outwards. I moved the leg it had dropped onto, and used the other to stamp it on the head, hard. It gave no groan or cry of pain. Not that I was afraid it would, the damage had already been done.

The darkspawn that had somehow worked its way around me, likely not aware of my presence until the very moment the bullet claimed it, had died a very loud death.

Julie and Ciara stood some thirty yards behind me, their outlines partially shielded by both their mottled green camouflage and the trees, their firelances raised. Which of them had made the shot, I couldn't tell. Julie had the experience to take the shot accurately, but the same would have stopped her from risking shooting me and alerting the other darkspawn. Ciara didn't have the experience to make such a shot every time, but likely would have risked it regardless.

They had saved my life. I blew a kiss at Julie, and gave a nod to Ciara, and returned my attention to my surroundings.

It wasn't the time to find out more about who did what. Inevitably, the hissing and roaring of darkspawn started. It sounded like the rolling of waves to shore at first, the rain turning the high pitched noises into deeper tones. Everywhere I could see, the shrieks stood up and began moving out of their encirclement of the lodge into the treeline. Towards me, to either flank as well. Not quickly, that would have meant facing down our firelances, but instead using every available piece of cover.

Battle would soon be joined.

"Tam, go to the main channel," I commanded, before following the order myself, "Assault Brigade, advance to the treeline! Enemy contact imminent!"

Whatever answer Aurelia would have given, as she had taken command when I left as if it was her birthright, I couldn't hear over the sudden thumping of feet. Ours and those of the enemy, surrounding me. The sentries in the lodge took a few potshots, putting down one or two shrieks, but the attention of the monsters was now entirely on me. For the time being.

Another burst of three firelance shots, this time most definitely from Julie, judging by the accuracy. All three bullets whizzed by, straight into the chest of another shriek. This time, I was not surprised, even as the shots came from behind.

I was too busy multi-tasking to give it more than a split second's notice.

Firstly, I had shrieks of my own to fend off. This I did automatically, letting my training and experience take over. It was almost a numb experience, like I was watching someone else kill the darkspawn through their eyes, and only half paying attention.

This detached mindset, even as creatures attempted to murder me, was due to my second task: thinking about how to achieve what we had set out to do. I had originally planned to have a little bit of time to think about it, once we saw the lay of the land, to say nothing of having the experience of the Avvars and Tevinters to call upon.

We needed to get the Wardens and their escort, Tam, out of the lodge and away. We would have to send a larger force to do the work of blocking off the tunnels later, I thought, but would that mean we'd be fighting all the way back to the coast again?

It wasn't something I wanted to happen. So I made a decision.

I waved Julie and Ciara to me, as I walked towards the emerging sight of the Highlanders making their approach, sporadic gunfire coming through the rain now. The Avvars that we had trained with firelances had cloth and leather wrapped loosely around the locks of their weapons, to keep the rain from the powder-pans. They were also lacking their bodypaint, so they were only recognisable as Avvars at all due to their taller stature.

Some of my fears about the coming battle went away, letting me breath a little easier. They didn't look afraid at all. It is and was always hard to know how Thedosians react to darkspawn. For some, they're quite literally the boogeyman. Just not for the Avvars.

"This is La Fayette," I said over the comms, "Highlanders, form two regimental squares in the middle of the open space. Make sure that two sides of your squares can volley fire along the shore to the east and west. Leave a gap in the middle. Foreign Legion, assemble between the Highlander regiments, and form by company in column."

This time, Aurelia could answer. "By your will, imperator," she responded formally, without mockery.

"Affichez vos baïonnettes!" came the command from Asala, no doubt also listening in.

The Highlanders responded, not bothering to stop moving up to the treeline as they snapped their bayonets on, as perhaps the Rangers or Grenadiers would have done. For all their loyalty to me and the time they had to integrate with the other units, they were still far more casual and flexible about following orders. Yet their enthusiasm for the new weapons was utterly shameless. Silverite weapons were true prizes for the Avvars, and now, many of them had a silverite firelance and blade in addition to their sword or axe.

Not all of them, not yet. Not all of them could fire three rounds a minute yet.

The shrieks began to back off. Whatever intelligences lurked behind their deep-set eyes recognised superior force when they saw it. They didn't run off to the Deep Roads, but instead melted into the forest. This I had expected.

It wasn't a lull that would last long.

Julie, Ciara and I rejoined our troops as they formed the squares, passing by into the centre, where the samurai-legionnaires of the Foreign Legion were waiting. As was Aurelia and Asala.

"Marquis, what is the purpose of this formation?" Asala immediately asked, her customary lack of scruples very much at the fore, "If we've been discovered, should we not use the lodge? It is not large, but its outer defences can prevent us from taking heavy losses while we fight off the enemy."

Aurelia hissed a then-unknown Tevene curse, Vishante kaffas if memory serves. There is not exactly a lot of Latin ancestry left in their language, two thousand years as a separate culture can do that as you can imagine, but with curse phrases that literally mean "Are you shitting on my tongue?!", I'm not sure the loss is uncompensated for.

"We're trying to rescue the Wardens," she said, as condescending as you'd expect, "Not get trapped in there with them. We must maintain our presence in the open, so that we can force our way out again, possibly from multiple directions." My Tevinter bride had seen my purpose correctly, of course, but that was no consolation to Asala.

"Trapped?" Asala questioned, quite rudely, "We have too much firepower for the darkspawn to possibly achieve that."

"Thank you for demonstrating your complete lack of military acumen," Aurelia said haughtily, "Not that a Qunari Viddasala ever possesses true battlefield sight. You're too busy skulking around, chaining up mages, torturing people for information or overseeing the wiping of their minds for resisting your savagery."

A fiery anger flashed through Asala's eyes, sending me slapping the side of my helmet at my own stupidity. In assigning the Tevinters and Avvars together, I had hoped to avoid this sort of conflict. The Avvars were not Andrastians and hadn't fought Tevinter for a thousand years. They had no grudge to bear with our new Legion. But Asala certainly did, and the feeling was evidently mutual.

Aurelia and Asala squared off, with little subtlety in their body language. Several of the nearby mages and Highlanders shifted themselves, readying themselves to come to the aid of their respective officers should things come to blows. I'm not sure how serious either of them were; Aurelia had not taken up her panther-like fighting stance. Asala didn't reach for a weapon.

I was a little caught up in how stupid I had been to have lacked the foresight to see this eventuality come to pass. So much so that it wasn't me that intervened to prevent a permanent schism.

Using a shot from her weapon, fired into the air, to get the attention of all concerned, Julie stepped forward beside me.

"Stop this at once," she commanded, bringing her weapon to rest in her hands in such a way that made notice of her willingness to use it, "You are both sworn officers of Valhalla now."

Her tone was something … new. There was more gravitas in the admonishment than she could have mustered before.

Asala reacted immediately, whether from respect for Julie's position or my own presence. Aurelia instead turned her glare to Julie. Which might have provoked argument from the old Julie, but as I said, something had changed. Instead, the emerald eyes under the round helmet beside me had other plans.

"General," Julie said, pointedly looking away from Aurelia after having met the glare, "What are your orders?"

I glanced between the officers, including the bemused Aoife and Cormac, seeing that everyone was listening. Good. I activated my radio again.

"Tam, I want you to barricade the windows facing the mountains and lake," I said, "Divide everyone into three groups, with all their arms and equipment. The first group will be an escort for the wounded, the second will be your firelancers and the third will be the Wardens. The first will come across as soon as everyone is ready, covered by the other two. Then the second, guarded by the third."

