Judy: thanks for commenting as always. Rida-sama: I think the first time I played I literally yelled NOOO! with both Cailan and Duncan. Thanks for the comment. Kenyata Tabris: Agreed but I had to re watch the youtube walk through a couple times so I could line my story up with the game. Thanks for the comment. I hope you enjoy the chapter. It corresponds to 18 &19 of the flashback in Seeking Alistair.

I check on the King, he is still unconscious. The internal damage from the Ogre must have left him almost dead if he hadn't awoken yet. Or more likely my skills as a healer were abysmal.

Our retreat had pushed us back into the camp all the way to where the King's tent originally stood. Only two of the eight soldiers who stayed with the king survive this far. But scattered ones had come to our aid finding out the king was still alive.

At this rate, all we were doing was losing good men and women. And there were still too many for me to keep shields around and attack with my mana levels. I am getting a better feel for attacking without a plan, if I don't think too much.

The men have stopped again and put the king down. His motionless form stretched across the top of two steel kite shields.

I took the opportunity to check on him again.

There was still breath in Cailan's body as the reflective metal placed under his nose fogged over. I pulled the last potion from my pouch and poured it down his throat. That would make two healing balms and two injury kits. And if that didn't wake him, breathing or not he might be dead.

"Duncan, we have to do something other than this. I've used all my supplies. King Cailan is still alive, but I don't know how much more healing he will need. We are running around in circles and loosing good men."

Duncan bent over with his hands on his knees breathing heavily. The battle had been a disaster. He was grateful for the moment that the Archdemon had not shown. The Grey Warden in him wondered if the beast was testing their defenses or reactions.

Then there was the treachery of the Teyrn. He'd dealt with the man's stupidity years ago when they'd come to get information from King Maric. But to hold on to the stupid notion that Grey Wardens were going to usher in another Orlesian occupation was absurd.

She was right they couldn't continue this way and they couldn't give up. "I am open to suggestions Rhiannon."

"His Majesty is not waking up. I don't know if it's because he was hurt more than my healing can repair or?" I stopped speaking not wanting to face the idea that so much was sacrificed for this man and he might die anyway.

My cheeks puffed out with the breath I was holding. Duncan said magic was magic but suggesting this put the King of Ferelden in an apostate's hands. My instincts told me it was the right move. I took the chance and suggested my idea.

"This is going to sound absurd, but I think we should take him to the Witch of the Wilds. The darkspawn have abandoned the wilds for the battlefield. Which gives us a greater chance of survival even if there are band of them lingering. She warned Aedan and I it was worse than we knew."

Duncan focus on me or that there were too many darkspawn in the area, but he didn't sense them until it was too late. I screamed as the Hurlock swung his ax and my commander's head was no longer attached to his body.

Enraged I fling a fireball at him. He continues to advance screaming in pain as the fire burns at his flesh. Two arrows land in his chest. And I slam him with an additional round of lightening.

The Hurlock falls to the ground in death throws.

There are ten of us right now not including the two carrying the unconscious king. And they were looking to me for direction. And right now, all I wanted to do was sit in the middle of the battlefield and cry. But I didn't have time for that.

I reverently picked up Duncan's head, swiped that stray piece of hair back and carried it over to where his body was. I gently place the head on the body, gather the mana and create a ball of fire. I know that we are wasting precious time staying in one place, but I am not leaving him to be eaten by some disgusting creature.

I throw the fire ball onto his body and say the words Alistair said to us recruits before the joining. "As you perished know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And one day we shall join you. Until that day Duncan stay safe at the Makers side."

I turn to the men and women knowing that I have less experience than any of them in the way of battle. And offer them a chance for one of them to lead. When they shook their heads no, I realized that even without experience as a Grey Warden I was the best chance of getting out of here.

"If you choose to follow me, we are going to make our way through the camp and travel into the Wilds. There is a Witch with powers greater than mine. I believe it is the King's only opportunity. If any of you don't want to interact with the apostate follow me until we are away from the battlefield. You can take your chances out there. No one will think less of you."

I watched loyalty in action as it stiffened spines and squared shoulders of soldiers that those outside of Ferelden called stubbornness.

"Good then. I need a volunteer to see if the kennel master has any Mabari left that were not on the field. If so, bring them. They can augment our perimeter and give us additional warning of non-darkspawn threats as well."

I wasn't sure why no one spoke up. Did they believe that it was the easier job, or that alone they would be killed, or did they feel that they were abandoning us? "Demons and Abominations! Fine then I will assign someone."

I looked at our rag tag group and sent the youngest two I could. "Go now. Meet us at the gate to the wilds. It is west of here. We will try to keep out of sight but moving in that direction. The rest of you change positions and someone else carry the king and give the men a rest."

