Maker, if you're watching, a bit of help would be awfully kind.
Rainier narrowly dodged the Ogre's fist as it attempted to backhand him. The Ogre was thrown off balance for a fleeting moment, giving Rainier just enough time to knock it down to its knees. Suddenly the door to a nearby building flew open, a pair of men came charging through it. One stood within the doorway, chucking fireballs and spirit magic (he assumed, mostly from the color) at the Ogre. An apostate, surely. The other man—a templar by the looks of it—seemed to have been suffering from a fit of heroics. He leapt onto the Ogre's shoulders and began hacking and slashing away at the creature's head.
The Ogre roared in pain. It began to stumble to its feet but suddenly its legs were encased in a solid mass of thick ice. Salem's chest heaved as she picked herself up off the ground. She wiped the blood from her mouth and leaned against the building for support. Her legs were shaking from the effort of supporting her weight.
It was then that Rainier noticed her eyes…she seemed to notice his as well. A look of understanding but also uncertainty flashed over her face. Another warden? Can't be…
Another earth-shaking roar from the Ogre snapped his attention back to the beast. He raised his shield, ready to charge in and help the poor bastards…but it seemed he wasn't needed. With the Ogre temporarily immobilized, the templar was able to gain a proper footing on its shoulders. He let loose a battle cry as he drove his sword through the top of the Ogre's skull.
Rainier watched the scene in awe. Personal experience had told him that Ogre's heads are akin to iron. What that templar managed was no mean feat…if it weren't for the obvious political rift between their factions, he'd have a mind to recruit him…
The Ogre's movements stilled instantly upon its death. But soon gravity took over and the Ogre's limp body was sent tumbling harshly to the ground. The templar's heroic battle cry was suddenly replaced with what could only be described as a near-girlish yelp. Rainier shook his head as he watched the templar uncontrollably fall down to the pavement. His armor made a horrendous clank as it collided with the street. After a short moment the templar groaned loudly. "Owwwwwww."
Maker's balls. How in the void did the Templars ever manage to defeat the Wardens?
Rainier elected to ignore whatever idiocy that was for the moment. Turning his attention back to the woman, he sheathed his weapon and offered a hand to her. "My lady, you're injured."
"Nothing that won't heal." Salem eyed him skeptically. She didn't move to shake his hand or accept his assistance. "You're a Warden, aren't you?"
He nodded shortly. Pleasantries were fine and good and all but he needed answers. "Warden-Commander Rainier. Where are you from? Who do you serve under?"
"I, uh…" Salem scrabbled for something plausible to say…he'd never believe the truth after all. Even though he was notably absent, she could practically hear her Elder's voice drilling into her about how dishonorable lies are.
A sudden boom echoed from somewhere not too far away. The sky flashed a bright, almost angry red for a moment as debris came flying down the alleyways all around them. Rainier quickly pulled Salem behind his shield to protect her, but not quickly enough it seemed. A small rock collided with her head, she fell limp instantly. Rainier had to check to ensure she was in fact still breathing. As he peered into the distance, he noticed one of those taller buildings was nearly decimated. Red fire engulfed the thing, alarms sounded off again all throughout the city.
"Forgive me," Rainier muttered to her as he hauled the unconscious woman into his arms. He knew she couldn't hear him, but the chivalrous part of him was screaming it was wrong to touch a woman without permission. Maker save me, I can't lose another Warden now.
"Warden, wait!" The templar scrambled to his feet quicker than Rainier had expected, he stood in front of him to block his path. His chest heaved, he held his hands out towards him in a pleading motion.
Rainier squared his shoulders. "Stand aside, Templar. I don't want to fight you."
"No, no, no, no, I don't want a bloody fight!" He pointed to the doorway of the building he had emerged from. "Please, take them with you."
Rainier turned briefly to see a frightened woman, clutching a child in her arms. She looked exhausted. Another man stood beside her, he looked just as ragged as that apostate. Rainier's expression was pained as he brought his attention back to the templar. "I'm sorry, truly, but the Wardens can't offer charity…"
The templar's eyes darted to the woman and the child, a thought must have crossed his mind quickly as he looked down at his templar's uniform. "But you'll protect a Warden's family, yes?"
Rainier eyed the Templar curiously. "We will."
The templar's expression grew serious. "Then recruit me."
"Alistair, no!" Tears welled up in Solona's eyes, she shook her head at him. "Please, you don't have to do this!"
"It's alright, Solona." Alistair offered her a small smile before addressing Rainier again. "I understand the risks. Save Solona and Ayden and I'll join your order, you have my word."