I turned away from the officers and waved at the two entrances to the Deep Roads.

"The whole idea is to draw the bulk of the fighting towards us," I said, "And away from the lodge. Madame Asala is correct, the darkspawn couldn't trap us in there, but so is Colonel Tiberia. The ugly bastards could make getting out of there a costly proposition. We're trying to save lives, not spend them."

When I looked back at my audience, the dispute between them was over, and they seemed instead to be filled with determination.

"On my command, the first evacuee group will move to where we are now, as quickly as possible," I concluded, "And the Foreign Legion will swing two companies to each side between us and the lodge, to create a corridor. It won't reach all the way, we can't stretch even you mages out that thin."

To illustrate to readers who may not get the whole picture, imagine the lodge at the centre of the bow-like shoreline of the lake; the two squares of Highlanders south of it just outside the treeline on the gentle downward slope, the top corners of the squares pointed towards the Deep Roads entrances at the two tips of the bow; the Legion to make two north-south lines from the corners of the squares that pointed towards each other to the mid-point of the space between the lodge at the treeline.

Together, our troops would create d and b shaped formations, both angled outwards at the bottom so the top corners pointed north, and the space between them was where the evacuees were to break out into.

"I'll begin preparations," Tam said, "I would prefer to come out as one group, but that would probably make the darkspawn concentrate on us, correct?"

"Almost certainly," I heard Stroud say in the background, his voice picked up by Tam's radio mouthpiece.

"You got it," I replied.

---

The event, when it came, when exactly according to my plan, perhaps even better than planned. Save for one very important detail.

First of all, the rain stopped. Which in that season was nothing short of a miracle. It allowed our firelancers to take off the cloth and leather covers from their weapons which would have slowed down their rate of fire. That was good news.

The bad news was that when the darkspawn hordes came pouring out of the entrances, they didn't simply charge us. They didn't allow the bottlenecks of the entrances to thin their numbers for us to slaughter them easily. It gave the distinct impression of intellect, but Tam assured me that it was instinct; darkspawn do not willingly attack a superior force unless forced to. They wait until numbers are on their side, keeping just enough distance to be safe while keeping their prey in sight. Or scent, in some cases.

They gathered numbers, and when they came at us, they were all-in and didn't strategise beyond the most simple concept; attrition.

They swept past the lakeshore and directly at our formations, which I could see very well from where I was standing at the northmost point of the troops, where the open space to the lodge began. They didn't move against any particular point. They had split their forces pretty much exactly in half to take us from both sides, and spread out to engage our entire line.

I grinned madly on seeing them in my binoculars. Their instincts were working against them, and they were about to be introduced to the concept of the meatgrinder, with ruthlessness unlike anything they'd ever seen. With plenty of space to bring every weapon to bear, unlike our trip into the Deep Roads, the full power of firearms was about to be unleashed, and I couldn't have been happier to oblige.

"Brigade, barriers up," I ordered sharply, "Highlanders, fire by rank at two hundred meters."

"Yes, Marquis," Asala confirmed, giving a wave from her position between the two Highlander regiments as extra confirmation. The Avvars' own mages, remaining with their people as before, sent the shimmering blue glow around their comrades, proof against the worst of darkspawn arrows and bolts.

Aurelia issued a similar command, again in Tevene. The barriers of the Foreign Legion went up too, more visible than those of the Highlanders, perhaps a testament to their greater effectiveness.

But in doing so, they gave something of a clue of a revelation to come.

As usual, the barrier magic enveloped me and then shattered like broken glass, 'pieces' of it flittering off into the winter air before disintegrating entirely. But to all our surprise, the same happened to the magic that had tried to protect Julie. Ciara, Julie and I all exchanged confused glances.

"Why'd that happen?" Ciara asked, curious enough to give Julie a poke of her finger, "Standing too close to Sam, maybe?"

Julie had been in my personal space at the moment of the barriers going up, for warmth. The rain might have stopped, but it was still damned cold.

"Maybe," I said, shrugging it off.

"Doesn't matter," Julie said, "We can just get..."

Whatever thought Julie had about getting a mage to put another barrier around her was verbally intercepted by the top-of-their-lungs shout of the Highlander sergeants.

"EN JOUE!"

"FEU!"

The shooting of the first ranks sending hot lead at the darkspawn was deafening, the smoke blown away almost immediately by the wind, clearing the field of fire nicely. The front of the darkspawn line bled bodies, as the Minié balls smashed through their primitive armour with ridiculous ease. Cold iron shatters when struck, and the darkspawn advance shattered likewise.

The volleys on both sides rippled out and stopped the Blight dead in its tracks, although they didn't cease the attempt to keep moving.

The time had come.

"Alright Tam," I said, "First group."

"They're going now," she replied.

The Wardens filed out of the lodge quickly, those staying behind coming first and manning the makeshift outer defences. Once they were in position and shooting at the darkspawn, the runners began moving out, some of them carrying makeshift stretchers constructed from tent canvass and pieces of bed frames, more helping the walking wounded to get along more quickly.

I knew from the beginning that they would be the slowest group, but watching them approach was excruciating, especially as I had to keep an eye on what were essentially two separate firefights. Firefights that began to get closer once again.

The darkspawn had noticed the group at once. And the eastern front suddenly shifted, with the entirety of the enemy numbers changing direction, towards a single point; the first group of evacuees. And I could tell already that the firelances weren't going to get the job done, not this time.

I half-ran over to Aurelia, who was standing with her compatriots.

"I need you to take care of that," I said quickly, pointing right at the surging horde, "Now!" I snapped off a burst or two for good measure, as some of the faster creatures had broken ahead of the pack.

"Filthy creatures," Aurelia replied, "It will be my pleasure, husband."

She stood on the tips of her toes, and kissed me on the cheek, before placing the snarling face-plate of her armour on her face. But instead of ordering her troops to unleash their magic on the darkspawn, her misunderstanding became clear as she alone stepped in front of the ranks of her troops.

"What are you..." I started, following along to try and bring her back. Arrows began chasing towards us, bouncing off of her barriers uselessly and falling far too close to me for comfort. But it wasn't for that that I stopped.

As Aurelia raised her naginata above her head, there was a sharp thunderclap and a flash of green light directly above. The sky writhed with Fade energy, as what would later be described as a rift opened up. However, unlike the products of Fen'Harel and Corypheus, it was not demons that poured out.

For a minute, meteorites fell from the otherworld as thick and fast as the rain had, dark rocks with wreaths of orange flame the size of wagons. Fifty or so slammed into the ground at the speed of a firelance bullet, or more precisely, into the path of the darkspawn.

The destruction took my breath away. Those directly under the rocks were squashed like bugs, but we didn't get anything more than a flash of that image before the things exploded furiously, sending shards of rock forwards into the hordes around; the descent of the meteorites had been angled so that none of the deadly shrapnel hit our own people.

The darkspawn advance was simply... annihilated. The dust cleared slowly, revealing broken bodies, meters-deep craters and survivors that were trying desperately to escape a repeat of it, their heads craned around to look back at us as they sprinted, tossing aside their weapons to move faster.

"Fuuuuck me," I croaked, putting my hands on my helmeted head, finally regaining my senses. Not very original, but you fall back on the old classics when in shock. I had seen precision artillery strikes before, just not ones summoned from the depths of Hell. Nor had anyone else. The shooting on the eastern front ceased entirely, as the Highlanders on that side paused to admire the display.

"That can be arranged," came the gasped joking reply from Aurelia, her humour in her voice mixed with exhaustion.