Duncan's body was still burning when we left. Burdened with the overwhelming knowledge I might be the last of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden, I thought Maker help Thedas because I didn't know to do this on my own.

We only lost three soldiers on our way to the gated entrance to the wilds. My eyes burned with unshed tears. As each protector fell, I said a word or two biding them save travels to the Makers side. The only thing I could do for them was to light a fire so they wouldn't become food.

The young ones I had sent in search of canine reinforcements caught up with us about an hour into the wilds. They were able to save two Mabari and the left the gate open for the one who was still too sick to run.

I briefly wondered about the hound I retrieved the flower for. He wasn't one of the two that joined us. I hoped either his death was clean, or he survived and found his way off the battlefield before the attack.

The surrounding forest was completely dark making our travel more perilous. We couldn't light a torch, as that would give our position away to the bands of Darkspwan still in the wilds. My wisp gave us some light but caused shadows startling all of us at least once.

Our hounds were a Maker's blessing as their noses and eyesight in the dark kept from falling prey to the more dangerous parts of the wilds.

I found a hollow space in a copse of trees and signaled for us to stop. We hadn't been attacked by darkspawn for the last hour and I didn't sense any nearby. I led the team away from roving bands of darkspawn. Most of the time it worked. In six hours, we only lost four more people.

The five of us trudged into the clearing and collapsed. We had been fighting, running, or walking solidly for the past nine hours.

"Rest while you can. The Mabari on will be on watch. I am going to gather herbs. I have enough concentrator agent to make a few more health poultices. I know it's dark and cold but don't light the fire. We need rest not another battle."

I wanted desperately to rest also but two of the deaths could've been prevented if I had a potion to give them right after the fight. But I could do nothing for the cracked skull. One minute she was walking with help and the next moment she collapsed and stopped breathing.

Our last bowman had a cut to the underneath of his arm. We were unable to stop the bleeding. His death was the most madding to me, as he had no other wounds. One small cut to the artery and he is dead. I should have done more.

I picked as much foxfite and Heatherum as I can find. I don't have the equipment to distil it here, but all potions need concentrator agent as a base. I gather the herbs for later use. For now, I would have to purchase the injury kits.

I should have known so much before I left the tower. I couldn't help but think that had I been a better student I could have saved more. Realizing I was spending more time assigning blame and not enough to creating the potions I pushed the guilt aside to deal with later.

I had been gone for an hour. Everything at camp was calm. I was beginning to count my blessings.

The fawn colored Mabari greeted me with a wagging tail as I entered camp. And it was a good thing the hounds were on duty as all my companions were asleep.

Some sitting up leaning against each other and others were leaning against a tree. I didn't begrudge them the rest. They had fought harder than a legion of soldiers.

I walked over to the king and touched his forehead. He wasn't overly heated which mean he wasn't battling an infection. But that was as much as I knew about healing.

I could only hope that the damage was so great that his body was just taking this long to heal. I unplugged one of my recently made vials of healing balms and poured the pink liquid in his mouth.

I was rewarded with a cough and a sputtering as the king began choking on the liquid being poured down his throat.

With heavily hooded eyes that looked like he had to pry open, he tried to focus on me.

"Welcome back, your Majesty. I was beginning to think I would never see those golden eyes again."

"Where…"

Already kneeling I pulled the stopper out of the animal skin we kept water in and poured a little in the king's mouth. "Were safe for the moment. You're healing from the Ogre attack. Go back to sleep and let the potions work."

He nodded his agreement and closed his eyes. I'm not sure how much of a choice our monarch had in the arrangement as his body was in charge right now.

I was cold and I probably shouldn't be sleeping but I was dead tired. And I was no use if I was completely depleted of energy. I found a tree and settled against it. Smiling at something going right for the first time since my joining.

Several hours later, I woke. I didn't really know how long we had slept but the sun was fully risen in the sky. Next to me was the faun Mabari. From her throat came a steady low growl. On the other side of the camp next to the king, the brindled hound echoed the low warning.

I could feel the taint in my blood beginning throb. When we were in the middle of the battle, it was like standing next to a waterfall. As we got farther away from the fighting, it toned down to a fountain. When there was none in the vicinity, it was like a bubbling brook.

For my body to feel like this there had to be a band of at least ten or elven. And they had to be relatively close. I pat the head of the hound and whispered, "I know they're here. Let's get the others up. Maybe we can sneak around them."

As quietly as I could I began to move around camp shaking my companions and placing a finger over their lips to stress quietness. One by one, they shook the weariness away and prepared for another day of battle. I left his majesty to last. He would still need to be protected and maybe even supported but not carried. That would be the end of our blessings.