Cousland: Forged in the Blight

by AlphaPheonix

Phoenix Cousland, aka Phoenix Mason, the Metaverser, must overcome many trials, including his growing fear, as the Fifth Blight begins in Ferelden. With new allies and the threat of the Archdemon, Urthemiel, Phoenix must learn to strengthen his resolve if he is to continue his training and grow stronger to defeat the villains who started his interdimensional quest.

1. Cousland Meets Tabris

(Author's Notes)

This is part of the Metaverser series of stories on my profile. Read Metaverser: Origins of a Warrior before this story as Phoenix's adventures begin there and continue on in this and other titles. Don't forget to leave a review and check out my other stories as well.

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I watched as my family home in this world burned and the sounds of fighting started to die down. Arl Rendon Howe, once a great friend of the man who was my father in this life, Bryce Cousland, had betrayed and attacked our family's remaining forces in the dead of night on the eve after my brother led half of the Cousland Army to join the King's forces to battle the Darkspawn at Ostagar. My name is Phoenix Cousland in this life. Beyond it, I am known as Phoenix Mason in others. I am a being known as a Verser that has reality altering powers. Two thousand years ago, for me at least, I was 'killed' by a group of villains known as the Conquerors. They were villains who became aware of the Metaverse, the version of Reality I live in, who had escaped from their prison known as the Shadow Vault. The Deific Council, the manifestations of Reality's concepts and powers, had brought me on to bring them in and the Freaks, as I call the Conquerors, killing me allowed me to train myself in order to beat them.

"How are you feeling, Phoenix," asked the Grey Warden who recruited me, named Duncan. After I'd been helpless to save the lives of my family, my sister-in-law and nephew as well as my parents and several servants, Duncan had found me and conscripted me in order to stop me from seeking vengeance on the Howe line, something he had no idea I didn't plan on doing at all. Despite growing up with them, I tended to distance myself from the families I found myself apart of in these worlds. Mostly, anyways. Was I angry? Yes. But only because I couldn't interfere with their deaths as they are the reason for me to join the Wardens in the first place.

"Angry," I replied. My horse, Shadowmere, a gift from my time as a member of the Dark Brotherhood in Tamriel, snorted in agreement and my dog, Fenrir, barked as well. My nephew in this world had been very attached to the pure black, red eyed horse and had visited him in the pens often to feed him apples, much to Shadowmere's delight. Fenrir, a Mabari War Hound, was more intelligent than most humans and was as angry at the death of my family as Shadowmere was. "Rendon was a longtime friend to my father. How could he do this?"

"Greed often drives you Shem to betrayal eventually," said the City Elf girl that had arrived in Highever with Duncan, Alyssa. If I was right, she was originally destined to be the Hero of Fereldan, but my presence has altered that destiny, more than likely. Downside of being me, can never stay behind the scenes for long, despite all of my attempts. Part of the Power of Fate, I think.

"Not all of us are like that. And there are Elves who fall down the same path, ma'am. Do not think our difference in races means a difference in heart." I could feel her scowling at the back of my head as she rode on Shadowmere behind me. One of the Howe Knights had gotten a lucky shot off and struck down her mount before we could leave. He paid with two well-aimed shots curtesy of myself and Alyssa. "Are we picking up more people, Duncan?"

"I'm afraid not. I had originally attempted to recruit some Dwarves and members of the Circle, but none could be spared."

"A shame. I think we could use a few more people against the Darkspawn, if the stories are anything to go by."

"The stories don't do the horrors justice."

"I'll take you at your word." I glanced behind me. "Miss. There is some water in my pack if you are feeling thirsty."

"You've probably poisoned it."

"Poisoned my own water? You must really hate humans if you're capable of jumping to that conclusion so quickly." I whistled to Fenrir and the hound took the cue to run off ahead down the road to scout for dangers.

"What is with your unusual features?"

"You're referring to Phoenix's white hair and silver eyes, are you not," asked Duncan.

"I am."

"That is part of the reason why I recruited him."

"It's indicative of magic," I said.

"You're an Apostate?"

"Not really. My magic is not connected to the Fade as is the case with other Mages. My magic is powered by my own soul and the natural forces around us, not the dreamworld of the Fade. Several Mages have studied my magic and determined I have the massive potential for magic, but there is little to teach me since my magic is exceptionally rare. Because of this fact, I have not been labeled Apostate by the Ferelden Chantry."

