Act 1: Alliance of the Grey
Chapter 12: First Comes War...
"Reports have come in, Howe intends to attack us with a bolstered army comprised of his own forces leading the mercenaries from the North." Ysil said loudly as she, Shadow, and Aedan moved into the Main Hall of the castle.
Shadow chuckled, "This just in, Ysil, there's an advancing army of Darkspawn coming from Ostagar with the entirety of Thedas in its sight! Lord Cousland surely cannot deal with two advancing armies simultaneously, and I'd say humans are less of a worry than the things killing the land just by stepping upon it!"
"Blighted lands recover given time, though I see your point. But I also see Ysil's. I have to choose, and due to that lone fact; I am going to be facing Howe, not the Darkspawn in the days to come." Aedan said as he moved around to the other side of the desk, taking his seat to begin writing and dispatching letters to all Arls and Banns to form a meeting. "I am sorry."
Shadow ran his hand through his beard before glaring at the young Lord, "Are you fucking her, boy? Is that what this is? Or are you just so daft you think that because blighted lands recover, you can simply just fight your own kin whilst the Darkspawn ravage and rape the entirety of Ferelden in their march for the Northern coast?"
"I wouldn't recommend insulting me, Shadow, you are surrounded by creatures that no doubt hate you for what you are, and I am not one to be very forgiving of hostility." Lord Cousland responded sharply as he glanced over at the beautiful woman standing beside Shadow, "And no, I am not engaged in any relationship with the Lady other than the fact that she is a valued member of my council."
The Grey Warden simply shook his head, turning around and marching towards the doors from which he had just came. 'Idiot's damned us all. I won't see this world fall to the hands of those vermin. Not with what Ysizx almost did in the creation of the Logosha.' He thought quietly to himself as he walked outside. It was barely morning the day after the Grey Wardens had left to carry out their missions. The Circle, Dalish, Dwarves... Shadow just hoped that they would all be safe. They had taken too many casualties during the slaughter at Ostagar. So Arl Howe was making a move on the castle again?
Shadow applauded the man's efforts, but with what was rising in the South he couldn't figure out how all of these men in power could ignore it. If Shadow was in charge, he'd place men for the Darkspawn first rather than last. What was the point in fighting each other if there may not even be a Ferelden left because of it? Whatever their reasoning, Shadow hoped that it wouldn't turn out to be like that. He loved Ferelden, Thedas, and just life in general. There were many good things within it, that whilst he knew he could never have a chance at any of it... he would protect it so that some other peasant boy of a similar life as his pre-adventurer life could live it for him. Ysil was dangerous. Especially if she was that willing to make Aedan focus his efforts on trivial matters. Yes, the boy would have to protect his land whilst also fighting the Darkspawn, but he was devoting his entire focus to one enemy. That was something no one could do when surrounded by multiple opponents. If Shadow ever focused on one warrior whilst fighting a group he would have died a long time ago, and he knew that. That was why he thought the boy was foolish.
Perhaps there would be a way to save Ferelden. A war on two fronts. After all, he knew the secrets of controlling the Logosha. If you hadn't means to control them like Ysil did by birth naturally, you'd need that pendant that she wears constantly. Oh, how he had noticed that intriguing piece of should-be-destroyed history. It was dark magic, what she was wearing all over herself. That amulet had the power to influence kings without doing so much as saying 'hello.' One long forgotten Cousland had slain an insane would-be-king somewhere in the mountains to end his reign of terror. What mountains no one ever knew. Little details like that were lost in history, and the whole story became rumor. He had been using the amulet created by something not of the world they lived in to take over the minds of anything who dared near it. The Couslands hadn't needed to ever worry though. At least not the young Lord's ancestor. He was somehow immune to the effects.
Regardless, the amulet wasn't what he needed. He was there during the creation of the Logosha. He saw what Ysizx did, and understood how she did it. Unbeknownst to Ysizx, at least until fairly recently in history, Shadow had performed a ritual she had her latest lover perform. It was something akin to Blood Magic, or the Joining each Grey Warden had to undergo. But rather than receive the effects, such as knowing when a Logosha was present, they recognized your superiority over them. They recognized what you were. What were you, once you took the ritual? Normal Darkspawn have the Archdemon, and the Archdemon loosely has the Logosha. Well, at least it did before Ysil gained leadership over them. The Logosha have their little council and then they had more or less, what they envisioned to be gods. They were nothing of the sort. One was a demon possessing the body of a rogue mage, poor girl. Another was a noble knight who had a secret infatuation with the demon. There was a third, the love child between the demon and an unknown suitor. She was either the Knight's or the last 'god's of the Logosha's made-up pantheon. And the last was something that vanished shortly after the first Logosha was born. Like shadow to flame.
