Cousland POV
I had told Cailan what happened to Fergus's scouting band during the meeting and he was appalled. He forgave us for the Amaranthine men, but wanted me to be safely away from the battle since I was the last Cousland. So he put me in a tower to light a torch. I would be angry, but what's the point? There's nothing I can about it now.
Duke rubbed against my leg and whined up at me. Duncan had put a harness on him that held my family shield, that had burlap stretched across the heraldry, to his back. It offered him protection, as well as kept it from burdening me. I patted his head and smiled down at him before walking forward with Alistair at my heel.
The tower was ahead, maliciously looming over us as we walked across the bridge. We stopped about halfway and looked over the edge—bad idea. The army was a mile or so below us. We could see the blue and silver armour of the Grey Wardens near the golden armour of Cailan.
The the valley seemed to glow as hundreds—no, thousands of darkspawn emerged from the forest. The darkspawn army easily outnumbered the king's army and I could tell it was not going to be an easy fight.
Alongside the dozens of hurlocks were gigantic, horned beasts that were over ten feet tall. Those monsters could easily rip a fully armoured man in half. I do not want to meet one face-to-face.
Alistair stood beside me as we looked over the battle grounds. I knew we both feared for the lives of our comrades on the front lines.
Once the darkspawn started to charge towards the army, Cailan signaled the archers to attack. They rained flaming arrows on the horde. The men around me pulled their stings and held position. I would have joined, but we had a schedule to keep.
The hounds were next. A stampede of dogs ran into the dark mass, many were killed instantly; impaled by blades and cut down. "For Ferelden!" The king's army charged and met the dark horde in vicious battle. Men ran by, pushing Alistair and myself as we watched a tower crumble from an enemy's flaming projectile.
Alistair put his hand across my shoulders and pulled me down just as a massive fire ball flew over where my head was a moment ago.
"We have to hurry and get to the Tower of Ishal!" Alistair's words would have urged me forward but I was still slightly in shock from the fire ball.
More flaming rocks hailed down on the bridge. Alistair, not wanting to wait for a physical response, grabbed my hand and pulled me across the bridge as he ran. Archers along the rail were killed and crushed before our eyes. Alistair held his shield over our heads to protect us from the rubble being thrown by the boulders.
He let go of my hand as we landed on solid ground. My legs shook from the feeling of nausea from being suspended on the bridge while it was under attack, but I regained my composure. I pumped air through my lungs and saw Alistair doing the same. We shared a 'holy shit' look, but we had to continue. There was a strange tingle in the back of my head.
We jogged towards the tower, but were stopped when two tower guards and a mage ran down the ramp leading to our destination.
"You... you're Grey Wardens, aren't you?! The tower... it's been taken!"
Alistiar laced his words with the utmost urgency, "What are you talking about, man? Taken how?"
The man seemed shaken, to say the least. "The darkspawn came up through the lower chambers! They're everywhere! Most of our men are dead!" Darkspawn in the tower? That's not good.
"Then we have to get to the beacon and light it ourselves!" We should bring these men with us; we may need their help.
"Will either of you come with us through the tower?" The mage stepped forward and nodded. Good, that should balance out our party slightly. I pointed at one of the guards, "You stay here and guard the entrance. We don't want anything coming up behind us." He nodded and I looked towards the last man, he didn't get a choice. "You're coming with us, let's move."
We had to fight through a dozen darkspawn just to get to the door. They were easier to kill now that I've fought them before and their tactics are predictable. I stood to the back with the mage and fired into the beasts as Alistair and the soldier took point. They soon fell and the path to the door was clear.
As soon as we walked through the door I could tell something was wrong. The braziers were put out, the only light source was a bonfire in the center of the antechamber. In front of us were barricades made from wood and metal, and they were arranged like a path that we were forced to follow. Duke growled softly as we looked around.
I saw the trap just as the soldier's foot hit it. "Stop!" But it was too late, the soldier was engulfed in flame when the oil beneath him caught. The mage cast an ice spell on him, but his screams brought five darkspawn running into the room. I shot two down before they got close and the mage used a spell to slow the others down, allowing Alistair to easily kill the last three.
We went back to the soldier, but there was no saving him. His skin was charred and the mage in our company was no healer. Before we could do anything his breathing stopped and he fell limp. I frowned deeply and looked up at Alistair, who was doing the same.
"We have to move." He nodded and we left to go further up the tower.
Tabris POV
We followed Duncan down to the valley where the other Wardens were readying for battle. Duncan pointed us to a group of Wardens then went to the king. My head started to tingle strangely around the other Wardens. Our group was close to the front, but not the closest to the forest.
Kenai, Aubrey, and Daya were beside me, watching the forest as it started to glow with fire. Darkspawn started to emerge, too many to count. The tingle in back of my head became more intense so I batted at it; I could see Daya become uncomfortable with the tingle as well.
The beasts started to run, gigantic 'spawn walked along side them and I could tell that those were going to turn the tide of battle.