"How rare?"

"He's the first of his kind," said Duncan. Fenrir barked twice down the road.

"It's clear for another hundred meters."

"How do you know that," asked Alyssa.

"Mabari hounds are exceptionally intelligent," said Duncan. "And can learn certain signals to alert their owners and trainers. It's getting dark. We should set up camp."

"Agreed," I said. "Miss Alyssa?"

"Fine," said the Elf. I nodded and we brought our horses to a clearing off the road and I gathered wood for a fire before looking at Fenrir.

"Go for a hunt, boy, and have your fill." He barked before running off.

"Should you let it run off on its own?"

"Mabari hounds have excellent memory, an incredible sense of smell and direction, and are loyal to their trainers and family. He'll be fine." I turned to her. "Have you hunted before?"

"I've spent my entire life in the city. What do you think?"

"Point taken. No time like the present then. You seem very good with a bow. Get it and come along." I turned to Duncan. "We're going hunting for the night, Duncan."

"I'll stay with the mounts," he replied.

"Careful with Shadowmere. He's a mischievous one." Shadowmere snorted in indignation and I pointed at him. "You know you are. Now shush."

"Happy hunting." I nodded and picked up my own bow before leading Alyssa deeper into the forest, keeping the landscape in mind to find our way back, thanks to training from Hircine, Daedric Prince of the Hunt.

"If you wish, I can teach you a trick to hunting."

"Stay silent?"

"On the contrary. You won't be able to stay completely silent, no matter how you try. Instead, try to make it sound like your nothing more than the breeze."

"And how do I do that?"

"Move with the wind, making sure your scent is downwind from your quarry."

"Move with the wind?"

"Observe the leaves and when the wind comes, don't move right away and don't stay still. Move with the brush and mask your sound with the sound of the leaves and branches. Too late or too soon and your prey will pick you out." I stopped as I picked out a set of tracks and touched the ground lightly. "Boar."

"How can you tell?"

"This area doesn't have the right vegetation for deer and the tracks are smaller but deeper in, meaning it's not a baby deer if there are any here."

"You can tell all of that?"

"Years of studying the old hunting practices of the Elvhenan."

"You studied my ancestors?"

"Trying to learn if my magic had ever been encountered before," I lied. "I knew the Old Ones studied magic to no end and learned what I could after one of the aravels strolled near Castle Cousland. When they learned about my magic, they were more than happy to help me learn what I could, especially since I seem to be poison to Corrupted Spirits."

"You mean Demons?"

"They're not Demons. Demons are… worse. Far worse than the Corrupted."

"You've met one?"

"I've killed one. It wasn't like the Demons, if you prefer, or Maleficar the Chantry warned us about. If they saw it, they would know what a true Demon is."

"And what was it like?"

"10 feet tall. Blazing body. Curved horns like a rams. Skeletal frame with black and red skin, almost like charcoal."

"And you killed it?"

"I told you my magic connects me to nature. My mother woke me up and on instinct I controlled the water from my wash basin and aimed it at the Demon as it burned my bedroom and tried attacking my mother. Steam filled the room and the Demon howled in pain before it collapsed, nothing but a dried-up husk." I pulled my necklace from under my shirt, showing the remnants of a demon named Ba'al, a broken black horn. Somehow he tracked me down between worlds and tried killing me again. Got him first. Before then, I never expected enemies I had made to figure out how to follow me. Do you have any idea how terrifying that was?!

"Where did it come from?"

"Someplace beyond the Fade, from what the Mages could tell."

"I thought there was nothing beyond the Fade."

"Most do." I stopped us as I spotted the boar. I turned to her and gestured for the right spot to aim for and watched as she nocked an arrow. The boar looked around as it heard the clank of the arrow against the bow and the slight tweaking of the bowstring. I placed my hand on her shoulder, making her stop from releasing the arrow as it looked around. She shook my hand off her, growing impatient and loosed the arrow. The boar moved at the last second to go back to eating some truffles and looked at us when the arrow landed beside it. "And that's why you wait."

"Shut up." The boar charged us, and I pulled out a hunting knife before tackling the boar to the side as it charged her. I stabbed the knife into its neck and cut the jugular before covering a puncture wound in my side from the boar's tusks. I sighed and applied a poultice to the wound to help it 'heal' letting my magic do the work as the false poultice covered the action. "You ok?"