Yes. The Logosha had and still maintained a religion. There was no sin within their religion, but there were tenants they must follow or else they would invoke the wrath of their gods. It wasn't a simple religion by any means, and many of the Logosha wouldn't live to see their extended lifetimes. Mainly due to their purpose in life. Those that lived long enough to see such a life were revered as living legends. Myths that had actually been reality. But that was beside the point.
Shadow moved into one of the smaller barracks situated within the castle. With as many soldiers as the Couslands had, they needed such places built to house many men. Due to the sacking of the place many of those housing areas were destroyed or blocked off for repairs. A plus to the Logosha taking over was the fact that there were barely any men to compete for housing with, due to a lot of them having been slaughtered. Those that survived? Let's just say they were being made into a special little group by Aedan.
The Logosha that were in the barracks turned and looked at the intruder, seemingly in unison. Before anything could happen, Shadow's eyes were burning with a blood red fire that could only be described as demonic. The Logosha's eyes soon after were enveloped in the fire as well, and they all stood up and gave the man a proper salute. Some of them even falling to their knees out of respect.
"Hail, Lord!" They said loudly in unison, addressing Shadow in a formal way. It seemed that they knew exactly who he was.
Shadow smirked before issuing one command; "Follow me."
"Nothing as far as the eye can see, sir." One of Howe's scouts reported to the approaching Sergeant. "Only thing I've seen all day is wildlife and a few small groups heading in various directions. Not marked as Couslands."
The man simply glared at the woman, "And you didn't call for them to be captured or at the very least processed?"
"N-No, ser. I didn't think it was-"
"You are not paid to think, Private! You've made a potential mess for us due to your blunder! Now, I'm not certain but I am pretty damned sure all of us were there for Teyrn Howe's orders! There is no excuse!" The Sergeant barked at the woman, they were quite a ways away from the bulk of their forces as well.
"B-But ser! There wasn't a thing I could do! I'm just a scout and you surely know that the main attack force is behind by an hour!" The scout replied in a desperate voice.
The heavily armoured man simply shook his head, "Failure to uphold your orders will not be tolerated within this army, Private. I've been given the command to kill any who sympathize with the enemy, and letting unknown persons escape is more or less sympathizing with those Cousland bastards."
"Y-You don't mean-" The Private asked, slowly backing up with her eyes wide in fear.
Before the man could close in on his kill a throwing knife implanted itself straight between his eyes. He collapsed backwards like a sack of bricks, and as the woman spun around she saw a blinding flash of light. She heard multiple footsteps close in on her, but the light had still been impairing her vision.
"I do think we are going in the wrong direction, Ser Darrian." An elderly voice spoke.
A soft giggle, from a woman was heard shortly after. "I wonder how you figured that out, Master Amell?"
"Probably the fact that we just killed one of the Arl's men, and have just heard that there are more about an hour's journey from here in that direction." A stronger voice than the two observed, its tone having some form of elegance to it. "What should we do with her?" The man asked.
"Killing her would be a mistake at the moment. She could have a lot of information on her. Though it seems her superiors want her dead." The elderly man replied, "I say we knock her out and drag her with us a ways, interrogate her, and then seal her fate."
The woman's voice interfered shortly after, "A good idea for those with the resources to support her. She'd just kill us like a leech would. Devour our resources until we have no choice but to die."
"My name is Darrian. Can you see me? Hear me?" The scout heard the stronger voice of the three speak.
She slowly nodded, but she was so disoriented that she didn't know if she actually did or not. So she replied to him in a soft, scared voice. "Y-Yes... I can't see but I can hear."
"What did you do to her?" She heard the female voice whisper.
"Flashed her with a bright enough light to cause temporary vision loss. It should dissipate within the next few minutes." The elderly voice replied, and she felt relieved to hear that knowledge. She thought she had been permanently blinded.
"Can you tell me your name, miss?" Darrian asked her softly, and she felt a pressure placed onto her shoulder. "And what you are doing here? I promise you that we will keep you safe. You won't have to worry about your superiors any longer."
"M-My name is Gwenievere. I am scouting for Teyrn Howe's army... along with six others. We've a large raiding force heading straight f-" She began to inform the seemingly friendly man before feeling something penetrate her back.
