Prologue: Betrayal

Chapter 2: The Noble Kinslayer and the Blasphemer

Duran Aeducan, the middle son of King Endrin Aeducan had been exiled to the treacherous Deep Roads to wander for the rest of his days. This was his punishment for killing his eldest sibling, Trian Aeducan, though it was a false accusation made by his youngest brother, Bhelen. He did this in order to secure his power base. The truth was, Duran loved his brother Trian, more so than he did Bhelen. His bastard of a younger brother set him up and killed their own brother in the process, thus securing his 'rights' to the throne.

If it was one thing he had to praise Bhelen on, it was being able to manipulate everyone so that they may give him his advantage over others. Both Trian and Duran stood as threats to his power base, thus he had them eliminated. Because the Assembly did not believe Duran's story, they had exiled him and this made people he once called friends hate him. Though how could he blame them? His brother was one manipulative son of a nug.

The exiled Dwarf was equipped with tattered prison clothing. His hair was red and long, as was his beard. Both neatly groomed so that they did not look messy, but rather what you would expect from a noble son of the king. He had wandered the Deep Roads for hours, not really encountering anything of note. In his time wandering, however, he had found makeshift weapons and armor, scavenged from fallen men, women, and creatures alike. He heard light footsteps approach from behind him.

He quickly spun around and pointed his sword at the source of the footsteps, and his eyes went wide when he saw who it was. Natia Brosca, the casteless 'blasphemer' who snuck her way into the Proving and won. She was exiled out to the Deep Roads a few weeks before Duran.

"Brosca?" He muttered in a surprised tone and the dark haired woman nodded.

"Aye, it's me. Didn't expect to be seein' a son of the king this far out in the Deep Roads. 'Specially dressed in that." She said in a thick Dwarvish accent. Her words made Duran chuckle lightly, before it faded and turned into a frown.

"That is because I was exiled as well. My youngest brother set me up and killed our eldest brother, framing me. Two nugs with one club." He informed his fellow exile who shrugged.

She looked him in the eyes as she spoke softly, "Well, you can always come with me, Lord Aeducan. We can find our way out of here alive. My friend, Leske, told me about a group of Grey Wardens somewhere within the Deep Roads. I was on my way to find them now, actually, if you want to come with…"

"That'd be grand. Thank you, Natia. Lead the way." He said, letting her take the lead.

As the woman led him through the Deep Roads, he couldn't help but chuckle at how ridiculous the situation was. He, a noble, was betrayed by his youngest brother and forced into exile. He came across the exile and they became traveling buddies. What were the odds of something like that happening? Now their only hope of survival was a group of Grey Wardens who may not even still be within the Deep Roads. His luck, they probably all left because their duty, what ever that may have been, was done long before he even got exiled.

Natia stopped as they both heard hissing coming from up ahead. They took cover behind one of the large stone pillars that decorated the Deep Roads, keeping the many caves from collapsing in on themselves. Of course, that did not mean occasional collapses were uncommon.

"Hear that?" Natia asked Duran in a hushed voice. The Dwarf noble nodded.

"Darkspawn. Try peeking around the corner, see if you can count how many are there." She commanded him. Funny how an ex-thug was leading an ex-noble.

He peeked his head around the corner slowly before withdrawing it just as eleven arrows flew passed his face. He swore under his breath, in the short time he had to count he'd give the Darkspawn at least twenty strong. Natia looked at him with curiosity.

He didn't need her to say what she wanted, "I count somewhere between twenty to forty Darkspawn. They are not happy with us, either." He informed her and she chuckled.

"Only twenty to forty? Bah, I took down fifteen of Orzammar's finest. Let's get to work, lemme see what you're made of, Lord Aeducan." She responded with a challenging tone in her voice.

Before she could even make a move, a Genlock Assassin appeared from the corner of the pillar, about to stab her had Duran not intervened by slamming his shield in the creature's face. It hissed in pain as it fell on its back. Taking this opportunity, Duran quickly stabbed its throat before moving from the cover of the pillar with his shield up.

Endrin looked at his second son, patting him on the shoulder gently. "My boy, in Orzammar there are two kinds of people. People that fight for their lives, and people that have given up hope. I won't lie to you, my son, at times giving up seems like the easiest and best thing to do. But you are an Aeducan-our blood does not allow us to simply 'give up'."

Young Duran knew this speech all too well. He sighed as they walked the stone floors of the royal house. He knew the amount of faith his father placed in him was grand, and to break that faith would be like spitting in his face.

"I know father, we've had this talk countless times before…" Duran said, the annoyance in his voice giving his thoughts away.

Endrin sighed. All of his children had the burning desire to continue going on for what they believe in, despite incredible odds. However, his second son suffered from disregarding vital knowledge that could prove useful to him later. His son was a soldier and a leader, something that can get you far in the world of Dwarves, but he had to be prepared to be king. A king does not only fight and lead men into battle. He has to lead an entire civilization, watch over economy, politics, and general issues that his son seemed to think petty.

"You are right, my son. We should focus on getting you a mind for politics. After all, you may be king someday, and knowledge is vital for a king." Endrin said with a smile, knowing what his son's reaction would be.

Sure enough, Duran let out a low growl. This caused Endrin to laugh loudly. When he stopped, his face returned to a serious state that chilled Duran.

He looked into his son's eyes before he spoke, "Duran. As with everyone, there will come a time in your life that you find yourself alone. You may not be alone physically, but know this; friends and allies are always around you, though they may come in a form most unlike what you expect."