"It'll heal." I sighed. "Not a clean kill…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Just a self-criticism. Let's go." I winced slightly as I felt Hircine's mark on my chest burn slightly as he felt disapproval towards me for the unworthy kill. I shook my head as I bled the boar dry and removed its guts for predators to eat.

"That's disgusting."

"Unless you want to eat the vegetation and potentially eat something poisonous, it's your only option." A snap of a twig alerted me to the presence of something hunting us and I threw my hunting knife past her head, embedding it into a slowly approaching Darkspawn, a genlock and collected its blood without her noticing. "We should head back to the camp. If there's one, there may be more. Help me with this." She picked up one side of the pig and I did the other and we made our way back to camp. Duncan turned to us and I tossed him the vial of blood. I could tell he could feel the Blight in the blood, and he looked at me. "Genlock. Thought you wouldn't believe me if I didn't bring something as proof and I'm sure as hell not touching that thing."

"Yet you touched the blood," he asked.

"I used a leaf." Duncan looked at the vial before pocketing it and turning to me.

"Is that all you caught?"

"All we could. Figured if there was more around, you'd like to know." Duncan nodded and I got to prepping the boar to roast over the fire. I looked at Alyssa. "You should know how to do this as well, Miss. Long days on the road are expected and I can't do everything."

"I'm fine being ignorant, thank you." I shook my head. She was going to change that tune in days to come. I thought of the other Potential Heroes of Fereldan, Aeducan, Brosca, Sabrae, Amell and Surana. I took the place of Cousland, still wondering how that happened after all this time, and Alyssa was Tabris.

"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough." I finished skinning the pig and started roasting it on a spit. Duncan looked at me.

"Your father mentioned you've been practicing your unusual magic?"

"To some degree. Simply controlling the elements." 'That and defensive, healing, summoning, and shadow magic, but who'd think to check for that here?'

"What can you do?"

"Controlling water and fire, summoning ice and lightning at will."

"You are being careful, I trust?"

"I'm not like the normal Mages, Ser Duncan. The spirits of the Fade don't react to me the same as other people, meaning I have an immunity to being possessed, I can better interact with the Spirits better than normal Mages, and enchanting seems like something I could do if I put my mind to it. But the other traditional schools of magic don't seem compatible with my Soul Magic, and I seem to be capable of something along a similar set of rules."

"Soul Magic," asked Alyssa.

"It's what I've called my magic since the spirits of the Fade pointed it out to the Circle Mages that examined me." 'Never mind that my adopted sister actually named it, or… will name it… Gods! I hate time travel!'

"You should still be careful. We don't know what your magic can do."

'Oh, I know. But I won't go into details, Duncan.' After the three of us had our fill, I moved off from the others and meditated as Duncan took first watch. I focused my magic on channeling into the Fade, getting a feel of the magic of this world and how best to identify, counter, and react to them while avoiding the Spirits and Corrupted Spirits. The Dragon Age series had been one of my favorite games in my original life, and to be living it is both exciting and terrifying all at once. Yes, I got the chance to be a Grey Warden, but I also knew what the hell the Wardens had to go through! Taking in the Blight in the Joining by drinking Darkspawn blood! I had no idea what the hell it was going to do to me! I was still training! And yet I was about to do just fucking that! And I had to keep completely calm! My entire freaking training time had been like this! Thrown into a fucking world and starting at 'zero'! And I had already become immune to Gallio's fucking Pacification Field! After the Mojave, Sierra Madre, and the fucking Nightosphere, my nerves started to waver! That was in my first decade!

I wouldn't have the mental fortitude to go through with all of the crap I would experience until after my time on this world, everything I fought in this world dwarfed everything I had encountered previously, and that's including the Capital and Mojave Wastelands, Skyrim, the Realms of Oblivion of Apocrypha and the Deadlands, Hell and fucking Purgatory. The main difference is the different feel of the place. It was unique among magical worlds, magic performed differently and that wasn't more apparent than when I first arrived and instead of landing and having an anonymous life to train, the Fade reacted to me and somehow marked me as being able to slip into it at will, something I discovered accidentally and never wanted to do again until the time of the Inquisition. Then there was the Demons of this world, the Corrupted Spirits who can't properly identify me and when they see I can't be possessed, go berserk with anger. Then there was the Old Ones, the so called Archdemons, and then the Dread Wolf and Corypheus. Corypheus alone and his false Archdemon were on the same level of power as Shinnok, especially when the Grey Wardens are tricked into joining his side. Luckily, I had something the people of the original timeline didn't, hindsight. I breathed deep and focused my magic around me, warding off the spirits of the Fade and their attempts to try and understand me. Paying attention to Solas in Inquisition had definitely been beneficial to understanding the Fade a little bit better. Still won't risk a Corrupted getting close. As for Solas, I still did not know what his ultimate goal was. Surprisingly, this Multiverse's lore was still in a state of expansion. Only time would tell me what I wanted to know.