She could tell that it wasn't a fatal wound, or really anything more than just barely a cut. Something had blocked the full impact, and what that was she could only guess. The man who was in front of her right now had to have saved her. Meanwhile she heard loud horns sound within the forest and recognized them immediately. The vanguard of the raiding party. If it was one thing anyone could give Rendon Howe credit for, it was that he knew how to run his military. Though some of his strategies, like the one in question, seemed to have been revised versions of Loghain's own. The raiding party was layered. You had the outer scouts which included people like Gwen there, and then you had the vanguard. The vanguard were positioned to help the scouts in case they encountered a heavy body of people. They were armed to the teeth, and covered up so that they were the equivalent to walking walls. Then you had the bulk of the force that walked an hour behind the vanguard. This ensured that whether the vanguard succeeded or fell, their enemies would still get pounced upon and killed.
"You aren't supposed to catch arrows with your arm, Darrian!" The elderly man said loudly before the female interfered. "Now would be a great time to pack up and run!"
"Running is useless. They will just hunt us down like rabid dogs. How many are here, Gwenievere?" Darrian growled, snapping the shaft of the arrow so it'd be easier to remove later.
The blinded woman shook her head, "If they arrived this soon... twenty five? Maybe a bit more."
"We can hold the line. Are there any immediate reinforcements for them or will this plan of mine actually work?" Darrian asked as he prepared for the advancing soldiers.
"Not anything that should cause concern, ser... if anything just a few scouts. Unless the battle rages on for a prolonged period of time." The woman muttered before falling backwards, her whole being suddenly feeling very disoriented and dizzy.
Darrian shook his head at the scout before rushing towards the line of men. He noted as his blade caught on fire, and when he struck one of the soldiers the man was set alight in the mage's righteous flames. It was often said that war was an activity heroes and monsters took part in for the sole purpose to destroy one another. In reality, war was a place only for monsters. The atrocities one would have to commit in order to survive was something that couldn't be ignored by anyone, but often did go unnoticed. Like right now, Darrian's strike at the soldier had caused the man prolonged agony. He would either die a slow and painful death, or live to be in pain for the rest of his life due to his intense burns. The elf simply hadn't the time to end him properly.
Whilst Darrian and Neria were busy fighting the attackers, Daylen approached the female scout. His cold glare met the woman who was lying down, and for a moment he felt pity for her. That did not mean he was going to stop what he was about to do. He only had one chance to do this, seeing as how the battle would keep Darrian and his Apprentice busy for a time. The woman would be too dangerous to keep with them on this journey. Whilst he and Neria weren't Grey Wardens themselves, they were determined to act like they were. This Gwenievere was a potential risk to the mission. One he couldn't allow.
"Forgive me..." Daylen whispered to the woman as he drew his dagger and quickly slit her throat with it, making sure to place his hand over her mouth so she didn't make any noise.
The mage's plan had indeed worked. The battle was too fierce for the others to realize what he had just done. Darrian was up to his neck in enemies, having to use a lot of his stamina and agility to block and deflect attacks whilst Neria empowered him. Of course, that wasn't to say she wasn't doing her fair share of the damage, but with the wounds Darrian was taking she had to be alert. Healing any minor to moderate wound he got was the least she could do. They knew that they were heavily outnumbered, but with their skillsets they were ready to face such a threat. Besides, these men seemed more like new mercenaries than actual trained soldiers. Perhaps that was what Howe had wanted for the Vanguard, useless and expendable men to keep the enemy preoccupied whilst his real force attacked. He'd just have to ask Gwen about it after. Soon Daylen joined the fight, unleashing attacks that not only killed, but severely demoralized the enemy.
The fight went on for what felt like an age, but really was only half an hour. The last of Howe's men were cut down by Darrian as they tried to flee. It was at this time the elf saw the lifeless corpse of Gwenievere with a body hunched over her. How did that happen? Who killed the man?
"Damn it! The scout!" He said loudly before rushing over to her, seeing that her throat was slashed with the man's dagger.
The two mages walked over to him and the elder of the group let out a soft sigh. "She is dead, and Howe's men cannot be too far away any longer. We need to leave."
Darrian slowly looked back at the man, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Unfortunately, it was suspicion without evidence. Yet. So he stood up and sheathed his swords.
"You're right. Back to the highway to head to the Tower?" He asked.
Both of them nodded and motioned for him to take the lead. The Circle Tower was quite a journey away. They could make it by nightfall if they didn't stop, and hurried there. Otherwise it'd take a day to get there. If only it was just Civil War and not Darkspawn. The Darkspawn were fast movers, they raided and kept on pushing. They didn't really need to stop for much other than to eat. And even that was rare during Blights. This was going to be a long fight. For everyone.