"Alistair, huh?" Rainier said as he studied him. "You wouldn't happen to be elf-born would you?"
Alistair snarled at the Warden, crossing his arms defensively across his chest. "That has nothing to do with my abilities. I've proven myself to the Templars and I'll prove myself to the Wardens too."
Rainier seemed to consider him for a moment but nodded shortly to him. "Fine, then. I accept your terms. Your recruitment for the woman and child's safety." He motioned to the other two men with them. "What of you two, hmm?"
The other two men muttered to themselves, seemingly arguing. Another blast of red filled the sky momentarily, as if to drive home the fact that the city was threatening to fall apart around them. The dark-haired man stepped forward—which was definitely not what they had discussed, according to the look on the white-haired man's face—and addressed Rainier. "Dorian Pavus. I'd give you a formal resume, but given the circumstance: suffice it to say I'm an accomplished mage of exceptional talent. Grant my friend and I safe passage, and I'll join you as well."
Rainier nodded, accepting Dorian seemingly without a second thought—something that Alistair picked up on right away, much to his offense. "Very well. We make for Denerim, quick as we can."
"This better not be Blondie again! Where in the void did he get explosive dragon shit?!" Myrris screamed as he tried to keep up the pace with Cullen and Cassandra. He marveled for a moment about how quickly their dynamic changed, again. It dawned on him that this whole adventure so far could be described as him running away from the Warrior Goddess and then to her, and away from and then to…which one was he doing again?
Another flash of red brought him back to the current events—as did Cullen's voice snapping at him.
"Either help or leave us! I won't have—"
Cullen reacted quickly as a terror demon suddenly shot out of the ground in front of him. In a move fueled by pure fear, he lopped the demon's head clean off before it could even touch him. Within seconds, the three of them were surround by five more demons. Each demon burst out of the ground around them, as if they had consciously planned to encircle them.
Cassandra roared as she slammed her greatsword into the ground. A blue light burst from her, seemingly stunning the demons momentarily. Both Templar and Seeker were quick to take advantage of it. Myrris managed to kick one of the demons before Cassandra put an end to it. "Look at me, I'm helping!"
The seeker made a disgusted noise in his direction but otherwise didn't acknowledge him. "Cullen, are you hurt?"
"Not at all, thanks to you." He gave her a small, pained smile. He was clearly still unnerved by the sudden proximity to the demons. As he studied the remaining distance to the circle tower, his smile faded completely. Demons were seemingly pouring out of it, attacking mages and templars alike. A few scattered darkspawn were present, attacking any and all targets as well. It was utter chaos. Brutal, violent chaos. It was like one of his nightmares come to life. Cullen desperately hoped beyond hope that he'd wake up soon. He could forget this nightmare, write it off like all of the rest…maybe it all had been a nightmare. Maybe he'd wake up next to Ashley once more…maybe he'd fix it all before it even happened…if he even deserved that now…
"Cullen!"
Cassandra shook him by the shoulders, her eyes showed an unusual amount of emotion. She was scared, concerned, worried. For him? For Lothering? For Thedas? Maker, she probably should be…
"I—I apologize—we…" Cullen focused hard to get the what ifs out of his mind. Maker knows they were no use to him now. He was the Knight-Commander, he had responsibilities, obligations…what do I do? He shook his head, as if the motion could wash away the weight of his guilt. All of this was his failure…wasn't it? "The circle…is lost…We gather the civilians and leave at once."
"Understood." Cassandra still eyed him cautiously. It took him a moment to realize why; he couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from the scene ahead. She put herself in front of him again, forcing him to notice her instead of the chaos. "We need to move, Cullen. The civilians need our help."
"Yes. Of course…"
"Hey! Curly!" Myrris started walking backwards towards the Chantry's direction. "You have a sister, right? Or wait—two sisters? Brothers? Whatever! Your family is in the chantry, yeah?"
"My…? Maker's mercy!" Cullen's eyes grew alert instantly. He took off in a dead sprint, nearly knocking Myrris off of his feet when he brushed harshly passed him.
Cassandra shoved passed him as well, she nearly spat as she spoke to him. "Keep up, elf."
"You're welcome! Feeling sorely unappreciated right now!"
Demons attempted to block their way at almost every turn. The streets filled more and more with the bodies of templars, mages, and unlucky civilians as they neared closer and closer to the chantry. Myrris managed to swipe a pair of longswords from a couple of dead templars. Cassandra was surprised when the mad elf actually started to pull his weight in combat, but Cullen was far too focused to notice. The demons fell one by one until they finally caught sight of the chantry.