I opened my eyes, looking at Duncan as he nudged me. "It's your turn for to take watch," he said. "Just watch out for bandits. I'll know when a Darkspawn is near." I nodded and moved to the fire, letting my two companions rest. I looked into the flames before holding out my hand and turning them blue. Before coming here, I had taught a Harry Potter Variant World how to manifest Soul Magic during the time of Camelot, but hadn't been able to check in on it, so I hadn't gotten any new ideas in how to use it beyond what I already knew. With luck, they figured out the Shield and Barrier tricks I used against Voldemort and Mannimarco, but anything else would require some imagination and I was busy trying to stay sane to be creative.

So far, in the lives I'd lived, I'd joined the Knights of the Round Table and fought alongside the great Iskandar. I'd learned stealth and assassination techniques from the Dark Brotherhood and the great Hassan I Sabbah, sterring clear of the Brotherhood of Assassins. Anything else I learned had been survival, hunting, and gunplay, but there were no guns here, something I could potentially change with the Qunari Gatlock. And spending some time in a zombie world had made sure my senses were always at peek condition, so nothing snuck up on me. But my control over my powers was slow going. I couldn't bend time, I couldn't properly teleport, and I for sure couldn't do anything more than I was taught. 2,000 years, I'd been at this and the Freaks were still leagues above me. My fight against them in the Death Note Variant World in the Shinigami King's throne room was a desperate sprint to survive. If I wanted to beat them, I needed to get stronger, but all of these worlds were fucking insane! A bandit? I could handle. A solider? Piece of cake. Assassin? Walk in the park. Gods? Insane clowns? Timelords? Reality warping Shinigami?! Fuck! No! And now, I had to deal with Darkspawn! Diseased, chaos incarnations and on par with the Flood and the Necromorphs! And they were led by an equally chaotic entity in Urthemiel! You could say I was at my fucking limit!

I sighed as I let them sleep, rather than let Alyssa take over the watch. She may have been a practiced archer and held her own against the Howe knights while breaking free of imprisonment, but she was still a rookie at everything else. Sure, I should've let her learn, but there would be time for that later. I looked around and breathed deeply before standing up and summoning my scythe, a replica and possibly the sister scythe to Denise's, the Manifestation of Death. I started making large sweeping cuts with it, getting a feel for the weapon. It was large and impractical, but training with a shinobi clan had gotten me used to using unconventional weapons against my foes. Shovels, Kama, rope darts, everything in my environment, etc. A scythe was within that range but was more difficult than one would think.

Shadows wafted off of the weapon as I went through practiced staff stances, improvising their movements to account for the blade. I breathed deep as I calmed my nerves and emotions. My anger at not being able to stop the Howe Army, my fear at the thought of fighting the Darkspawn and other dangers of this world and eventually, Corypheus. I wouldn't face him in the Winmark Mountains. Instead of traveling, I would stay in Fereldan and nearby Orlais in order to stay close to the territory that would be engulfed in the Magi-Templar War and then the events of the Inquisition. Whether I would become the Inquisitor myself remained to be seen, either as a separate life I was unaware of or if the Power of Fate would take the reins after the final battle against the Darkspawn and the Archdemon. I breathed out as I finished my forms and saw the sun was coming up. Perks of not needing sleep. I hid the scythe in shadows and threw a knife into the nearby brush after hearing the snap of a branch. A growl in pain alerted me to another genlock dying. I shook both of them and started putting out the remnants of the fire that I had been keeping alive with my magic. I looked at Duncan as he stared where he felt the Blight in the genlock. "Sun's up," I said. "Another genlock tried sneaking up on the camp, more than likely a scout. We should start moving."