"Archers!" Arrows flew from the soldiers around me and hailed on the charging mass, tearing some down. That only seemed to slow them down momentarily, soon they were back at the charge at full power.
"Hounds!" There go the dogs. Multiple mabari were run through by the darkspawn blades, but the survivors tore into the beasties.
"For Ferelden!" That's our queue. The army charged forth, meeting the darkspawn halfway. The darkspawn shot flaming rocks above our heads into the bridge as I spun my blades and took down two genlocks. These new daggers were nice, the enchantment on them burned the darkspawn and easily cut them down.
Kenai was bashing them with his shield then slicing with his sword, while Daya was savagely slicing and whacking at them with her two axes. I lost sight of Aubrey but I think she's behind me somewhere.
The battle raged around us, fire and bodies everywhere. The darkspawn came in a powerful force, one we would not be able to match. I was beginning to tire, the horde was relentless. We would not win this fight, for every Fereldan that died two darkspawn would take their place.
Weren't Loghain's men supposed to join in? Where are they? Why isn't the beacon lit?
Maker save us all.
Amell POV
Duncan had sent Luna and I to the mage camp then they had distributed us to other squads. Luckily, we were sent to the same group. It was lead by a red haired woman with a sword and shield. She looks like a strong leader. My job was to heal anyone I could and keep the darkspawn back.
We were positioned in the middle of the troops so I couldn't get a good look at where the enemy was, but I could see the forest glow. I heard the king shout for the archers, then watched as hundreds of arrows flew forward. The hounds were let loose next, barks and howls were heard before whines and yips. I held onto Luna's hand as we awaited the attack, the tingle in our heads—no doubt a side effect from the joining—getting stronger with every passing moment.
"For Ferelden!" The soldiers around me ran and not long after I started to see flaming rocks flying into the bridge above us. A chunk of the bridge broke and started to fall onto a group of archers.
I felt the Fade warp around me as I conjured a force push and shot the shot the chunk off into the darkspawn horde, crushing a couple. The battle seemed to pick up its pace after that, more darkspawn would break through the initial force of men and get closer to the middle. Luna and I were back to back and shooting magic into the growing number of darkspawn around us. They are going to overwhelm us if we can't keep this up.
"Luna, I think we'll have to retreat!" I turned around to look for her and I saw her get hit by an enemy arrow. Her left side was facing me and it looked like it went through her chest. "NO!" I turned back to the onslaught and used a powerful mind blast to get the darkspawn away from my front. When I turned back to where she was standing she was gone, darkspawn replacing her. "Luna!" I could feel the tears pricking my eyes as I furiously looked around the battleground.
All around me was death and destruction. There was no hope in the remaining men, they knew there was no winning with our current forces. Where are the Teyrn's men!? Why isn't the beacon lit? Where's Luna?!
The tears in my eyes fell as I watched over the field that my best friend was lost in.
Cousland POV
We fought through the floors of the tower, each one more difficult than the last. I picked the locks on supply chests that we passed—a skill Nathaniel Howe taught me before he was sent to the Free Marches—and disarmed traps that Alistair nearly walked into. One floor was full of mabari cages that I opened, the dogs easily slayed the darkspawn and we ran through the floor quickly.
As we approached the top floor, we could hear roars from inside. Alistair and I shared a concerned look as we slowly pushed the door open.
Inside was dim, the moonlight shone through the windows and illuminated the room. Why is there a rock in here?
Then the rock moved; that's not a rock. The massive, horned darkspawn's back muscles rippled as its head turned to us. Blood was dripping from its mouth as it took the last bite of what looked like a man. It was exactly the creature I did not want to encounter.
"Ogre!" Alistair's words combined with Duke's bark made it turn fully and roar loudly before charging at us. Alistair pushed me out of the way before jumping to the other side. The mage in our company narrowly avoided being crushed and ran to the opposite side, where he began casting wards over us then shooting ice at the beast.
I shot arrows into its head, aiming for the eyes, but that only seemed to make it mad.
Alistair went for the back of its knees as it turned to Duke, who was running in circles around it and barking to get its attention off Alistair. But Duke's distraction wasn't enough as it spun and grabbed Alistair, squeezing his armour until a nasty pop and crack were heard before Alistair's limp body was thrown to the side. "Shit!"
I pulled my arrows stronger after that and edged closer to Alistair's body to see if he was okay. Between the ice spikes, my arrows, and Duke's bites, the beast seemed to be getting weaker. The ice must have been annoying it, as it roared once more and charged at the mage.
Sadly, the mage wasn't fast enough this time and got impaled on its horn, killed instantly by the impact to the wall.
"SHIT!" The ogre was momentarily stuck in the wall and I took my chance. I drew my family sword, the enchantment glowing from the Cousland touch, and ran to the ogre. It was low enough to the ground that I could jump onto its back and I drove my sword through its neck at the base of its skull.