I realised she was in trouble, and ran the three or four steps over to her. She quite dramatically collapsed into my arms, after removing her faceplate and helmet in a search of air. Sweat was pouring down her forehead from the exertion of what she had just done.

"You went too far," I warned, "You shouldn't be taking risks in your condition."

Aurelia's lips curled into a smile, and put her free hand onto her belly. "That was a gift from your son, dear husband," she said deliriously, "You have no idea how much power I felt."

I scoffed, ignoring the notion that she could even tell the gender of our progeny at that stage. Or at all. "Right now, you're sweating like a pig and can barely stand," I replied, pulling her away, "Gaius! Get your ass over here!"

The man himself appeared along with a number of legionnaires. Of course, there was no way he would have let his beloved cousin go on this adventure without him, in case you were wondering. He took Aurelia from me, over her protests. "Make sure she's safe," I said, "You're in command of the Legion until she's recovered."

"Understood," Gaius replied, falling into a military professionalism I had not seen from him before, "The first group is coming through now."

I snapped my head over to our formation again, and saw that the stretchers were passing through the corridor created by the Legion's two lines.

"One down, two to go," Ciara said.

"Tam, send the second group," I ordered, "Let's see if we can sneak them through while the 'spawn are reeling from... whatever the fuck Aurelia just did."

"I told you the saarebas is dangerous, Sam," Tam warned with a sigh, "Our second group is moving now."

"Hopefully, we won't need another act of the Maker to get them over here safely," Julie said.

I looked at her with pleading eyes. Tempting fate by saying things like that was just plain bad luck. Another volley of musketry from the west caught my attention. The darkspawn had ceased their advance from that approach, scurrying for cover. The pseudo-hivemind of the Blight had been traumatised by Aurelia's meteorstrike.

I was tempted to order Tam across with the last group at once, while the enemy was distracted, but it didn't look like they were ready. The upper floor of the lodge was only now clearing of the shooters Tam had left there to pick off stragglers. Hell, both Hawke and Isabela were emerging, likely having completed the work of blocking everything off.

"Second group safe," Gaius reported, his voice too loud, indicating that he didn't know what volume the radio would pick up. Another laugh.

So far, I had to reflect that things were going very well. No casualties, thanks to the range of our weapons and the magical barriers. Comedy a plenty. I should've realised something was wrong from that alone. Battle is not meant to be funny. Murphy and his law should have been screaming at the front of my mind.

The east and west grew quiet, as the Hospitaller detachment under Markham began examining wounds. The stillness finally began to agitate me.

"Tam, get your people formed up," I said, "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Contact south!" came a voice over the comms, that of Cormac. It was followed up by sporadic shooting in the direction he indicated. The shrieks had returned to haunt us. The prelude to the next assault. The numbers coming out of the tunnels had only stopped on the eastern side. Those coming from the west were still there, moving off into the forest, trying to flank us.

"They're not finished," I said, "They haven't really touched us. Not yet. Their next blow will fall where they haven't struck from yet. Be ready for it."

Julie and Ciara shouldered their weapons again, looking off to the west. I had been referring to the western wing of the enemy, after all.

It was Gaius that saved Tam's life from that mistake.

"Marquis," he said, pointing at the lodge, "The lodge is on fire."

I turned my head so fast, I pulled my neck a little. My cousin-in-law was correct. Tendrils of flame were creeping up the walls, most unnaturally, as if they were snakes. Even more strangely, they were climbing up and over from the direction of the lake, not from inside the structure as far as I could tell. The flames were moving from the outside into the windows I could see, not from the inside out. It wasn't exactly a conflagration that would threaten those in the courtyard, but it soon would be.

My body went cold, as if I had been dunked in the icy waters of the lake itself.

"Is that magic?" I asked Gaius, desperately.

"Definitely," he replied, going pale, pointing out another detail, "Look at the water of the lake."

At first, I had no clue what he was talking about. Until I recalled that the rain had stopped a little while ago. The water's surface was disturbed as far as I could see behind the lodge, and the disturbance was moving towards shore.

There aren't any reports of darkspawn ever being able to swim, or at least not to a degree greater than an ordinary person. A fact that had saved Antiva during the Fourth Blight. But the lake was a reservoir for the Deep Roads below, gathering fresh water to distribute below. Had I been aware of the fact, I would have planned for it. The lake connected to the damn passageways below our feet, and moving through them isn't exactly difficult when you have magical assistance.

Which the darkspawn almost certainly did. Emissaries began rising out of the dark water, magic flaring at their fingertips. The heads of hurlocks and shrieks bubbled further ahead. Hundreds of them. Thousands, possibly.

"Mo-ther-fuckers," I said automatically, as my mind began quietly working on how best to react to this particular development.

"Tam, the darkspawn are coming in out of the lake," Julie told her, "You're about to be surrounded."

"And the damn lodge is on fire," Gaius added.

"We noticed," Tam said, nonchalantly, "The little Hawke is dealing with it now. We can hold until relieved." Her courage under such danger sent a stirring of affection through me, which warmed me up again from the previous cold fear that had sent my hair standing on end. My mind chugged along faster than it had been.

Julie nodded to Ciara, taking Tam's statement as an invitation, and began to run off towards the lodge to help. I caught her by the arm, earning an outraged look.

"Not so fast," I said.

"Why?" Julie pleaded, "Why?"

A roar went through the air, from the west. A line of ogres appeared at the treeline from that direction, the first of the forces that had been building up during the reprieve Aurelia had earned us now ready to assault. They plodded towards us, giant clubs in their hands. Easy targets to hit, not so easy to take down, even with large calibre firelances.

"That's why," I said, "We go in there piecemeal and we'll get eaten alive."

"We have to do something!" Ciara said, "And now!"

"Of course we do," I said, releasing Julie's arm.

I looked for a few seconds at the darkspawn coming ashore, those moving at us from the west and the shrieks trying to steal their way through the trees to us. And I had the plan.

"Cormac's regiment, form line of battle to face the west. Aoife, break off two battalions and hunt down those shrieks. Search and destroy. Asala, take the other two battalions of that regiment, guard the Hospitallers and watch the east. Gaius, form up facing north with the entire Foreign Legion, quickly."

My orders were followed. The infantry square in the West undid itself, the lines facing northwest straightening into one, while the other two moved by the south to join it. The square in the east split apart; the southern lines marching straight at the shrieks, separating out into loose skirmisher formations, shooting as they did so.

Those parts of the battle were now in the hands of my subordinates, and I could do little to coordinate them further. Not that Aoife, Cormac or Asala needed their hands held by me.

The two Tevinter lines swung like doors and increased their rank, becoming a single mass of bristling, naginata-wielding black-armour right behind where I stood.

The darkspawn were beginning to wade ashore to either side of the lodge, dripping wet and breath smoking in the cold air. The ability of darkspawn, and Wardens, to survive extreme conditions never ceases to amaze me. The Taint would be a huge gift, if it wasn't also a curse. Their numbers were greater than I had guessed before, but they lacked the armour of the preceding waves. They must have had to abandon it to survive in the water. Unfortunately, they still had their weapons.

I saw an immediate problem.

"Tam... we don't know how many there are," I said, "So we're going to have to wait until they've surrounded you, or we could be surrounded with you."

"What!" Julie cried, "How can you..."

"Understood," Tam interrupted, her voice crisp, "Julie, my love, Sam knows his craft. He is our Arishok. Listen to him."

In response to this, Julie closed her mouth, and hung her head, silently weeping.

"We'll get her out of there," I said, "I promise."

"We better," Julie growled, through her tears.

The darkspawn didn't leave us any additional time to talk.