Duran found himself pinned against the stone wall of the Deep Roads by a Hurlock Alpha's shield. Before the beast could run his sword through the pinned Dwarf's face, Natia had jumped on its back, stabbing it violently in the neck with one of her daggers. After the Hurlock fell to the ground dead, she ripped the shield pinning Duran away, freeing her unlikely comrade.

They both were drenched in the black blood of the Darkspawn, by then they had carved through most of their group. Only four were left and they decided that rather than flee, they'd charge their slaughterers. Two Genlocks rushed for Duran whilst the Hurlock and Shriek went for Natia.

Before the Darkspawn reached them, the Dwarves had to cover their eyes so the black blood didn't get in them as several arrows pierced the creatures' bodies. After hearing the four thuds they uncovered their eyes and saw four Grey Wardens with bows raised directly at them.

"Two Dwarves this deep in the Deep Roads alone? What are you, Legion of Dead?" A female Human asked.

Duran shook his head as he explained to them their situation, "No, we're exiles from Orzammar. We heard Grey Wardens were not too far so we sought you out. At least, I'm assuming you are Wardens."

"He is the king's second son. If he's an exile he must have done something horrible." The Elf explained to his comrades in a calm, wise tone.

Natia seemed angered slightly at the hint that Duran did something wrong. Out of all the King's sons, Duran was her favorite. Her personality and his just matched together, both got things done in a soldier-like attitude rather than beating around the bush like politicians.

Duran shook his head, "I do not need to explain why I was exiled. We heard Wardens are in need of new recruits for a Blight. If you do not wish our help, which look around you; it'd be useful, at least help us escape to the surface."

None of the Wardens second guessed recruiting the two Dwarves. They were ordered to find potential recruits and these two Dwarves killed more than forty Darkspawn. With that they set back towards Orzammar, it was the quickest route to the surface.

The Dwarves did not like accepting the two back in their city, but they allowed them passage as it would only be for a few minutes so they could get to the surface and get lost for good. If their rumors were true, there was no stone on the surface to protect you from flying off into a great abyss.

Once on the surface they made their way to a main road the Wardens called the 'Imperial Highway', to a place named Lothering. There they would wait until Duncan and all of the other Warden recruits arrived. Once everyone was regrouped, they'd head south to Ostagar for their Joining and the great battle to end this Blight before it began.

They were the first ones to arrive at the inn. The village of Lothering was rather small and mostly farmland. By then the two Dwarves had gotten used to the fact they wouldn't fall off the ground and into the sky. They were hungry and thirsty after a long day of travel.

The inn itself was small and rather shameful compared to what both the Dwarves were used to. The female Warden approached the Innkeeper and slammed a large sack of coins on the table.

"Two rooms for four days. The rest will cover food and drink for those days as well." She growled and the man simply nodded as he put the coin purse away. Who was he to argue with such an offer? He knew there was plenty of coin in that sack.

"You lot get the two rooms upstairs, then. If you need food just ask me or Ursula." He informed the group as they all nodded and headed to their rooms.

"The recruits are split up. Duran is with Tooth and I, Natia is with Henry and Dillon. Those are the sleeping arrangements, understood?" The woman asked and everyone nodded.

"Good. If the rest aren't here in four days we're headed south without them."

With that, the group split apart. Some went into the rooms to set their stuff down whilst Duran and Natia simply sat there, looking down at the people below. Natia and Duran both sighed at the same time.

Their thoughts were on their partners they had before their exilement. Leske for Natia, and Gorim for Duran. They were in the same situation as each other, ripped away from the friends they have had practically since birth. Gorim did have a plan, he said he was going to the surface and heading for the city of Denerim. Leske, however, he would probably rot away in the dungeon. He was a criminal and casteless. As such, he would be treated like dirt and his options would be very limited.

"Life is only going to get harder from here on out, Natia. I hope you are prepared to fight with everything you got." Duran said grimly to his companion.

The woman nodded before turning around and heading into her assigned room. Night time was fast approaching and everyone was tired from their journey. Natia and Duran more so than the Wardens, as they fought off a small warband of Darkspawn before walking miles on end to get here. Duran turned around to head to his room when a memory hit him.

"Remember, my son. Aeducans never give up. Our blood refuses to let us. No matter how bad a situation may be, you will always prevail, for you are an Aeducan! My son! Remember that. Always."

It was rare to see a Dwarf cry, but this memory made the strongest soldier Natia knew have tears fall down his face. His father probably hated him now, all because of that bastard Bhelen!

"I will have revenge, dear brother. One day." Duran growled, wiping his tears away as his sadness turned to rage. Hopefully he could calm down enough for sleep.

Author's Corner:

Hello pretties. I see you have made it to the end of chapter 2, that's great. First thing you'll notice is this chapter is VERY short compared to the first one, and that's because I didn't go through the entirety of the two Origin stories like with Lyna and Shadow. I'm debating if I should go through the entire Origin stories with the others or not. I probably will with the Cousland and Mages (hey the two mages will be together, yay for even shorter shortness) storylines since they're rather short. City Elf, maybe, I'm not sure.

We'll see where the journey takes us. Next chapter will probably be the mages, considering Duncan is on his way to get the City Elf and Cousland. As I explained in the update, Cousland will be 'real time' like Lyna so, yeah, I just didn't think of the City Elf during that update. Hope you guys enjoyed! I'm off to go play the mage origin story!