Prologue: Betrayal

Mini-Chapter 1: They are far from dead

Time: Two weeks before Lyna's conscription.

"Mama, where are we going?" Hilda, a small human child with her long black hair put in ponytail asked her mother sweetly.

Her mother, Gilda, was a hunter and often brought her out on her hunting trips down south in the Wilds. They lived in the village of Lothering to the north with Hilda's father, Craig. The man couldn't walk on more than one leg after a wound he sustained in the war to free Fereldan from Orlesian occupation. This made his wife, daughter, and son take charge and help out by doing what he used to be able to.

Gilda smiled, looking at Hilda with loving eyes as they both carried quite a few unfortunate animals. "We're heading home, dear. Don't worry, we'll be on the road home soon enough." She said, reassuring her daughter that all was well.

'At least, we will if this fog doesn't get any worse.' She thought to herself quietly as she continued walking with her daughter. Six rabbits between the two of them were their bounty for hunting. That was a rather low amount of food, and it meant they'd have to try their luck somewhere closer to home.

They walked for hours, watching as the light provided by the sun began to fade. The sounds of the Wilds also started to die down as well. Something Gilda knew wasn't right. The many animals and insects of the Wilds didn't just go silent.

"M-Mommy! I'm scared…" Hilda said as tears started to run down her young face. She felt her mother pull her close to her side.

Gilda smiled, patting her daughter's shoulder. "N'aww, it's alright dear. Shouldn't be too far now."

They both froze in their steps as they heard loud hissing in front of them. "Hilda! Stay behind me!" She called out to her daughter who did just that. She quickly drew her bow and three arrows from her remaining twenty.

Her reaction time was impressive, because just as she readied her weapon three Hurlock grunts ran towards her and her daughter. She released the arrows with her bow tilted horizontally, each of her arrows cut through the air until they hit the tainted creatures in their heads. Her quick reaction killed them and their black blood pooled around their corpses rather than the other way around.

"Their taint will make this land sick…" Gilda said in disgust, adrenaline still pumping through her. Her body seemed to sense the threat that now surrounded them, hiding in the fog.

Hilda looked terrified as she looked upon the Darkspawn corpses. "M-Mommy are th-those…?"

Gilda nodded, "Yes. Those are indeed Darkspawn, my dear. Come on. We need to move - now!" She said, grabbing her daughter's hand as they ran into the dark wilderness, hoping to find safety.

They ran for fifteen minutes straight until Gilda felt something sharp hit her in the gut. The feeling sent her toppling over with a cry of agony. The little girl froze, shocked at what she just witnessed.

"Mama!" She cried out loudly, running to her mother's side.

The Darkspawn surrounded her, one of the Hurlocks rushing up to kill the poor child. She saw it coming and froze, however a black sword covered in flames blocked the attack. She slowly turned her head and saw a dark figure standing there briefly before it kicked the Hurlock back.

"Duncan! We've got a wounded woman and a girl, me and Savage will hold them back!" The man with a chilling, rough voice called out and soon a bearded man with a small ponytail walked up to tend to her wounded mother.

The clashing of blades, hissing, and roars of the battle mixed in the air. Duncan looked over and saw Hilda. 'So young...' He thought quietly before wrapping a bandage around Gilda's wound.

"Come on, young lady. I'm getting you and your mother out of here." He said, picking up the mother slowly and carefully, taking the little girl's hand before running away from the danger of battle.

Hilda looked back to her two other heroes, and saw them fighting a mass of Darkspawn. One with a flaming sword, the other with a massive maul. Through the fading sunlight, she saw the man of darkness hold his hand to the tip of his blade, the fire seemed to get sucked up and formed into a ball in his hand. She saw a large explosion of fire, and following that, she saw screaming Darkspawn run in different directions.

Savage, the towering brute of a man, collapsed to the ground. His gut was bleeding heavily, though he was surrounded by several Darkspawn corpses. All of which he claimed himself. Shadow walked over and knelt down beside him, placing a hand on the man's back.

"Savage? Are you okay?" Shadow asked, his voice filled with worry. The blonde haired man looked up, crying tears of pain.

He smiled weakly and shook his head, blood pouring from the left side of his mouth. He gulped the blood that was amassing in his mouth before speaking.

"I won't lie to you, Shadow. I-I have been fighting to die lately. I was preparing to head to the Deep Roads for my last fight." The man groaned before falling over onto his back. "I'd say I have done that, and then some, eh?" He asked with a pained chuckle.

Shadow simply chuckled sadly, "Yeah, my friend. That you did."

Savage reached up and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "Go now, Shadow. Go with Duncan. Listen to him, he is a good man. You don't have time to tend to the dead, so please, go without an argument. If I see any of those stupid blighters, I'll take 'em with me." He ordered with a cough.

Shadow thought about it, but only for a second. The man was stubborn and he wouldn't win if he protested. So, he said goodbye for the last time before rushing away from the dying Savage. The dying man coughed up blood before beginning to speak.

" 'Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Blessed are the p-peacekeepers, the champions of the just. Blessed a-are the r-righteous, the lights in the sssshadow… I-In their blood, the M-Maker's will is written.' M-Maker h-have merc-" He said before laying his head back. His vision darkened as death took him. He was now on his way to meet his Maker.

Days later in Denerim, Shadow threw a head of a Hurlock at Loghain's foot, pointing at it. "Does that look like a fake Hurlock to you? By Andraste's tits man, look at it! It's vile and very much real and fresh!"

The black haired, weathered and rather sickly looking man scoffed before kicking the head away from him. "Do that again, Warden, and I'll see you executed. Now, don't come here spouting tall tales about Darkspawn. We've seen no sign of them after the last Blight, they're all dead!" Loghain protested, clearly getting annoyed.

Shadow growled, tempted to just lash out and kill the pompous son of a bitch. "No, Loghain. Look at that. They're far from dead. That head is only a few days old, and I believe in the Wardens. If they say there is a mass of Darkspawn in the south, I want to act to save my people from dying. Warden, your calls for help have been heard. I will send scouts to the south immediately to report. From there I'll coordinate with your Warden Commander, Duncan. Dismissed." King Cailan said, stopping the fight before it even began.

Shadow bowed his head, "Thank you, my King." With that, he turned around and began to walk towards the exit of the castle, leaving the decapitated head to sit there and rot.

He had more important things on his mind. Such as checking in on Hilda and Gilda in Lothering. When the King got reports of the Darkspawn, Shadow knew he and the other Wardens would be summoned to help destroy this Blight before it even starts. He groaned loudly, as a flashing image of the nightmare appeared. 'I hope Loghain gets snapped in half by an Ogre. The bastard will get us all killed.' He thought to himself as he continued walking.

Author Notes; Here, have a snack. (Oh, and thank you all for making it this far. I appreciate you reading the story, I really do. See you next time for the City Elf Origin story!)