They swarmed up onto the ground, like a giant grey-brown beast bringing its pincers to bear on the lodge and its occupants. Paying us no heed. Their odd fixation with the Wardens, and likely Tam personally, had led them into the tactical blunder I had hoped for. But it wasn't enough for us to act.

We waited for more of their numbers to round the building, able to see what was going on due to being on higher ground.

Tam stood resplendent in her kevlar-and-silverite Warden armour at the very centre of the makeshift fortifications, helmet off, one hand clutching the pistol-grip of the shotgun she had begun to favour, the other used to direct the defence.

Beside her was Armen, his helmet most decidedly on, leaning on his spear-staff. His robes were dirty with gore,

Wardens were arranged in a semi-circle, kneeling, their firelances or staves held ready to use, awaiting the order to open fire. Their faces were resolute, and their hands did not waver.

Among the ranks, Marian Hawke and Admiral Isabela awaited the inevitable melee, having shed their furs, taking up rapier and cutlass respectively. Both smiled as Bethany joined them, the battle against the fire behind them lost.

This was the moment immortalised in the third 'founder fresco' in the Palais de la Liberté.

And perhaps the one most seared into Julie's memories, from which she plucked the image: Warden-Commander Tam Hunt, beginning the conquest of Valhalla from the evils that had kept civilisation away for millennia. The third phase in our story, starting with the birth of liberty at Sahrnia, through the journey from Orlais and its climax with my marriage to Aurelia, to this very moment.

The fresco always reminds me of a different painting, one from Earth; The Defence of Rorke's Drift by Alphonse de Neuville. This fact is the inspiration for the name of this chapter.

A print of it was in one of the military books from Fraser's small collection. It isn't exactly Julie's fault that the battle of that painting and the one of Tam boldly holding her position against the darkspawn both happened to have burning buildings and uniformed soldiers in them, but the two are inexorably connected in my mind. Perhaps in hers as well.

Then again, my own fresco reminds me of The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife.

At the time, I was too busy watching the enemy to notice. Quietly waiting for the right moment. It didn't take long for my patience to be tested.

As soon as the emissaries made their appearances, floating around and over the walls of the lodge, Tam ordered the first volley from her own troops. All but one of the creatures fell dead, turned into flying ground beef by multiple firelance hits. That flipped the magical balance in clear favour of the Wardens.

Having shot the one volley they were going to get, Tam and the others prepared for hand-to-hand fighting. At the ranges concerned, there was just no way to reload in time. It was going to be swords, bayonets and fists from that point on. For most, at least.

The darkspawn charged in, leaping the fences, the abatis, and at the Wardens. The sound of the fighting behind and to our sides was drowned out by the booming of Tam's shotgun, the 'whoosh' of Armen's Fade-flame, the crackle of electricity and ice from the other mades. Still more darkspawn climbed out of the lake to replace the losses, even as the Wardens caught the unlucky front on their bayonets, like so many Persians on Macedonian sarissas.

The flow of enemy reinforcements was the only thing checking me. The urge to rush forward, or at least shoot, kept me jumping slightly on the spot. Julie looked like she might gnaw off her own thumb, the only reason she hadn't tried to give the order herself was Tam's word.

Aurelia made her reappearance, still armed and armoured, the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Lia, how..." Gaius began in surprise.

"Shut up, cousin," Aurelia said energetically, "Marquis... Sam... permission to attack."

Not a request, a demand. I paused, looking at the lodge and lake. The darkspawn reinforcements were still coming out of the water and weren't slowing. It was premature to order the attack.

"Don't worry, I drank some lyrium and healed myself," Aurelia continued, pressing closer to me, "Let my soldiers and I do their job."

"Sam..." Julie added, "Now."

Ciara looked at me expectantly, her entire demeanour shouting 'What are you waiting for!'

Finally, with anyone whose opinion I cared about united behind the idea, I gave the command. Sometimes, morale counts more than anything else.

"Foreign Legion, forward march at the double," I shouted. In Common, as the Legion had not yet been properly integrated with the other regiments of the Army.

The entire line of Tevinter samurai-legionnaires paced forward as one, their footsteps in sync. Their armour even clinked and shook at the same exact moments, so that the entire advance was accompanied by the banging not of drums but of the troops own bodies. Nothing else was audible except for shouts of command nearby. Julie, Ciara and I jogged ahead of the line, while Aurelia and Gaius remained with it.

Down the gentle slope we went, and the darkspawn finally took note of us. The reinforcements flowing around the lodge like water around a stone came in our direction, instead of joining the battle in the lodge's courtyard.

"CHARGE!" I roared to my rear, and opened fire. Julie and Ciara copied me, slowing to a stop, taking and pouring the contents of their firelances' magazines at the enemy three bullets at a time. A staccato cacophony louder and more intimidating than any warcry. Not a single bullet missed its mark either, leaving dozens of the darkspawn dead.

The Tevinters said nothing. It is not their doctrine to make a warcry, usually. Instead, they rely on aggressive magical action to demoralise their opponents.

The Legion's mages leapt forward in fade-steps, the entire field frozen left behind them.

Aurelia was first into the fray, her Fade-step placing her right in front of a collection of three hurlocks guarding the last remaining emissary. Three swipes of her naginata later, two heads and a leg fell to the ground, followed by their previous owners in a spray of arterial blood. Neither that, nor the emissary's feeble spinning Fade bolts, so much as touched her. The swirling blue barriers she had demonstrated to me before kept both gore and harm away.

Her retainers and men-at-arms were barely less deadly. Relying on their blades first and foremost, and their magic second, they carved through the unarmoured darkspawn like a machine circular-saw. Endurance in combat is not typical of southern combat mages. Not true of their Tevinter colleagues.

Gaius was at the fore on the left, plunging his gladius into exposed bellies one after another, not bothering to wait until his victim was dead before moving for another with short Fade steps, leaving them screaming on the ground.

This accumulative effort cut off the reinforcements from the fight in the lodge, as the Legion had followed their direction of travel; to either side of the main building. They fought all the way to the shoreline and held at both sides. Which made it safe for a direct assault on the rear of the enemy that were within the defences.

I had naturally fallen into the combat buzz that I always got in this sort of close combat, and by now, that feeling was familiar to both Ciara and Julie also. Without even needing a prompt of any sort, we made our way straight up the middle, barely opposed by anyone, until we reached the fences and abatis.

Doing this unsupported might seem incredibly unwise. It was, in all likelihood. But the Maker himself could not have stopped Julie and I from seeking out Tam in that carnage, nor could Fen'Harel have stopped Ciara from finding Armen.

We vaulted the first fence almost casually, earning the attention of a whole squad of hurlocks. Their half-lipless, near-skeletal faces contorted with surprise, before turning murderous. They rushed at us with their teeth bared, in the order that they noticed us.

Fucking turkey shoot, that was. I don't think any of the three of us even felt a pang of fear. The bullets went in and out of the hurlocks cleanly, all torso shots that put the things down quick. I coolly noted to watch my fire, in case I hit our own people by accident through the bodies of the darkspawn. Not like we had hollowpoints or anything, so we had to be careful.

That particular fight let us enter the real fray, past the second set of defences.

For this, we had to go back to back; myself in front, Julie and Ciara leaning on me while looking to either side. Hurlocks and shrieks dodged about everywhere, trying to get the drop on the now visible Wardens, whom were hiding as much behind darkspawn corpses as they were the last defences. Tam's people didn't seem to have been much reduced in number either, a fact owed mostly to the very little amount of space the enemy had to work with. I couldn't see Tam through the throngs, but the shotgun discharges continued unabated.

