And here we are at the end of the battle. I really hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I liked writing it. I'm happy to hear from so many of you through reviews and private messages, and I'm glad you're all enjoying the fic. Hearing from my readers helps keep me inspired. Thanks again to my beta and best friend for everything you two do for me. Enjoy!

00000000000

Shrieks clawed their way up the iced path shattering the barrier that had kept the darkspawn at bay. Damien knew it was just a matter of time before they were overrun. Even with the short break, every one of the defenders with him was either wounded or too exhausted to continue to fight. He was no exception. The cut to his face stung as his sweat mixed with his blood. His hands had blistered through his gloves to the point that each strike of his blades threatened to rip his skin off. He wrapped his hands in bandages beneath the gloves but it did very little to help.

"Damien, we can't wait anymore. The Darkspawn are through the center. They'll be coming up behind us any minute," Lyna reported nursing the raw tip of her fingers. She had emptied her quiver over and over again into the darkspawn. Like him, the simple wear and tear of continued fighting threatened to leave them helpless.

"Blow the bridge. As soon as you do, we head for the Wilds," Damien ordered. He turned back to the remaining warriors with him. "On me. One last push then we pull back. I know you're tired. I know you're hurting. I'm right there with you, but this last push is for us. So we can go home. For the Grey Wardens! For Fereldan!"

The men roared around him and joined him on the line, but what they saw broke any spirit the men had mustered. Before them, an ogre climbed up onto solid ground followed by a half dozen shrieks. Damien knew the genlocks and hurlocks were not far behind.

"Hawke and I will take the ogre. Everyone else, kill anything that comes over that ledge." Damien gripped his blades tighter, doing his best to ignore the throbbing that radiated from them.

What remained of their group charged, howling like wolves on the attack. Damien charged forward slid between the ogres legs slicing at the beast's ankles, but the thick, mud-covered hide of the monster held against his blades' bite. The ogre had bent forward trying to catch him, giving Lillian an opportunity to strike. Her blades came down on the beast's head. The skin split, but the bone did not. The beast stood up right sending Hawke stumbling backward as Damien leapt up onto the beast back and drove one of his daggers down into the space between its collar bone and shoulder. The ogre's head reared back with a roar smacking Damien in the head with one of its horns. The young warden fell backward into the cold mud as his other weapon fell from his hand. Damien tried to get to his feet, but the pain in his head throbbed and pounded all the way through his skull. He could feel blood running down his face and he blinked trying to clear his vision. He scrambled toward what looked like open ground but the taint in his blood screamed for him to move. Roll left now! The thought rumbled so loud in his mind, it even drowned out the pain.

In the middle of the roll, he felt the earth beneath him shake as the ogres fists slammed into the ground where he had been laying. Suddenly, he felt a wet snout on the back of his neck as jaws closed around his hood and he was pulled quickly away from the fight.

"Dread Wolf take you, Damien. I thought you were dead," Lyna said kneeling beside him as his vision began to clear.

"Be honest. How's it look?" Damien said touching his forehead and patting Brax.

"Like an ogre hit you in the face. The bridge will be destroyed in a moment, but you should know, I saw darkspawn on the other side. I think they are coming from the tower," Lyna said helping Damien to his feet.

"Alistair and Alyssa?"

"No sign," Lyna answered mournfully.

"Maker keep them. To the Wilds," he said nodding toward the southern gate. "Retreat!"

The order sent the few living men sprinting for the Wilds, but there were far fewer than Damien had hoped and the darkspawn archers were cutting down more with each passing second. Brax suddenly jumped up between Damien's legs causing the wounded warden to collapse onto the dogs back. The mabari started to run with Lyna right next to them as Damien held on with all the strength he had.

"Good boy Brax. Save my ass much more and I'm gonna have to adopt you," Damien stated slurring his words. His eyes were drooping as he heard the bridge explode. He prayed they made it; for Duncan, the king, his fellow wardens, Alistair, Alyssa. There were just so many. How could they have failed so completely? Darkness over took him as the sounds of battle faded.

000

The throbbing in his head woke him as he listened around him. He could hear a small fire crackling behind him and a warm body on his left. Judging from the smell, it had to be Brax. He tried opening his eyes and found himself beneath a canopy of branches and evergreen needles. Taking a slow breath, he turned over looking toward the fire.

"Thank the Creators you're not dead," Lyna said kneeling in front of him. Damien groaned as he crawled out of the shelter and Lyna helped him to his feet slowly. "Take it easy. I think you fractured your skull."

"I thought I felt a breeze," Damien said as he swayed on his feet. Dizziness hit him harder than the ogre did forcing him to rely on Lyna to guide him to the fire and set him down.

"I cleaned your wounds as best I could, but most of our supplies were left at camp," Lyna said showing him the ripped lining of her armor.

Damien looked around and other than the mabari still asleep in the small shelter, there didn't look like there was anyone else around. Could they be the only ones left?

"Who else made it?" Damien asked. Lyna sighed as she took a makeshift ladle and scooped a small amount of something out of a helmet that was doubling as a pot. Handing him the ladle he sipped on it. Damien smiled. Lyna was using the helmet to purify water so they would have something to drink.

"Lillian and Carver are with us. They're out looking for food. There were some others that got out the gate but we all got separated," Lyna answered, stoking the fire.

"Maker forgive me. Duncan told me to save everyone I could and I barely made it out myself." Damien took another sip of the water and winced as a spike of pain jabbed into his head.

"You did the best you could. We saved all those wounded and chantry people. That's something," Lyna said.

