It seemed like hours had gone by and Jory was getting anxious.
"The more I hear about this Joining, the less I like it." He said, pacing back and forth.
"Are you blubbering again?" Daveth asked.
Elissa rolled her eyes as Jory replied with, "Why all these damned tests? Have I not earned my place?"
"Maybe it's tradition. Maybe they're just trying to annoy you." Daveth said with a smirk.
"Would you two give it a rest?" Elissa said. "I swear I'm the bravest one here, and I'm a woman! Honestly, after the things I've seen lately, I'm ashamed of both of you."
They all looked at her. Alistair was standing off to the side, waiting to see how things would progress.
"Are you calling me a coward?" Jory asked.
"No, but I am saying the way you two are going on about this Joining, you may as well be." Elissa retorted. "Jory, you say you were recruited by Duncan seeing you win the grand tourney for melee combat, yet you pace around and complain about the tasks we must do to prepare of the Joining. And you, Daveth, you were a pickpocket who was stupid enough to try and go for Duncan's coin purse. You were going to be hanged and Duncan felt that your skills could be useful in the coming battle."
She paused and looked over at Alistair. He was simply watching and listening, but he nodded for her to continue. "The reason why we are all here is because Duncan saw potential in each one of us. He saw something that would make us great Wardens and would give us a chance to make a place in the world for ourselves."
Elissa wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the ground. "When Duncan came to the castle in Highever to see my father, he spoke of his task in recruiting for more Wardens. A friend, Ser Gilmore, and I were his top choices. We both showed incredible skill in weaponry and hand to hand combat. My father would not let him take me to be a recruit, since I was the youngest of his children, and Duncan respected that. But later that night, when Arl Howe's men stormed the castle, killing our men, my nephew and his mother, my Nan and all our servants, Duncan saved my father and brought him to the larder where an exit into the servants' tunnels lay. My father had been badly wounded and asked that Duncan take my mother and me to safety, to warn my brother Fergus- who had already taken the majority of our soldiers to come here to Ostagar- of what had happened. My mother chose to stay behind and protect my father 'til the end, but Duncan asked my father to let me become a Grey Warden. My father agreed, so long as justice comes to Howe, and told me to make a mark upon the world and let Thedas know that the Cousland line will not end because of a traitorous man's blind ambition, but that it will live on strong and through me."
She looked back up at them, fighting back the tears that were building in her eyes. "I have to be strong for my family, strong enough to see this through, to become a Grey Warden and honor my family's dying wishes. I have to see this through to the end, avenge my family, and prove that Duncan did not recruit me out of sympathy or pity and that he recruited me because I am a skilled warrior who never backs down in the face of darkness, who never strays from the path set before me, and who will fight to my dying breath to keep myself, what is left of my family, my friends, and my country safe. Would you not do the same, Jory? Would you not risk everything you could to ensure the safety of all those in your heart?"
Alistair stared at her as she stood straight, her arms no longer wrapped around herself, but gesturing to emphasize what she was trying to tell them. He saw in her more reason than perhaps Duncan did for her to be there, to become a Grey Warden. He knew that she would survive, no matter what, and she would make her mark in the world. He knew it wasn't meant to be a speech, but it gave him courage and hope for the future, something that only Duncan had ever done. She believed in their cause, in her family's entirety, and in herself and Alistair could see the famous spark of the Cousland line in her eyes as she spoke. He smiled, awed by her natural authority, her courage, her faith, and her strength to move forward. Duncan was right in choosing her.
"I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way. If they had warned me… it just doesn't seem fair." Jory said, a little dumbfounded by Elissa's words.
"Perhaps it is unfair, Jory," Elissa replied. "But it was also unfair that my family was betrayed and taken from me. Do you see me letting that get in the way of my duty here? Yes, I am grieving, yes I feel the necessity to see Howe pay, but do you not see that I am moving forward? Do you not see that I am striving to show Duncan that he was not wrong in choosing me? Duncan saw your skill, your potential, and you agreed to come here with Duncan to become a Grey Warden. Duncan was right; we must have courage to see this through. We cannot back out of it now. I know that this is frightening because we do not know what is in store for us with this Joining, however, I have faith that you can do this. We will do this ritual and we will make it through this coming battle, all of us together."
"Would you have even come if they'd warned you?" Daveth asked. "Maybe that's why they don't. The Wardens do what they must, right?"
"Including sacrifice us?" Jory retorted.
"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight." Daveth replied.
"Daveth is right, Jory." Elissa added. "We must be ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure that Ferelden does not fall to the Blight. If somehow it does, then we must do whatever is necessary to combat it and to stop it from swallowing us whole before it spreads to other lands and completely over takes Thedas. We are going to be Grey Wardens, friend, and that means we learn as we go, we fight to survive, and we never give up."
"Exactly." Daveth said, nodding. "The Grey Wardens have saved the world from darkspawn before. I'd say they know better than anyone what it takes." Then, looking at Jory, he added, "You saw those darkspawn, ser knight. Wouldn't you die to protect your pretty wife from them?"
"I…" Jory started.
"Maybe you'll die. Maybe we'll all die. If nobody stops the darkspawn, we'll die for sure." Daveth said.
"I've just never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade." Jory said, conceding.
Elissa smiled softly and put a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps now is the time to learn. There will always be a time when your blade will do nothing for you and you must rely solely on your courage and wit to survive."
Alistair was amazed at how well Elissa was doing with the other recruits. He had never met anyone, not even Duncan or Cailan, who could rally the men like she had just done, who could ease their hearts and quiet their minds so easily just by telling them how she felt. She truly was amazing.