Prologue: Betrayal

Mini-Chapter 2: The start of it all

Time: One week before Lyna's Conscription, the first battle at Ostagar

"The three battles we had before Duncan, myself, and a few other Grey Wardens set out to find recruits… Well… the Creators were not on our side. Whilst they are elvish gods, I have trusted in them all my life and they had not failed me. During those battles, however, it seemed that no matter what god the men believed in, they were denied their blessings. Their gods' presences were absent from them. Ask any man that fought in the battles that the King says 'went well,' how well they truly went and they shall tell you that it was a blood bath and they had lost many good brothers to the hands of those most foul creatures." Shadow said as he and Lyna walked along the Imperial Highway. The sun beginning to set, the air turning cold as night rapidly approached. "The most violent and bloodiest of the three was the first. The soldiers of the King had never tested their steel against the Darkspawn. As a result of this, many were slain or poisoned by their black blood. If you are not a Grey Warden, so much as getting a drop of their blood on you can prove to be dangerous."

Harold, the only name most people knew him by, walked into the tent he and his scouting group were assigned. He was a young man, no more than seventeen years of age, with heavy, yet patchy stubble. He hadn't been shaving because he believed a true soldier should look like a man, not a boy. He found his friend Jerrick who was cleaning his blade while sitting on a cot. Everyone else out of their eight man group was either at the meeting with their superiors or training outside of the tent. They had just arrived, and knew that the King would want scouts sent out into the Korcari Wilds, a place Harold did not want to go into. Witches, beasts, and Maker knew what else lied within that damned swamp.

"Hey Harold." Jerrick called out to him, not looking up from his sword, or at least that was what Harold had thought. "Got that look about you, nervous for your first time out in the field?"

The young man nodded, "Yeah. I signed on to fight for the King, not to fight against the Darkspawn that I could have sworn were killed off in the last Blight." He groaned before sitting on his own small cot.

The man chuckled before sighing, "Well, man, you fight for the King. And the King is fighting the Darkspawn. Thus, you're doing both. Don't worry, we'll all come out of this as heroes. Imagine the tales about Harold Thyserian the Darkspawn Slayer with his trustworthy comrade Jerrick Cadahn. Fighting in the ruins of Ostagar, against all odds along with the Grey Wardens and their King Cailan." He said before laughing.

Harold joined in on the laugh, whilst he doubted there'd be any tales about him, his friend's words did have truth to them. Fighting Darkspawn that are growing in numbers to overrun the King's army in a rundown ruin that had seen countless of battles in its life? It was like a tale you would only hear of in legends. But really, what hope did men like himself and Jerrick have of surviving encounters with the Darkspawn? Sure, they had Grey Wardens, but they were the Darkspawn. Creatures born due to the mages of Tevinter getting greedy and stepping into the Golden City of the Maker, tainting it with their sin.

The young man slowly laid down on his cot, closing his eyes to rest until the leader of the group got back with their mission. He had trained hard this morning, and he figured rest would do him good before what ever mission the King decides to throw at them came in.

Harold slowly woke up to the sounds of an argument going on. He recognized the voices of his leader, Gerald and of course his friend, Jerrick. He pretended to be asleep so he could listen in.

"Do not underestimate the Darkspawn, Gerald. That's not an intelligent choice of action." Jerrick warned loudly as he crossed his arms, staring his leader in the eyes.

The man with the worn face laughed, "And I suppose you fought Darkspawn before? Three men, and two women. One a girl, and the other a huntress. Both were peasants from Lothering. You're telling me that we should fear these creatures? When they can't kill at most, four able fighters? Let me remind you they were in the middle of this horde."

"And those three men were some of Ferelden's most experienced Wardens. One was the Warden Commander himself! The two Lothering 'peasants' survived because of the sacrifice of one Warden, and even then the huntress almost got killed. Show respect for the people we are fighting with, and fighting for." Jerrick growled, and Harold could hear the frustration rising in his voice.

"Watch your tongue, soldier, or I'll have you flogged for insubordination." The Captain growled.

Harold then got out of bed, walking to Jerrick's side, managing to surprise them both as they had thought he was in a deep slumber. "Ser, with all due respect, you can't charge him for insubordination. He isn't denying to follow your order, he is merely suggesting for you to take our opponents seriously."