"Agreed," said Duncan. "We should arrive at Ostagar within the week." I nodded and finished packing before helping Alyssa onto Shadowmere's saddle and climbing on in front of her. I pat his side and we started following Duncan out of the forest and onto the road. I felt Alyssa's hands on my shoulder tighten as she looked around, on edge, the natural sounds of the forest unnatural to her. I had spent so many worlds living under the stars and in dead silence, this was practically second nature to me, and I'd have to say Duncan was the same, being a Warden-Commander. Both of us were used to being on the move where Alyssa was used to the din of the city, either the hustle and bustle of the Alienage in the day or the near silence of night with only the crickets and critters out and about. I glanced at her.

"You should get used to this. We'll more than likely spend a lot of time on the road once we join the Grey Wardens." She gave me a look before a bird brought her gaze to the trees. "These noises are the norm. You'll hear them day in and day out on a good day. It's when they grow silent, when all you can hear is the breeze and the rustle of leaves, that you should be worried."

"Phoenix is right. It's one of the best indicators that danger is near. Animals have a natural instinct at detecting it, one we do not have ourselves."

"It's mainly due to us following observation rather than instinct. We've adapted to hunting and learning using visual cues and auditory senses. We don't rely on scent, taste, or touch as much unless we're needing to remember something."

"How do you know this?"

"The Circle and the Dalish." I tightened my grip slightly before listening to the sounds around me. Being more afraid of all of these worlds as I go along, my danger detection was higher than most. I breathed a silent sigh of relief as everything seemed normal. The next week was spent taking the backroads to get to Ostagar. Duncan was worried about the Darkspawn setting up ambushes along the main roads. It's a strategy that wouldn't be employed by the Darkspawn just yet, the Battle of Ostagar marks the start of the more human-like tactics.

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I looked about the ruins as we arrived at Ostagar. I may not draw magic from the Fade, but I wasn't ignorant of its presence. Ostagar held the echoes of old battles held here. There would be even more after the betrayal that will cost the king his life. I would intervene, but this is a Fixed Point. I can only save lives considered non-important to the overall event. Certain deaths are meant to happen to spur on people to continue fighting and I could tell from experience with similar feelings in the past that this was Fixed. Not much I could do. I set Shadowmere at the stables and retrieved my pack, handing Alyssa her own. I looked at Duncan and followed him to the bridge. He turned to us. "I need to check with the other Wardens," he said. "Someone will come to meet you and you may begin the first stages of your Joining. I suggest you go about the camp, learn what you can and obtain what you need. I also suggest you look for a man named Alistair while doing so. Phoenix, a word in private." I nodded and Alyssa went off alone.

"Is something wrong," I asked.

"No. Not quite." He held up the vial of blood. "You've already completed your first task. Obtaining a vial of Darkspawn blood. This will be important for the Joining. You have two options. You can either stay here or join the other recruits in the Korcari Wilds and help them obtain their own vials."

"Understood. Was there anything else?"

"No, that was everything." I nodded and let him join the other Wardens before moving to the forward camp, Fenrir by my side. I noticed him bound forward to the Circle tents and grinned as he toppled over an old woman who just emerged from one of them.

"What the," exclaimed a Templar as the two guarding the Mages turned around.

"Fenrir," exclaimed the woman. "Get down! You're slobbering all over me! Phoenix! I know you're here! Get your mutt!"

"Fenrir is not a mutt," I said with a smile as I snapped, and he ran over to my side. "He's a Mabari."

"Whatever he is, you know I can't stand when he does that." I grinned and helped her up while Fenrir turned to the Templars and growled softly as their hands subtly went to their hilts.

"Hello, Wynne."

"Phoenix Cousland. You should keep Fenrir on a short leash."

"You can't leash a Mabari, Wynne! Trust me, I tried. He's too damn smart for his own good!" Fenrir barked in agreement before running in a circle around the aged Mage.

"Yes, yes. It's good to see you as well." She reached down and scratched his ears as he stopped in front of her.

"You're the Silver Apostate," said one of the Templars behind me.

"Hardly an Apostate," I said. "My magic is not the same as the other mages. I don't draw energy from the Fade, and the Chantry recognizes that." I turned to the Templar as he glared at me. "What's wrong? Pissed you can't subjugate me like you can the others, Templar?"

"Both of you stand down," said Wynne. "We are on the eve of battle. Turn your aggression on the Darkspawn not each other."

"Not before I show this Apostate some manners," said the Templar.