We advanced, slowly. Things began getting troublesome. The closer we got to where we were headed, the more darkspawn attention we drew.

Hurlocks lunged with longswords from multiple directions, just barely stopped by my firelance in time and occasionally having to be parried with the barrel beforehand. I calmly cut the shits down, reloading my weapon robotically. Only getting to Tam and the Wardens matters, I thought. Pretty much the only coherent thought I had the whole time. All else was concentration and fury.

At least, until the Champion of Kirkwall shoved her rapier through the neck of particularly toothy hurlock from behind, just about saving both herself and it from getting shot by me in the process. Not that it did the thing much good to be saved from that fate, but it certainly did her a world of good.

The woman herself appeared to the side of the collapsing body, her leather armour with selective pieces of heavy plate positioned in strategic locations giving way to the pirate costume that she had worn when we had first met. Weirdly, her armour was completely clean.

"Hello there," Marian Hawke said cheerily, pushing the corpse of the thing aside, "Come to join the fun?"

My mind reset, and noticed that a small space had been created around us, where the darkspawn didn't seem to want to go. Or rather, around Marian herself. Telling enough, that.

"Fun isn't exactly on my agenda," I answered, having to raise my voice over the gunshots that Julie and Ciara were still giving off behind me, "Are these things afraid of you?"

Marian smirked. "I think so," she said, "But I am pretty scary."

Isabel joined the party, appearing from the left, hacking at a shriek in her way with her cutlasses like a machete dealing with a piece of jungle foliage. One arm, two arms, a cut to the trunk. She stepped over the shivering, bleeding wreck like it was a drunk in the street, giving her weapons a shake to get the brown-red ichor off of them.

"Take us to Tam," I said, "The Warden-Commander."

"What's the magic word?" Isabela said cheekily, with a wave of a cutlass.

"Please!" Julie shouted angrily, before switching to Orlesian, "Ou préférez-vous entendre un autre mot magique de ce putain lance-feu?!" A three round burst to illustrate her meaning ripped through two hurlocks to my right, who had evidently been getting courageous.

They got the message, or rather Marian did. She told us to follow, and in the process, we discovered why the Champion of Kirkwall had earned that title.

The way into the Warden cordon was by a circuitous route along one of the walls. There was no shortage of darkspawn directly in the way, trying to edge their way around.

Hawke killed all of them. Herself.

Shrieks are the most agile of darkspawn, having been bred from the corrupted bodies of captured female elves and used as scouts, infiltrators and ambushers. Marian Hawke put that agility to shame. Arguably, she would put Mariette de Villars and all her harlequin training to the test. To say nothing of Louise and her chevalier techniques. It's hard to know who would actually win in a real contest of arms, despite the few times they did spar.

The Champion of Kirkwall's fighting style was a dance.

Her great strengths were precision and speed. Every footfall and thrust of her weapons was perfectly chosen, almost prophetic. She didn't step out of the way, she glided, pirouetted or even somersaulted. It wasn't always choreographed, it was often abrupt rather than graceful. Obviously a self-taught thing. But it was extremely deadly.

This particular dance began with two shrieks running straight at her, blades raised.

Marian caught the first on the tip of her rapier, through the eye socket, just barely deep enough to kill it. She withdrew her weapon quickly enough to meet the second and dispatch it with a slice across the left side of its throat, having spun out of the way of the still-moving now-dead first. Isabela kicked the second away as it desperately clutched at its neck, gargling its last breath.

A formation of three more shrieks made the next attempt. This time as one group, not one at a time. Two from the front, the third edging around the back. I raised my firelance to shoot the third offender, but Isabela waved me off, bidding me to wait. Hawke appeared to press forward against the front two, seemingly ignorant of the third, which went for her back, thinking it had the upper hand.

Hawke cartwheeled rearwards as No.1 and No.2 were making their play at her, without any sort of warning, right past Shriek No.3. As she recovered, she gave the already sufficient momentum of No.3 an extra boost with the pommel of her rapier. The result was No.3 dying on the end of No.1's arm-blade weapon. No. 2 didn't seem particularly bothered by it, and came forwards.

It was met with a flurry of slashes, opening up its neck, armpit and the inside of one of its legs. That wasn't immediately lethal, but combined with No.1 running into it, the bloodloss became severe enough quickly enough to put it down.

No.1, having helped kill both its fellows, died with a single thrust to the heart, all the way to the hilt. Hawke's armour was finally sullied with the blood of her opponent, but not much of it.

The last opponent was a hurlock alpha, a hulking seven foot high bastard which had been keeping that side of the courtyard from falling entirely to the Wardens. Not quite an ogre, but large enough to throw around a warhammer with a head the size of two heads. How the hell that weapon hadn't sunk the hurlock permanently to the bottom of the lake, I don't know.

The hammer raised up and slammed downwards, landing exactly where Hawke had stood seconds before. She had taken a single movement back, just barely out of the weapon's reach. It had to have passed mere centimeters away from her face. If she flinched, I couldn't see and what she did next would suggest the answer is no.

She stepped onto the hammer, using it as a temporary prop to get herself higher, and slashed the hurlock alpha across the face. It grunted, the wound putting blood in its eyes. The hammer withdrew, pulled by its user, and Hawke danced off of it, as if she already saw her opponent's next move. Rather than an up-down attack, the alpha swung it around horizontally, spinning in place. I don't think it was trying to catch Hawke, but rather clear the space around to buy some time.

Hurlocks are not as fast as shrieks. Alpha or not.

Hawke waited until the hammer passed by, bounced forward on the balls of her feet under she was almost pressed against the back of the alpha, and thrust upwards with her rapier from the waist. The blade pierced just below the darkspawn's ribs, travelled all the way through the interior of the ribcage, with the tip just slightly breaking the skin behind the collarbone. She had to quickly pirouette again, to avoid the body falling onto her, and she did so with a flourish of her weapon.

Marian Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall, delivered a quick coup de grace through the eye socket to the alpha as it choked on its own blood, leaving me with the distinct impression that she was to be ranked alongside Lady Nightingale and the Hero of Ferelden in the category of 'People Not To Be Screwed With'.

"So you're what?" I said numbly, as we walked the last paces into the Warden cordon, "A contortionist, ninja, water-dancer, pirate noble?"

"Something like that," Marian shrugged, her brow raising enough to tell me that she hadn't understood what I meant by ninja or water-dancer, "Friend of the downtrodden."

"Drunken whore, to some," Isabela added cheerily, "Insatiable vixen to others."

"I prefer those others," Marian said, "I'm not that drunk."

Isabela laughed heartily

"Okay then," I said, "Thanks for your help."

Julie and Ciara echoed my thanks, Ciara staring at Hawke like she was a superstar celebrity all of a sudden, much to Isabela's apparent, inappropriate interest.

"You're very welcome," Marian said, "What would the writers say if I didn't help you reach your lady love?"

"Varric isn't here, so probably nothing," Isabela laughed. Frankly, I'm very glad Varric wasn't there, having been made a subject of his writing during and after the war against Corypheus, although we'd meet long before that conflict began.

The reason why this side of the courtyard had been the entry-exit point for the Champion and the Admiral strode over quickly; Armen and Bethany. The space between the Warden semi-circle and the walls having been kept as a trap for darkspawn, those two being the trap, it was little wonder we only faced less than a dozen. Although that in no way diminished Hawke's achievement in defeating them all single handed within seconds of meeting them.

The Hawke sisters returned to their post, Isabela lingering a few seconds later to eye up Ciara (and probably Julie too, but left us to it. The darkspawn even seemed to be letting up, the Tevinters possibly having defeated the last of the lake-swimmers and now turning their attention fully to the central fight.