Gerald sighed, stroking his long red beard before nodding. "You're right, Harold. I'm sorry, Jerrick. I've just had one Void-spawned morning. Got scolded by Loghain because I didn't have us scouting out the Korcari Wilds. It seems the fool doesn't understand I can't act without King Cailan's direct order."

"Why are we scouting the Wilds anyway? Haven't the Wardens done enough of that themselves?" Harold asked, crossing his arms.

Jerrick decided to speak for the Captain, "Aye, they have. But, from what I've heard our little 'Hero of Ferelden' decided we can't place our trust in the Wardens. So, he is sending men out like crazy to figure out what the Darkspawn are doing. Often times he disregards any intelligence the Wardens bring to him and the King. Whilst the King trusts the Grey Wardens, he still takes the Teyrn's suggestions. Waste of men, if you ask me. Good men are dying for nothing out there, and reports indicate that the Darkspawn are preparing for an attack. They're trying to push forward"

"Hah, was that ever in doubt? They are coming from the south, the only thing standing between them and the rest of Ferelden is our armies stationed in this ruin." Harold said with a fake enthusiastic voice.

Gerald shook his head, chuckling lightly. "At least we got warned before the Darkspawn horde turned into a Blight. If we can kill those stupid blighters here and now, we need not worry about a Blight. If, however, we fail… I am afraid of what may happen."

"Blights are only formed if they're led by an Archdemon, right? That's what I was told by some Knight." Jerrick asked the Captain.

"That may be, but I can't help thinking that those Wardens are keeping something from us. If there was an Archdemon, they would be the only ones to know until it was too late. And that is information I doubt they'd tell us lowly soldiers. Bad for morale and all that shite." The Captain replied. "Come, let us get the rest of our group together so we can head out into the Wilds and get this over with."

Several hours had passed by, and day turned to night when the army was summoned to the small valley that ran straight through Ostagar. However, Harold and Jerrick were walking around the King's camp when they heard a woman cry out in desperation from behind a few bushes located in a dark corner of the ruins.

"Help me!" She cried out loudly, before another voice was heard by Harold.

"Shut up, wench, no one is going to save you and I need to get this out of my system before the battle!" A man's voice growled.

He was one of Loghain's soldiers, and obviously he had grown foolish due to the fact every able bodied man was sent to the battlefield at the request of their leaders, save, of course, for a few guards protecting the servants and others who were not fighters. A most foolish move on his part, as he did not expect the likelihood of two well trained scouts of the King to be in the camp before the battle. Not hearing the men approach, he kept his advances on the woman, ripping her lower clothing from her body and exposing her sex.

He lowered his own trousers, about to complete his raping of the young elvish girl, but was cut short when he heard the rasp of blades being drawn from their scabbards. He slowly turned around, still pinning the girl to the ground, and successfully identified the two men who were now pointing their weapons at him. In reaction to this, he spun around, holding the partially naked elf in front of himself so he could not be harmed. At least that was what he thought.

Harold slowly approached him, half-swording his blade as he pointed it's tip directly at the soldier's face, avoiding the elvish girl entirely. "Release her, or experience the feeling of steel through your skull, swine." He growled as he narrowed his eyes at the man, knowing that the girl was completely safe should he try anything. The blunt side of his sword was facing her so the soldier could not use Harold's blade against him.

"Promise not to tell the Teyrn or King." The man demanded, holding his arm around the elf's neck tightly, choking her.

Harold nodded, "I swear I won't tell anyone. You have my word."

"And your friend?"

"I swear as well." Jerrick said with a sigh, not lowering his own blade in case the man tried something.

He believed them, after all, they were his fellow soldiers and wouldn't get him in trouble. He removed his grip on the elf, who ran into Harold and wrapped her arms around him. At the same time, Jerrick moved in on the soldier and without warning swung his sword, cutting the man's arms off by the elbows. He screamed in agony, but Jerrick wasn't done.

Harold decided to leave Jerrick to do what he wished and escorted the elvish woman out of view from the horrible execution that was about to happen. "Where is your tent, mi'lady?" He asked the girl.

"O-Over by t-the river." She replied, her voice shaky and strained as she pulled her top down as much as she could to cover her privates.