Damien handed the ladle back to his companion and warmed his hands near the fire. They ached from the long battle and several of the blisters had been ripped off; likely during the fight with the ogre.

The youth reached down into his boot and pulled a small knife hidden within. The blade wasn't much, but now that he had lost his new blades, it was the only defense he had other than his companions. He knew they would need to rely on each other to stay alive, but he felt completely useless in his current state.

"Looks who's up. How're you feeling?" Carver said coming into their little camp with a dead squirrel and a few fish.

"Like my head got broken," Damien responded smiling at the man. The youth chuckled before starting to skin and clean what Damien could only assume was going to be dinner.

"Where's Lillian?" Lyna asked.

"She's right behind you," Lillian said stepping into camp with another squirrel. "So, roasted or stewed?"

"Roasted," Damien said sitting up slowly and crossing his legs.

"Roasted, definitely," Carver agreed.

"As much as I hate to agree with shemlen, roasted," Lyna teased.

"Works for me," Lillian replied, sitting down and skinning the creature.

The four sat teasing each other while the food cooked, it was all they could do to keep from crying. The reality of the defeat at Ostagar loomed over them like the moon, constant and impossible to ignore. Damien sighed and looked around the fire at his company.

"I'm sorry everyone. I should've done things differently." Damien lowered his eyes as the group turned to look at him.

"You did everything you could. If Loghain hadn't betrayed the king, we would have won. The right flank held because of you," Carver said, turning one of the fish over the fire.

"He's right and the entire camp would have been destroyed without you deciding to stay," Lillian added.

"And staying cost every soldier and warden with us their lives. Duncan told me…" Damien didn't get the chance to finish.

"Duncan told you to save as many as you could. You did, and we are still alive. Now get your head on straight. What's the plan?" Lyna snapped, kicking the heal of his boot.

"Why are you asking me?" Damien asked looking around the group.

"You did really well in the battle and we trust you. So, what do we do?" Lillian answered.

Damien sighed and rested his arms on his knees. He had no idea where they were, but luckily, the taint in his blood told him there were no darkspawn near them. Then, like a beacon, he felt a massive amount of magic to the east. It must have been Morrigan and her mother. If anyone had the power to help them and possibly heal their wounds, it would have to be them. Besides, it seemed like the safest place in the Wilds and Morrigan could guide them around the horde once they were ready to move.

"We head east at first light," Damien said taking one of the squirrels from the fire.

"Why east?" Carver asked handing half of the other squirrel to his sister and keeping the other for himself.

"There's a couple people that I think will be willing to help us," Damien said, using his knife to cut his own squirrel in half and handing it to Lyna.

"Morrigan and her mother? You think?" Lyna asked.

"They helped us before with the treaties," Damien said. His widened as he looked over at Lyna. He was looking at him as well and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. "The treaties were in the King's tent. Maker's breath, we're gonna need to recover them."

"That's suicidal," Lillian protested.

"Not if we wait for the horde to move on," Damien answered. "Besides, I know for sure that there are several Grey Warden artifacts that we need to get back."

"Like what? What could be that important?" Carver argued.

"Just trust me. We have to go back," Damien answered. Off the top of his head, he wanted to find the joining chalice, Duncan's body, the treaties, and any records that explained what was special about the joining that made them what they were.

"Not without more people, new weapons, and new armor," Lillian said looking across the fire.

"Of course we'll need to resupply. I wasn't meaning go back right now. I'm not crazy… not completely," Damien replied touching the wound on his forehead.

The group chuckled at that and returned to their meal. Damien smiled as Brax came up next to him and nudged him with his nose.

"You smelled the food right? Why don't you go catch your own dinner?" Damien teased.

The mabari let out a loud bark and nudged him again. Damien laughed and tore a piece of the squirrel and set it down next to him for the hound.

"I'm trying to figure out who is in charge over there and I can't decide," Carver said through a mouthful of squirrel meat.

"Definitely the dog," Lyna responded without hesitation.

"Hey, Brax saved my butt and literally carried me away from the battle," Damien said rubbing the dog's ears.

"How'd you get him?" Carver asked. "I don't know too many people with their own mabari."

"Oh, he's not mine. He's… he was Alyssa's." Damien's voice softened as thoughts of his fellow wardens in the tower flooded his mind.

The dog whimpered next him laying his head down on Damien's lap. The youth sighed as he stroked the dog's short fur and rubbed his neck.

"I know boy. I know," Damien whispered. He finished the little edible meat on the squirrel before laying the bone in front of the mabari. The dog chomped down on the bone hungrily while still remaining at the young warden's side.

"I'll take first watch," Carver volunteered wiping his mouth and taking a sip of water from the ladle.

"Alright, wake me in a few and I'll take over," Damien said starting to stand, but he lost his balance and nearly fell if it had not been for Brax moving under him to support him.

"Damien, you are going to sleep until it's time to move," Lyna growled, looping one of his arms around her shoulders and helping him over to the small shelter.

"Fine, fine, but only because I can't see straight right now," Damien said crawling into the shelter and laying down. Brax quickly joined him laying his massive head next to Damien's facing out toward the camp.

"Get some rest. We'll wake you at first light," Lyna told him. Damien sighed, knowing he had no argument and closed his eyes. Soon, he knew his dreams would make him restless, but for the moment, he was at peace with a hot meal in his belly and his thirst quenched. He drifted in and out of sleep for a few minutes before finally succumbing to the nightmare riddled sleep he both needed and dreaded.