Armen rushed over and took Ciara up into his arms, planting a big kiss on her.

"What, no big kiss for me?" Julie quipped, happy to see our companion.

"Sam might get jealous," Armen replied, still holding Ciara, "Thanks for the rescue."

"As if we'd let you die here in the wet and cold," Ciara said, practically nuzzling him, "We'd never do that."

Julie and I exchanged glances. Ah, young, stupid love. Speaking of which...

"Where's Tam?" I asked, "Is she alright?"

"Still breathing," came the reply, "She's behind Stroud over there."

Armen pointed to the Grey Warden. Tam seemed to be sitting in a chair, but couldn't be made out because Stroud was indeed blocking the way. Another Warden was kneeling beside her, in full view, doing something magical. Around them, wounded Wardens were sitting, being attended to. I saw no corpses, and thanking my lucky stars for that, my companions and I went over.

Tam was sitting, with her shotgun across her lap, because she had a long gash on the side of her left leg, running from her hip almost to her knee. It didn't look particularly deep, but closing it was going to be vital if she was going to avoid infection. Even Grey Wardens can die of such sickness, if it is bad enough, although their immune systems can generally fight off anything. Normally.

Tam's situation was not entirely normal.

Stroud was observing one of the Warden mages, one of ours to be precise, attempting to heal the wound with magic. Almost exactly like what had happened when Armen had tried to heal my bruise at the crash-site, the mage was unable to do anything without almost passing out. And a cut that large and deep is a step up from a bruise.

Julie didn't notice what was going on, and rushed past Stroud to gently take Tam into a full hug. Our brave Warden-Commander saw her coming and reciprocated, before Julie grabbed both sides of her face and gave her a desperate, long kiss. Stroud just stepped back, knowing his place at least.

"Thank the Maker you're alive," Julie breathed, when she finally released Tam, "What happened?" She pointed at the wound.

"Ran out of shells," Tam shrugged, patting the shotgun, "Sorry Sam, this device is now useless."

I shook my head, before leaning in to give her a long kiss of my own.

"Don't worry about that," I replied, "You beat them back."

"Lucky for us, they are not wearing armour," Tam said, nodding at the ongoing melee beyond, "They didn't even bring bows. They have to try very hard to kill or even wound us, considering our silverite." Ciara stepped forwards and gave Tam a quick hug.

"My lord, I am afraid to report that the Warden-Commander's wounds are not healing well with magic," Stroud said, rejoining our little circle, "In fact, every mage that tries seems to suffer a catastrophic mana drain."

Tam and Julie both looked at me, in surprise. Armen with a look that said 'told you so'. Ciara just looked around with confusion.

"What, like Sam?" Ciara thought aloud, "The wound isn't healing at all?"

I turned to the mage I had seen trying as we approached, a dark-haired human man in Libertarian robes with Grey Warden chest and back armour slapped over it.

"Report, corporal," I said to him, "What is your assessment of this?"

The man stood up and saluted, before answering. "Marquis, the wound requires too much mana to heal properly, but it is healing," he said, "I believe that the Hospitallers should be able heal it."

"So not like me," I concluded, turning back to the others, "Or not exactly."

"Good thing we brought Markham along," Julie said, "Even if it kicking and screaming."

"Wasn't that bad," Ciara added, looking at the wound, "Bet it bled though."

"We had herbs to deal with that," Stroud said, "But we have more pressing concerns."

I nodded. "The darkspawn aren't beaten yet," I agreed, "Julie, Ciara and I will join the line until..."

I stopped talking, as the temperature dropped to fifteen, maybe twenty degrees below freezing in an instant. All of us drew our furs closer around our bodies, as cold wind blew in from the south. Cold doesn't really do it justice. It was a blizzard. Clouds suddenly appeared lower, churning just above our heads. Snow began falling from them very rapidly, covering everything and freezing in place so fast that not only did it stick but stepping through it was difficult.

Stroud and his attendants began quickly dragging more blankets and furs over the wounded, the most vulnerable to this phenomenon, and the mages present lit up their Fade fire to keep warm. Armen included.

The darkspawn stopped attacking, because the darkspawn froze to death, curling up in pain on the ground, instinctually trying to preserve their bodyheat. Soaked through with lake water and standing ankle deep in the blood of their fellows in some places, without any significant clothing to speak of and no furs, the sudden shift in climate was orders of magnitude more dangerous to them than it was to us.

And the pool of meltwater at my boots, and the fact that Tam and Julie directly beside me were unaffected by the snowfall too, told me that this was no natural phenomenon.

The storm lasted for ten, maybe fifteen minutes, leaving us huddled together. Particularly around me, as my immunity extended protection that we otherwise wouldn't have had. The wounded were taken inside the lodge, what was left of it, for safety. The occasion darkspawn survivor stumbled out of the swirl, only to be shot by Ciara or Julie, or electrocuted to death by Armen.

The Hawke sisters and Isabela, having reclaimed their furs, came rushing over to us.

"What is this!" Isabela complained over the howling wind, "I haven't been this cold since I was caught outside in Denerim just before the Fifth Blight!"

"It is magic," Bethany shouted in reply, "Although like nothing I've ever seen."

Mages' nose for Fade-shenanigans notwithstanding, at some point you have to admit such a thing probably could have been identified as magical by any thinking person.

The blizzard stopped as it had started; like someone had flipped a switch. The snow stopped, the wind settled, the clouds returned to their previous altitude. The temperature rose again, although not to its previous above-freezing levels, as the snow and ice around us remained, turning the lodge into a sort of icebox. The Grey Wardens, the Hawkes, Stroud, even Armen and Tam, all looked around in confusion.

But I already knew what was coming.

Aurelia walked into the compound, naginata over her shoulder and Gaius in tow, helmet in her hand, the shock of curly black hair revealed. Every pace of theirs came with a crunch in the pink snow, and heralded their approach.

She navigated the corpses of her victims somewhat gingerly, but eventually made it to the very front of the last defences, stepping over them with ease (while Gaius had to more or less climb them due to being bigger and heavier). The Wardens parted before her, knowing exactly who she was, and now, what she was capable of.

She planted her naginata butt-first into the snow in front of me, and stretched her arms above her, like she had just woken up from a refreshing nap.

"My dear husband," Aurelia purred, "We've won."

I raised an eyebrow, and looked around at the intelligent yet devastating way she had dealt with the problem. Freezing the darkspawn to death was a stroke of genius.

"You don't say," I replied simply.

---

To clarify matters, we had won. The Avvars successfully pushed the darkspawn attack back, and they withdrew to the Deep Roads after Aurelia made her second demonstration, proving that multiple such feats awaited them if they continued. The shrieks in the forest were eliminated entirely as far as we could tell, and a tentative renewal of the attack from the east was beaten off handily by Asala and Markham.

So, I got the opportunity to use the explosives I had brought along after all, rendering the need for an immediate return with a larger force something to worry about much later. I blew up the two ground entrances, and Aurelia did something to the lake that she said would prevent the darkspawn from coming out of it: she froze it solid right to the bottom.

However, it's always hard to know if simply destroying the known exits will ever hold them, as they can and do dig their own tunnels, although these are often crude and collapse often. I ordered a retreat, counting on the twin facts of our destruction of the reliable exits and the lesson we had taught them. A lesson they took to heart, as the darkspawn simply made no reappearance in Valhalla for a number of years. Firelances and massed magic simply made the usual raiding and kidnapping tactics they prefer too costly.