Harold sighed, sheathing his sword to his side again before gently pulling the girl close to him. "I won't let anything happen to you, mi'lady. Does your family also occupy that tent, or is it just for servants?" He asked.

"I-It's for the servants, but my family fills it completely, so... "

"I understand. I am deeply sorry that this has happened to you. He is a disgrace to our army." Harold sighed as he saw the river in the distance, moonlight reflecting off of its waters like a beacon.

It wasn't long before they heard the sounds of battle erupt after a horn was blown by the King's army. His group, along with several others, reported that the Darkspawn were en route to the valley, and that is why the King ordered all men to be stationed in there. However, something wasn't right. The air itself felt as if it was going to freeze. Demonic sounding whispers followed this feeling, and he drew his sword and dagger.

"Get behind me!" He ordered the girl as he looked around, and sure enough he spotted something he did not want to see.

A Hurlock with horned armor. From what Harold's research told him, it was a Hurlock Alpha. The creature slowly approached and let out a hissing laugh as it taunted him. Soon it was joined by four other Hurlocks. The elf girl let out a sound of fear before Harold charged their attackers.

"Stay close!" He ordered her before attempting to slash the Alpha with his blade.

Harold did not see the shield the Darkspawn was wielding, he had acted too hastily and so he was forced back with an aching arm. He pressed on, however, and as the Alpha went to bash him with his shield again, Harold deflected the blow off to the side with his sword. In a swift maneuver, he bashed the Hurlock back with his elbow which left the creature wide open for an attack. He took this opportunity and thrust his blade forward, managing to pierce the throat of the Darkspawn.

Another one of the tainted creatures rushed at Harold, though the man was very lucky as his dagger managed to knock the advancing Darkspawn back a foot due to a well timed block. He ripped his sword from the throat of the Alpha and began relentlessly bashing his blades against the new Hurlock's tainted weapon. One of the creature's comrades tried to get the advantage against Harold, though the young man saw this as an opportunity. He quickly grabbed onto the Darkspawn he was bashing, and threw him into the swing of his friend. Once the blade of his new, tricky opponent got lodged into his old enemy's shoulder, he decapitated both of them, watching their heads roll off from their shoulders.

The remaining Darkspawn tried to flee, either to get reinforcements or to just get to safety. However, as one Hurlock turned around it was greeted by Jerrick's sword getting thrust through his face. The other ended up with a crossbow bolt in its head, one of the guards had spotted the battle taking place.

"You having fun, Harold?" Jerrick growled before removing his blade from the face of the Darkspawn and in one sweeping motion, removed the head of the Hurlock before its body had time to reach the ground.

Harold chuckled, breathing heavily. "Sure am, you?"

"Eh, I'm rather disappointed. I thought they'd get you worried, not get themselves slaughtered."

"They're stragglers from the bulk of their forces in the valley, no doubt. Jerrick, creatures that don't follow their leaders are often the weakest. Do you know our orders?"

Jerrick spat on the corpse of his vanquished enemy, "Aye. Get that lass back to her tent and warn the guards of the camp to be on the look out for more of those blighters. Then we attend the battle goin' on down in the valley."

"Oh I think they're well aware of the Darkspawn, after all, one of them killed the Hurlock you missed."

"Ah, yes."

"What of Loghain's man back there?"

"No hands, no tongue, and no bits to attempt rape. He's either bled to death or is currently on his way there."

Harold nodded, "Good. He gives us a bad name. Come on mi'lady. I'll get you to your tent."

"M-My name is Kallian, you know." The elf responded hesitantly before following her savior, who sheathed his sword that was covered in black blood.

"Jerrick, head to the valley. I'll get her home and make my way back to you, if we are to get into trouble, I rather take the blame than have you take it with me." Harold said, his voice rough and breathy.

The man sighed in response, "Alright. See you in the battle."

And so Harold walked the young elvish lass to her tent, but before she entered it, she used the cover of the night to give her savior a hug. The young man didn't know how to respond, and so she could feel him tense up before he slowly wrapped his own arms around her. Thankfully, he was only wearing leather armor, or doing so would prove to be pointless. Plate wasn't the right kind of equipment to hug people with, not to mention you wouldn't feel their own embrace.