The three of them witnessed an unexpected sight on the steps of the large, sturdy building. Only a handful of templars remained, but along with them, a Warden—the one who had helped them fight off the darkspawn—stood fighting as well. Cullen was immensely relieved to see that the demons had not yet breached the chantry's doors. But it wasn't for a lack of trying it seemed. The waves of enemies seemed endless, when one fell it was as if another came right from it…and Maker, the undead…his own templars…
"With me!" Cassandra roared as she charged into the fray, with her greatsword raised high. Cullen and Myrris followed closely behind. They fought their way to the steps, much to the relief of the templars there.
"Sir!" A templar called to Cullen, between attacks. "Rylen's been injured. Barris took him inside. They've a plan—"
Cullen stepped in just in time to block an attack that the templar would have missed. "Fall back! All of you, into the chantry!"
Cassandra heaved her greatsword over her head, smashing it down once again with a much greater force than she had before. The blue light she emitted was much larger, but seemed to fatigue her as well. Many of the demons were dazed for a couple of short moments, allowing them all to retreat behind the chantry's doors just in time.
As soon as the doors closed, the demons began pounding against it. The doors wouldn't hold for long, but for now they were safe enough…Cullen turned back to examine the great hall, only to find that it was not at all like he had left it.
It had once been filled with scared and desperate civilians. But now, all it seemed to hold were injured templars and many of the elder residents of Lothering. Cullen immediately recognized his mother among them. She walked quickly up to him and pulled him down to her height into a tight hug. "Oh, my boy, I'm so glad you're alive."
"Mother! Where is everyone? What's going on?"
"Oh, Cullen, such a worrier. You've always had such a good heart." She pulled away from him, with a sad look in her eye.
Now that he took a moment to look her over, he noticed she was wearing pieces of templar armor. She had a pair of daggers strapped to her thighs. Cullen's brows furrowed as the part of him that had pieced it all together was warring with the part of him that was still holding onto vain hope. "I don't understand…"
"Yes, you do." A tear fell from his mother's eye as she gestured to those that remained in the chantry. "We're going to hold the line. We'll make sure the rest of you make it out in time."
"No! There's another way! I'll find it, I'll—"
"Hush, my boy." She pulled him into a hug again. "It's alright. I'm going to see your father again. But I need you to be strong."
He didn't realize it at first but he was shaking. His mother's shoulder was suddenly wet from his own tears. He wasn't even sure if he was more saddened or angry at the moment, but whatever it was, he couldn't contain it. Damn who saw it, and damn what they thought… "I'm so sorry—I should have done more—I should—"
The doors were starting to buckle under the weight of the demons' assault. The wood creaked ominously. A few of the templars flew to the doors, trying to keep them closed for as long as possible.
"We're out of time. I need you to hear me, Cullen, and listen well: get our people to safety. You can do this. I believe in you. Whatever comes, know this: I am so proud of you."
A large hole suddenly formed in one of the doors. The arm of a pride demon reached in and grabbed a templar, pulling him through the hole. The demons seemed to frenzy at the sight, the templar didn't scream for long…
The Warden started shooting arrows through the exposed hole. "Ready yourselves!"
Myrris pushed Cassandra and Cullen towards the back, where a vault-like door was standing open for them. From the looks of it, it led to a staircase that would go below the ground. Likely a tunnel out of the city. "Go, go, go! You guys can't die here!"
Cullen tried hard to remain cemented in his spot. "NO!"
Cassandra had to yank him away as his mother stepped back from him. It was a considerable distance, but the seeker managed to drag him along with her. Myrris couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of sympathy for the poor guy. He made a mental note never to prank his thedas's Cullen again.
Cullen's mother smiled as she watched Cassandra pull her son behind the small security door at the very back of the room. Now that the seeker had successfully locked them inside, he'd have no choice but to join the rest of the refugees. He was safe, as was the rest of her children and grandchildren. She turned to face the doors again. They were buckling quickly. It wouldn't be long before they'd be overwhelmed now. She steeled herself as she brought her daggers into her hands.
She looked around at her comrades one last time. She'd known many of these people for most of her life. She'd watched some of the younger templars as they raised into adults. Even a lone Warden was giving his life in defense of her people. She didn't recognize the elven man standing next to her, but in that moment it didn't matter. As she began to recite the chant of light, the others joined in. As the demons broke through the doors, they only chanted louder. And as the last of them were cut down…all that was left was Silence.