That lesson's cost had been far lower than I had feared, with fewer than a dozen dead. Our excellent discipline, our superior weapons and armour, the primitive nature of the darkspawn's own, and the fact that they decided to launch an attack from the lake had doomed them. Especially that last part.

Tam's Wardens had the composite torso armour inspired by the shape and materials of my own kevlar, with silverite Warden limb armour, the round helmets of the Free Army, and the protection of magical barriers. Silverite bayonets too, that would have made short work of any mail or plate armour that an ordinary sized being could possibly wear. The darkspawn that attacked them had no armour and light weapons only. It was only through numbers that they would have eventually won.

When we got back to our previous camp that night, more Wardens were displaying from the cold of Aurelia's blizzard than wounds from battle. Markham was furious about it. Even as he got around to tending to Tam's wound, knowing rightly that I would insist on him handling it personally.

He complained loudly in the direction of Aurelia, looking over Tam as she lay on a propped up stretcher, under a tarp hung between multiple trees to form a dry space from the rain. Combined with windbreaks and large bonfires placed strategically around the place, the hospital area of the camp was very comfortable despite the conditions. We hadn't brought full encampment gear in order to save time on the march.

"What were you thinking?!" Markham bitched, using the exact same phrase for the third time now, "A blizzard! Do you know how many frostbite injuries I've had to heal?!"

The leader of the Hospitallers shook his head in condemnation, his eyes never leaving Tam's exposed leg and the gash along it.

Aurelia, for her part, just looked on with a complete lack of regret for her actions. Markham was not a soldier, at least not in the sense she would understand. Gaius too seemed uncowed by the complaints and accusations of irresponsibility.

The rest of us said nothing, watching Markham retrieve a needle and thread that had been soaking in rubbing alcohol. Compared to simply closing the wound with magic, this was some seriously simple medical practice. It's what we would have done on Earth, in fact. Although we wouldn't have smeared the wound with an elfroot paste first. We had iodine, at the very least.

Which begged the question; Why wasn't he just using magic? Why was no one seemingly able to use magic on Tam, almost as much as they couldn't if it was me on the stretcher? But I wasn't sure how to phrase the question in a way that Markham would understand.

"Why aren't you just using magic?" Gaius asked. Blurted out, if anything.

"It doesn't work very well," Ciara replied, earnest as ever, "They tried back at the lodge."

"Which is why I am stitching it," Markham stated, his tone lower due to the attention he was paying to the job, "It should make the limited healing magic that does function effective enough to close the skin completely without scarring."

"Don't worry about scars, Knight-Master," Tam said with a wince, as the needle plunged into her cream-grey skin again, "They're a mark of honour."

Gaius' brow raised, as his gaze fell on me.

"Why?" he asked, "Why isn't the magic effective enough to close a simple cut? That makes no sense. She is not an Outlander."

I clenched my jaw, suppressing the will to strangle the man. Markham was not privy to the full details of my origins and didn't need to be.

"We don't know," Julie said, crossing her arms, "Why do you care?"

"Because it's the first time anyone born of Thedas has displayed this capability," Gaius said, gesticulating, "The significance of it is... enormous. Soporati that can deflect magic? The Imperium would be in uproar if word of this spread. "

Aurelia gently cleared her throat. "Which is why the Imperium will not find out," she said, "Not until a cause can be established at least. Doing so before that would be akin to calling fire in a theatre or at a Proving."

"Some sort of transference of Sam's ability courtesy of the Taint?" Gaius proposed, holding a finger up, "The Taint latching onto it."

That made sense, but it wasn't like I could help in the diagnosis.

"She was having nightmares, more so than Wardens normally do," Armen reported, "I'd need to ask Stroud, or write to Warden-Commander Andras, but that sounds more like the Taint is fighting and losing against whatever is happening."

So the conversation went between the magically inclined people in the room. Or rather, Armen, Aurelia and Gaius. Markham didn't add anything else. Tam too remained absolutely quiet, uncharacteristically so given the topic of discussion was something that was happening to her.

"We have too many hypotheses," Gaius concluded, hand on chin now, "We'll need to do an examination of some kind."

"Over my dead body," Julie said, her Andrastian instincts kicking in, "It's none of your business."

"If no cause for this is established, the Imperium will assume it is reproducible," Aurelia replied, "They will call it what it is, an existential threat to all mage-kind. My grandfather and I will not be able to protect Tam, or any of you, from the repercussions. It might well split my family, in fact."

I did not take this warning well, feeling my face grow hot.

"They ought to worry more about the existential threat of challenging us," I said back slowly, "I can't think of anything more likely to unite the South behind us than a Tevinter incursion, in the name of stamping out the possibility of anti-magic. I don't imagine the Imperium would last long against Orlesian, Nevarran and Marcher armies equipped with Qunari blackpowder."

Hell, the Divine would call an Exalted March to protect us if that happened. Aurelia curled her lip in disgust ever so slightly, knowing full well that I was right. But in doing so, she betrayed a fear that such a set of events wouldn't be a deterrence to the magisters.

"Done!" Markham declared loudly and cheerfully, standing up and putting his hand on Tam's shoulder. The entire room looked at him, the sight of him cheerful unusual enough to be noted in the history books. Of course, what he said next was of more import for the same books.

"You best tell them. They're going to find out soon, and I think the threat of invasion by the magisters is important enough reason to overcome your reluctance. Although you know I found it silly to begin with. You have nothing to worry about."

The concept of doctor-patient confidentiality was not invented at the time, as you can see...

Tam now had the room's full attention, and for the first time in her life, she looked truly bewildered. Embarrassed even. Her violet eyes were wide, and her lips tightened, and she hung her head.

Fearing the worst, I rushed over and took her hand, Julie appearing beside me to grasp both of ours a second later. It forced everyone else to shift to the other side of the room.

"You're safe," I said, "There's nothing you can't tell us. So why not get it off your chest?"

Tam raised her head, eyes full of tears. She nodded, and steeled herself. My throat closed, as my darkest thoughts swirled around. She had said she didn't have much time before departing on the expedition. To me, that meant death was approaching.

Then came the words that destroyed the darkness entirely.

"I am with child."

Time stood still for a moment. But only a moment.

I broke the stillness of the space, by almost collapsing with relief and surprise. I laughed like I had heard the greatest joke in the universe. Such was the double joy of the news. Tam wasn't about to die, and she was bringing a new life into the world.

All the tension of the moment was gone completely from my shoulders.

"Of course you are," I breathed, bringing both Julie and her into an embrace, "Thank God."

Tam sobbed into my chest, briefly, before recovering.

Julie kissed her as soon as she was released from my arms.

"But why didn't you tell us?" she asked softly, her own eyes becoming wet, "What were you afraid of?"

Tam shook her head, like she was denying it had anything to do with us. "The Qun does not celebrate conceptions until the tenth week, that is the point that those with child are taken off their regular duties... and because many pregnancies end before then," she explained, "I didn't want to tell you until I was certain we had cleared the danger."

"And running off on this mission?" I asked, "Wasn't that dangerous?"

"I had to act," Tam said, putting her hand on her belly, "The Qun denied me this, but it was you, all of you, that gave it to me. When our child is born, it will require all my attention. I needed to make my contribution before that."

"And so you have," Markham soothed, "Although I wish it wouldn't have involved armed combat."

Julie shook her head. "There are other ways to contribute," she said, "You are not a soldier to begin with, remember?"

"I'm a Grey Warden," Tam replied, "Nothing can ever change that now, not even this... immunity I have gained."

She looked to Aurelia. "Is it related to the pregnancy?" Tam asked, "Will I lose the immunity after the birth?"