"P-Please be safe… come and see me after the battle." Kallian said softly, placing her forehead against his chest.

Harold sighed, "You have to understand, Kallian, I don't know if I'll even be allowed to see you again. Not to mention we don't really know each other."

"I understand that… but even so, I… I want you to have these." She said before pulling a small pendant from her chest, grabbing his hand and placing it in his palm.

He looked at the beautiful, black, yet shining raven pendant before turning his gaze to Kallian who was looking at him with her bright blue eyes. "I… Thank you, Kallian." He said softly with a small grin on his face.

"That isn't all…" She said, one of her hands finding a place on his cheek that turned red as it burned in a blush.

"Kal-" He began to say before she leaned up and placed her lips against his.

Never in his entire life had he experienced what he was right now. Her lips were soft, warm, and inviting. It was as if she ensnared him just by this simple action, but his mind couldn't come up with any form of reason as to why she was doing this. A kiss was something people that were close did, right? They had just met, not to mention she had almost been raped, then killed by Darkspawn. And yet she was doing… that. With him. The kiss finally ended after what felt like an eternity of confusion.

"I… I'll see if I can return to you after the battle, Kallian. Maybe we can get to know each other after that." Harold said, swallowing hard as he backed away from the woman.

She smiled weakly and nodded, "Not maybe, and I look forward to it, Harold Thyserian."

The young man felt himself freeze as she spoke his name. It was as if she spoke inside his mind. As if their eye contact gave her a bridge into his mind and possibly his soul. He shivered, and went pale, the burning blood in his cheeks vanished as the cold fear and confusion set in. Her voice was a whisper when she spoke his name, and her expression turned from weak and innocent into one of scheming.

He then turned around and rushed towards the ruins. He had to get to his group and assist in the battle that was happening in the valley and had no time to ponder about the woman any longer. Originally, he was afraid of facing the Darkspawn horde in that valley, but after that kiss, he felt nearly invincible. Though that pit in his stomach never filled, despite him trying to forget those thoughts, the fear of the unknown in that woman was still evident. Who was she? How did she know his name?

Harold arrived to the King's camp in the ruins of Ostagar, and on his way to the tower stairs, he caught a glimpse of the battle. Lights from torches and magic were flying everywhere. It was massive, and he couldn't make out how many figures there were. He descended the stairs to the valley, and as he opened the large wooden door he was greeted by the massive battle taking place in more detail than before. It was loud, and violent.

Everywhere he looked he saw limbs getting chopped off, swords and axes cleaving and stabbing through bodies. The sounds, roars, hisses, cries, growls, orders, it was all overwhelming at first. Though after a few seconds he gathered his mind. Remarkably, he saw Jerrick fighting side by side with Gerald in the thick of the fighting, and assumed that was where his entire squad was. He rushed into the battle, taking cheap swings at unsuspecting Darkspawn as he made his way over to his friends. His brothers.

A loud, bestial roar was heard and the bodies of men and Darkspawn alike rained down from the sky, multiple bones in their bodies broken before they even hit the ground. The ground shook, and Harold knew what was going on.

"Nice of you to join us!" The Captain said before dealing death to a Genlock.

Harold chuckled, "Yeah… of course I appear when the Ogres come to play! What's the casualty count for our group?!"

"We... are the only survivors! The others got killed in the first engagement!" The Captain replied with sadness in his normally emotionless voice.

"Damn those Darkspawn! I feel horrible now!"

"Don't, Harold! It could be worse, you could be sitting at home being lazy rather than being a warrior and fighting to avenge our fallen brothers!" Jerrick called out before pushing a Darkspawn towards Harold in a playful manner.

The Hurlock turned to look at Harold, confusion in its eyes before the seventeen year old gutted it with his blades. Now was as good of a time as any to change the topic, "I want to know how we are supposed to not get any of their blood on us in a battle this bloody!" He called out to his group.

"Oh, that's just superstition! As long as it doesn't get in you, you are fine!" Jerrick replied with a chuckle before bashing a Shriek with his shield.