"Oh, you poor delusional fool," I said as I pulled out my family sword with a flourish. "I knew the Templars were incompetent, but I didn't know they were idiots."

"Why you…" He charged me and I blocked his strike before holding a dagger to his neck and pushing him back.

"Think long and hard before you do something else, Templar." He glared at me before his companion pulled us apart.

"That's enough," shouted a voice nearby. I turned to the royal tent and spotted a man with long black hair and a face that showed he hadn't smiled in years. "I will not have infighting in this camp!"

"Teryn Mac Tir," exclaimed the Templars before saluting to the man. I stood defiant and grinned at him. His scowl lessened as he spotted me.

"Hello, Loghain," I said.

"Bryce's brat." He grinned slightly before we exchanged a knight's handshake. "I wouldn't have thought Bryce would send both of his boys to battle. Leaves little chance of the line surviving."

"Unfortunately, it's more dire than you might think. In the middle of the night a week ago, my family was attacked. Rendon Howe's soldiers laid waste to Castle Cousland. My family and the remaining Cousland forces were slaughtered in the night. Duncan has recruited me into the Grey Wardens as a result."

"Those are serious accusations, boy."

"Do you know any other House with the great bear of the Hinterlands as their heraldry?!"

"Do not raise your voice to me, boy!" I glared at him as dark clouds started looming over the camp for effect. I needed to make my anger look convincing. Loghain glanced at the clouds, aware of my magic after I displayed such skill as a 'child' when he and the old king would visit my father. Loghain glared at me slightly before sighing. "But it is unfortunate what has happened to your family. I will begin an investigation and send word to your brother on the front."

"Don't. We can't have him distracted or hunting for Howe at this time. We have more pressing matters to deal with. Then once the Darkspawn are dealt with, the last Cousland's will take revenge against House Howe!"

"No. You will do no such thing! I will not have you threatening an Arl! We must have order in the kingdom!"

"Then do something about it, Loghain! Bring Arl Howe in as soon as possible!" He looked at me grimly before nodding and walking away. I shook my head slightly as I knew he wouldn't do anything.

"Phoenix," said Wynne. "Is what you just said true?" I sighed and turned to her.

"It is, Wynne."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She wrapped me in a gentle hug like a grandmother would and I hugged her back. The Templars looked at me with a slight look of compassion, even the one who attacked me. Apostate or no, to witness your family cut down in front of you is something no one should ever endure, and they knew it. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm nearby."

"Thank you, Wynne. I should let you go. I need to put Fenrir with the other Mabari hounds."

"Of course, Phoenix. Take care." I nodded before sighing and moving Fenrir to the Mabari pens where I saw Alyssa speaking with one of the Ash Warriors.

"That's a mighty fine hound, lad," said the warrior, making Alyssa turn to me.

"Thank you," I said. I whistled and Fenrir moved into the pens. "My family found him on a hunting trip and Fenrir has been with me since."

"You'll never find a better companion." He closed the pen and Alyssa glared at him slightly before turning to me.

"What was that commotion earlier," she asked.

"Personal issues. Have you seen much of the camp?"

"I have and I found the man Duncan told us to find."

"His name was Alistair, right?" She nodded.

"He was a former Templar."

"Templar trainee. Those committed to the Templar Order stay in the Order. Only trainees have the option of leaving the service of the Chantry." I looked at her hip and saw a short sword. "Followed my advice, I see?"

"You have been right this far, Shem. I figured you could teach me about swordsmanship."

"And you would be right." I looked at the two men standing in the area where Duncan said to meet up and nodded. "Those two must be the other initiates."

"They are. Ser Jory and Daveth. I know Daveth from Denerim. We ran a job together a year ago. Duncan recruited him at the same as me but was sent on ahead with the other Wardens while I traveled with Duncan."

"By 'ran a job'…"

"Best you don't know."

"Got it." I took her short sword and examined it in my hand. "Grey iron. 34 centimeters. 2 pounds. Decent. Here." I handed her back the sword and handed her a steel dagger. "Someone of your stature would do better with lighter blades and faster movements. A standard buckler would be better for defense, but a dagger in the offhand ensures, when you're skilled enough, that you have a secondary weapon. A shield can be used as a weapon as well, but only when you know how to use one. For now, let's focus on basic attack and deflect with a pair of blades."

"What, now?"

"Yes. Now." I picked up a pair of sticks, one longer than the other and turned to her. "En Garde."