My Tevinter wife was a storm-faced, conflicting feelings and thoughts written all over her face, made all the more grave by the low orange light of the bonfires.

"It is almost certainly caused by the pregnancy," Aurelia said, "And I very much doubt you will lose the immunity. The Codex Tiberii makes it clear that the first Tiberia retained the Outlander trait for her entire life. The trait itself survived directly for thirty or so generations, before our bloodlines were diluted as a result of the First Blight, after which it expressed itself randomly until we repaired the bloodlines."

"If this is another such trait, one born from Soporati as our family's was from a mage, it's certain you will retain it. It will continue to build in you until you are almost as anathema to magic as Sam is."

Tam nodded, her face a vision of happiness. "I need not fear saarebas ever again," she said.

"Maybe you can start by not calling us that," Armen suggested playfully.

"Maybe I will," Tam said, lightly hitting him on the side.

She had been brought up to fear mages in a way that no one else save Asala had been. Now, that was nothing.

"I'm not sure this is good news, cousin," Gaius added, "A bloodline that can resist magic? Most of the magisters will not care, but the White Chantry... they could become very interested in turning this into a weapon against us. We have to shield the child from them."

"My thoughts exactly," Aurelia replied, "Keeping this from the clerics for a while may be wise."

"That might not be possible," Tam said, "I am sure they do not care about me, as I do not care about them, but Julie..."

Julie sighed slightly. "What about me?" she said, "I'm not going to tell them. I wouldn't put you in danger like that." She got a solemn nod of understanding in return.

"That's not an option," Tam said, "Or at least, I think it isn't." She glanced at Markham, who seemed to get a message of some sort.

The rest of us were back to being confused. The Knight-Master of the Hospitallers proceeded through yet another violation of doctor-patient confidentiality, assuming that he considered Julie his patient. Which he did.

A little arc of magical lightning sparked between his thumb and his forefinger, making the large white cross on his black robe light up blue, before shooting straight at Julie.

Julie flinched away, attempting to hide behind me; a smart move for someone looking to avoid a magical attack, even a miniscule one. But it was lightning, and so she was nowhere near fast enough. She was hit, or so it seemed.

That little move on Markham's part had me reaching for my firelance. Not that I would have needed it to demolish the Knight-Master, but I was outraged.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked, my hand around the grip of my weapon.

Markham raised his palms in a peaceful gesture. "It was quicker than an examination of my own," he said, "The Warden-Commander's idea."

I looked at Tam for the answer, but she wasn't paying me any heed. She was waiting for someone else.

Julie emerged from behind me, a changed woman. Her face was as red as a rose, blushing furiously. Her mouth working slightly, her search for words failing her.

"It didn't hit..." she finally croaked out, "I'm... too..."

"You're too," Tam replied with a warm smile.

"But I.. my.." Julie said, "Wait, when was the last..."

The exchange finally connected the dots for me. Count on Tam to notice the signs, and count on Julie to not at all. Tamassrans were professionals at this very thing, and Julie got serious tunnel vision when she was thinking about other things.

After my happiness at hearing about Tam, I was already as high as I could go, so I was able to answer with a little more rationality.

"You're pregnant too," I concluded, "...How do you feel about that?"

A very relevant question. Julie was not Tam. Being a mother was not among her top aspirations in the slightest. She recovered her senses enough to answer in an oblique fashion. She levelled an accusatory finger at Tam, tears now pouring down her face.

"This is your fault, you know?" she said.

To someone unaware of just what she was referring to, you might think this meant she was unhappy with the situation. But Tam was responsible for this, for reasons I will take to my grave and certainly won't be recording here for my children to possibly see. The days after our marriage in Amaranthine were very fun, is all you need know.

So it was a joke, and an acknowledgement that we were all in it together. I'm not sure if it was because Julie genuinely wanted the child, because she felt some solidarity with Tam, or because without magical assistance, ending the pregnancy would have been extremely dangerous. I didn't ask and I still don't care to ask. My job in that situation was to support her either way. Her reasons are her own, and I am happy with the result of her decision more than I can describe in words.

Of course, we weren't the only one to be happy.

Ciara, having quietly listened to the revelations, having expected none of this, exploded in a way that would have impressed Vesuvius or Mount St. Helens.

Our elven baby sister became a torrent of crying, smiling, and jumping, intercepting Julie and Tam in a furious hug. "I'm sooooo haaaappy," she cried, "I caaaan't waaaait." And other things along those lines.

Armen and I left the somewhat exasperated pair of mothers-to-be to deal with Ciara's overflowing joy, because there was no stopping her. "We need baby names!" she was crying as we did so. I found myself agreeing with her. We joined Markham, Aurelia and Gaius to the side, as the latter two were speaking privately.

"Leha's going to tear you apart, you do realise?" Armen smirked, looking on at the ruckus, "I can hear her already. THREE WOMEN, SAM? And my Julie! Knocked up! What are you, a dog in heat?"

"Or she'll be like Ciara," I said, "Too delighted to care."

"That's a false hope," Armen replied, "You know as well as I do that it would be indecent, if you were someone else. Anyone else except maybe the Emperor of Orlais, in fact. And Leha will not let you forget it, so you don't get cocky."

"It is indecent," Markham agreed, "And I won't let you forget it. But only so you know what's at stake now. Although I am amazed by your fertility."

"Never was a problem in my family," I sighed, "My elder brother has … too many damn kids. My father is the eldest of six. Grandpa had seven siblings." Perhaps I should have shut the hell up, because I have more children than any of my known ancestors ever had now.

"Something I shall keep in mind," Aurelia said, ending her conversation with Gaius, "More is better, for my purpose at least. Out of curiosity, Ser Markham, how far along are they?"

"Tam is four to six weeks," Markham replied, "I won't know about Julie until I talk to her, but I would think the same."

"They are further along than I am, then," Aurelia stated.

"Yes, although not by much," Markham said, answering as if it had been a question, "Does that bother you?"

Aurelia made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Under Tevinter law, only my children with Sam are legitimate, so I shouldn't care," she replied, "Yet I find myself unsure."

There was only one thing I could say to that.

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about," I said categorically, "Neither your children, nor Julie, nor Tam will be honoured over the others. Not while I breath. Maybe you want more than that, but all I can guarantee is that you won't get less."

"No, that is what I want," Aurelia said, "It is in the opinion of Tevinter that I wish to see our children elevated above others, not within this... group."

I chuckled at her hesitation. "I believe the word you're looking for is family."

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies for the huge delay, but hey, one of the largest if not the largest chapter yet for you to enjoy.

I think I'll let it speak for itself.

Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!

thepkrmgc: Clan Lavellan will be involved fairly heavily... later on.

Blinded in a bolthole: Haha Harem shenanigans. No, I'm afraid the Lady Inquisitor's heart will belong to someone else. Though there are still some... less conventional harem shenanigans to come. Although I'm still not sure I'll go through with actually writing that part in.

Katkiller-V: A realist indeed.

StabKingPro: Glad you approve.

Makurayami: Neo-Trojans? That's an interesting term for them. May use that in future.

elysanaya & Revan: Merci!

ficreader: There's somewhat of a problem in making poison gas when you can't make gas masks... Wouldn't you agree? Although Sam has one himself, the whole nation can't share it haha

Kinnix Wolf: Oh yeah, a certain Sten will be in this on multiple occasions. And in ways you might not expect too. Flemeth, I haven't decided on. Maybe in the Inquisition arc. Morrigan has an interesting place in this canon, after all, sharing golden eyes with Aurelia...