It stood up suddenly and threw me from it. I hit the ground hard and hit my head on the stone. The sword stayed in its neck, the white steel burning as it pawed for the unreachable blade. Its moving must have moved the blade into a sensitive spot as the ogre fell dead moments later.
My vision was blurry as I crawled over to Alistair, bleeding from multiple wounds.
As I got closer to him I could see that his armour was compressed inwards, steel bent like leather in the hands of a child. His face was covered in blood, most of it his own.
"Oh no... Alistair..." I touched his face, felt a light breath be released and his mouth started to move in silent words before he was able to talk.
"Th... the... beacon. Light it... quickly..." I nodded as best I could with my surely concussed head and stood up slowly to limp to the beacon. I used the flint and steel that was beside the fireplace to ignite the dry wood and it caught almost immediately, lighting the beacon at the tip of the tower and signalling the Teyrn's men. I hobbled to the window but I could not see the conflict. Loghain's men should be charging now and winning us the battle.
I limped back to Alistair, who had propped himself against the rubble so he could sit up. As I was walking the door burst open and I felt a sharp pain in my collar and chest before I fell. The last thing I saw was Alistair's eyes wide in surprise and horror.
Tabris POV
The beacon is lit, where are the Teyrn's men? The darkspawn are surrounding us.
Kenai, Daya, Aubrey and I cut towards where Duncan was last in hopes of regrouping. As we were moving I saw a red and gold figure being tossed up ahead. Even from a distance we could tell it was the king's corpse.
"Oh fuck." In the direction he was thrown from was one of those big guys I knew would win the battle. Duncan ran towards the beast and cut it down with his swords before crawling away and nursing a wound. We were about 30 feet away when a large wave of darkspawn came and ran towards Duncan. Shit!
We started to run through the side lines to get to Duncan, but it was too late. I closed my eyes as the hurlock hit Duncan with the sharp end of his ax and ultimately killed him. Oh no... Duncan, I'm so sorry.
The teyrn's men would have been here by now, if they were even coming. "We aren't going to survive this if we stay." I spoke too quietly for any of my companions to hear. The bulk of the wave was far enough away from us that if we left right now, we could get away. I started to walk backwards and grabbed the arms of Kenai and Daya as I went.
"What are you doing? We have to fight!" Kenai ripped his arm away and killed another darkspawn.
"We will die if we don't leave now. The Teyrn's men aren't coming." Kenai paused to looked up to the beacon and back to the battle before letting a deep breath out and reluctantly nodding.
"We have to hurry then." I looked down at Daya, who was looking around the battle scene with furrowed brows and her mouth slightly open. She swallowed and nodded up at me. We crouched behind a bush where we could see most of the battle, but it wasn't a battle anymore. It was a bloodbath.
We slowly started moving towards the northern forest where we could get to safety and warn the nearest settlement but as we moved I noticed that Aubrey wasn't moving with us.
"Aubrey we have to leave, now." The fire reflected in her green eyes and she looked at me with a type of determination I've only seen once before—when Elissa was ready to sacrifice herself for her family and friends. I shook my head. "You can't, you'll die." She smiled sadly at me and grasped my arm.
"It's been a pleasure to fight by your side. Maker watch over you, Warden Tabris." She took a deep breath. "In war, victory." She readied her sword. "In death, sacrifice." Quietly she added, "Adalyn, forgive me." Before rushing out of the bushes and swinging her great-sword through the chests of two darkspawn. She was heading towards the one that killed Duncan.
"For the Grey Wardens!" Maker preserve her.
Daya put her hand on my shoulder and gently pulled me along the direction we were headed just before. I looked back and saw Aubrey fighting off five darkspawn, then it was six, then it was seven, then I lost sight of her. I silently mourned the loss of Duncan and Aubrey as we crept through the underbrush until we hit the trees.
We ran into the forest, only knowing that we were heading north, and that we were possibly the last Grey Wardens in Ferelden.
Amell POV
The beacon was lit, but my squad was killed, my best friend gone, the other Wardens were probably dead too. Why did this happen? Why would Loghain betray Ferelden like this?
Asking such questions will help no one. I have to fight.
My mana was becoming low as the next wave hit. My nose was bleeding from the excursions and I was afraid I would collapse from pushing myself too hard.
The darkspawn got close and I tried to mind blast them but I only felt a sharp pain in my head. I fell to one knee and threw my hand out to force push the darkspawn away, but I only managed a pathetic blast of air. This is it, I die here.
A rush of magic blew over me and took the darkspawn that had its sword over my head to the ground.
"Luna?" I looked up but it was not Luna. Astrid stood with her hand forward, palm pointing to where the darkspawn was. Her brother, Carver was beside her holding his sword and guarding her back. She ran to my side and helped me up while blasting fire at the other darkspawn.
"We're leaving! The battle is lost!" I heard her words as she pushed me towards the forest edge. "We know a shortcut to Lothering, that's where we're headed."
We ran into the forest, only knowing that we were heading to their home, and that I could be the last Grey Warden in Ferelden.