Harold watched as the Captain got surrounded by Darkspawn, and he knew he had to act fast to help him. Unfortunately, he too was being attacked by multiple adversaries, so he had to hope the Captain could keep up fighting strong. As he thought about it, the entire human army seemed outnumbered, but for some reason he couldn't help but feel as if they were winning this battle. And he was right, whilst he couldn't see it, the back lines of Darkspawn began to pour back into the Wilds as if ordered to retreat, rest, and regroup. The King's armies were holding their own very well against the Darkspawn. However, Harold couldn't get over the death that was all around him. He kept fighting against the dark, tainted creatures, slaughtering multiple of the fiends until he heard a noise he did not want to hear.

"JERRICK!" The Captain shouted loudly before a Darkspawn arrow slammed into his chest, followed by four others.

Harold spun around, witnessing a sight straight out of a nightmare. Jerrick was on the ground, coughing up blood. A Shriek was standing over him, just about to tear its beaten prey shreds before Harold interfered. First the arms of the beast were chopped off, then he made it fall to the ground by cutting its legs out from under it. It let out shrill shrieks of pain before getting silenced by the cold and blackened steel of Harold's sword getting shoved through its throat. He turned and saw a sight he could not prevent, his jaw dropped and eyes widened with disbelief.

"N-No… Please…" The Captain begged, raising his hand up to a Hurlock Alpha.

The creature simply laughed before sending its mace slamming down, smashing the head of Gerald like a melon. It savored its mighty kill before turning to face Harold, grinning a most foul grin. The young man felt his anger build up before he roared, charging at the Hurlock with rage. It gave another twisted laugh before catching Harold off guard with speed unlike anything the boy had ever encountered. In the span of milliseconds, the Darkspawn had swung his mace with bone-shattering power.

The impact hit Harold's upper-left arm, sending him twirling in the air as he flew backwards from the strike, landing on his back and piling on Jerrick who was unconscious by then. Harold wept in agony, looking over at his arm that was now shattered and lifeless. He couldn't so much as move his fingers, telling him that he probably just lost his entire military career. And life. The world seemed to slow down as the Hurlock approached the two-man pile that was Harold and his friend.

"Human…" It snarled in a wicked, hiss of a voice. "...You're… all… dead."

As the Darkspawn raised its mace high above its head, preparing to slam it down on Harold's weakened body just as it had Gerald's head, something caught his attention and he turned immediately in the direction the horde had came from. He lowered his mace with a large, torn smile on his pale face.

"...Lucky…" He said before vanishing from Harold's failing sight.

"Young Harold Thyserian truly got a taste of what we Grey Wardens do on a daily basis. He found one of the many Darkspawn that the upper circle of the Ferelden Grey Wardens have been tracking. We have named them the 'Logosha.'" Shadow told Lyna in his growl as they saw the lights of Lothering flickering in the distance.

"Why 'The Logosha?' And I thought Darkspawn couldn't communicate." Lyna asked him, raising an eyebrow in genuine curiosity.

"Logosha is a word this advanced group, or clan for that matter, seem to chant loudly during some sort of sacrificial ritual. And not all Darkspawn are incapable of speech. Most run solely on a hive-mind like intelligence, at least when in the control of an Archdemon or the most powerful Darkspawn among them. Something controls them by giving them orders. However, some break free from this and can speak many languages, think for themselves, and much more due to their strong minds. The Logosha, however, seem to loosely follow the commands we can only assume come from the Archdemon itself. For an example, imagine the Archdemon telling one of the Logosha to slaughter a woman. It wounds the woman, but decides to kill something else, like her child to maximize her suffering and damage her mental state. It is as if something else is controlling them, and that is a scary thought. It's almost like they are a clan separate from their more common brethren." Shadow responded with a sigh, he did not like speaking so much.

"How did that Darkspawn move that fast?" Lyna continued.

Shadow shook his head, "None of us know the answer to that question. However, if our suspicions are true… if and when we find their leader, we can find out what is going on. A Hurlock should not have the strength and power of an Ogre, that is far from natural."

And with all of that said, they walked into Lothering, heading straight to the tavern where plenty of other Warden recruits were waiting for them. Finally, a reason for peace and quiet for the Warden clad in black armor. Shadow was growing tired of Lyna's constant questions. During the trip, it felt as if a war was being waged between her undying curiosity and Shadow's undying desire to be as his name implies: a quiet shadow.

Author's Note: Okay, so the NEXT one will be the mages. Sorry. -Saren