9:30 Wintermarch 18th
The second I felt myself fall asleep, I woke up in the fade. I groaned before getting up. My scenery was Lothering to the detail, even the cot I was sleeping in. I was in my old jeans and shirt. I groaned and fell back. This wasn't want I really wanted right now but it happens. I stared at the odd sky. I outstretched my arm and imagined capturing the black city in my hand. I laughed.
"Oh now I know I'm going crazy if I'm imagining trying to catch it. Mage circle huh? That means demons and Uldred. Poor Talen doesn't even know that he's probably taken over by now." I sat up and saw a few wisps floating to and fro. Halo lazily came by and settled in my lap. "I can't believe it's only been two weeks since all of this has happened. It almost seems like yesterday that I was still at Highever Castle…Why do bad things happen to good people Halo?" I petted him.
'Life is not fair. Cannot control. Free will.' Halo explained.
"Free will and random events huh? Life is a bitch." I laughed before it died down. I hunched over and hugged Halo to my chest. There were no more tears to cry but that just got me thinking instead. Things are going to get worse before they become better. Mages or Templars, Harrowmont or Bhelen, Werewolves or Elves, then there is Redcliffe. So many things were about to happen and I don't even know when we would get to Flemeth.
"I hate waiting." So many things have happened to me in the short course of 15 days that I'm not even sure how to process everything. It seemed that grasping at the emptiness was the best course instead of wallowing around in misery. I can only imagine what it would do to my psyche later on though.
I did a small prayer in the fade and hoped everything would turn out alright when I abruptly woke up in the real world. I breathed out, my breath being visible in the cold. The small blanket shared between Leliana and I was really the only thing we had against the cold. I groaned at the soreness I felt from sleeping on the hard ground with my armor. I heard grunts near me and I saw that Sten was practicing with his sword. I gathered some bread from my pack and my water skin and walked over to him.
The sky was a dull blue that was growing lighter as the sun was coming out. Sten noticed me but still did his routines. Now that I stood near him, I realized that I would only reach his chest at best. Qunari were extremely tall. Sten stopped and then I walked over.
"Here." I offered.
"I am well. I do not need it." Sten declined.
"You were in that cage for who knows how long. Right now, you're malnourished. Even you should know that going in fighting your physical condition will only get in the way of others. Right now, you need some carbohydrates and fluids meaning bread and water. Once your stomach stops fighting you, we can bring in some meat." I offered the food again and Sten took it. We both sat on a log while he ate quietly. "I'm glad you're out of the cage."
"It was your doing that set me free." Sten said.
"You're welcome." I chuckled. "Try to take it easy. I don't know much about Qunari biology but I do know that muscles don't like to be strained after you stopped using them for a long period of time."
"You are concerned." Sten stated.
"I don't want you to get hurt or die. I've witness enough of that to last a lifetime." I mumbled.
"Death will always be a part of the battlefield. You will need to become accustomed to that once we start our journey." Sten advised. I didn't want to was what I thought. I heard a long yawn as saw that Derek was already up.
"Missy! Come over here and help me wake everyone up! The sooner the better!" Derek shouted.
"Not needed!" Talen shouted back. I had an amused smile as Sten and I walked back to the camp. Everyone was silent as we all gathered our things.
"Journey of a thousand steps…" I mumbled as I hugged my pack against back. Eren and the other Grey Wardens were going over their plans one more time. Once they were done, Eren ruffled my hair.
"Let's get going." Eren's voice boomed. We made our way out of Lothering and past the countryside. The armed men that were next to the windmill were gone. They probably took my words to heart. That made me feel relieved. As we continued on, the sun rose and the yellow wheat seemed to shine. My heart felt lighter until we heard the screams of terror.
"Help!" I heard as I saw faces of recognition cross through all the wardens eyes: Darkspawn. They all ran forward while I kept in the back with Oren. They ran up the stairs and I heard the sounds of fighting. Oren gave me a worried look but I wouldn't even dare go up the stairs until I knew it was safe. I heard guttural growls and things crashing. I heard shouts of a fight and something exploding. Most likely it was Talen's magic. Leliana and Sten were behind with me during the fight.
"It's all clear!" Alistair shouted. We all went up and the stench hit me first before the sight. I've smelled blood before and it always had a metallic one to it. This smelled like iron, rotten meat, and sewage all rolled into one. Oren threw up his small breakfast and I fought from the same. Two hurlocks were burned which gave out that sewage smell. A large genlock was smashed through crates and an Alpha was lying on the ground without his head.
"Wow, timely arrival my friends." A blonde dwarf said with a matching beard. Another dwarf with a baby face and bright blue eyes came up behind him. Bodahn and Sandal. "Thank the men will you Sandal?"
"Thank you." Sandal said. If only I could have hugged him.
"Nice to see another duster out here though, at the same time, weird." Derek said.
"We were getting ready to move on from Lothering to our next destination but, as you can see, we were held up." Bodahn explained.
"Darkspawn." Sandal mentioned.
"I'm guessing that all of you aren't ordinary travelers?" Bodahn asked. "A fine pair of swordsman would definitely keep me and my boy out of trouble!"
"We're Grey Wardens." Talen crossed his arms. "I doubt you'd want to travel with us." The realization hit Bodahn.
"Oh Grey Wardens? That would explain your tenacity against darkspawn. It seems you are correct. There might be a little more excitement on your way that we're used to. I thank you for rescuing me and my boy." Bodahn bowed.
"Thank you." Sandal echoed.
"Take care." Alistair nodded and we followed the highway out. The trip was spent in silence for the most part. Oren would ooh and ah at the many things we saw in our travels. There were various farms we passed by, the beginnings of forest, and inns. When Oren would get tired, Alfred was there to pick him up on his back. Derek laughed at that.
"A mighty steed for a might warrior!" Derek bumped his own chest. Oren smiled sheepishly.
"The only steed for him." Talen mumbled and rolled his eyes.
"Um mister dwarf?" Oren wondered.
"Just call me Derek, son." Derek nodded.
"Why are all dwarves short?" Oren asked. From the mouth of babes. I face palmed.
"Oren, you can't just ask that." I groaned. Derek laughed.
"It's ok! It might be because we all live underground. We don't have the sky to stretch us out!" Derek bellowed. "Doesn't explain why the priss is so short!"
"I'm still growing!" Talen shouted back. Eren walked closer to me.
"Those two seem close now." Eren said.
"A dwarf and an elf. Reminds me of an old story I read a long time." I chuckled.
"Your mood has lightened considerably." Eren noted.
"I'm getting there." I shrugged. "I still get nightmares so I doubt those are going to go away any time soon. I'm just glad we're finally doing something. I don't like sitting around worrying. I'd rather be here so I can take care of you."
"I don't need your mothering." Eren scoffed.
"Let me fuss about you Eren. It would give me a peace of mind." I said.
"You can fuss about Oren. I can take care of myself." Eren snapped. I felt my anger rise but I pushed it down.
"Nice to see you're still a jerk. I guess some things won't change huh?" I snapped back and walked closer to Leliana, leaving Eren in the back of the group. Leliana gave me a side glance.
"Tempers will flare on this journey." Leliana stated.
"Try not to get on my bad side Leliana. I'm a little scary." I added. She giggled. We continued at a peaceful pace until our road reached Lake Calenhad. By then the sun had already gone down. We set up camp near the water. I gathered some more herbs by the wayside including spindleweed.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Talen asked as he gathered the firewood.
"I was hoping that someone can teach me more actually." I bashfully said. "I lived with an herbalist for some time and helping him around got me curious about herbs. He never really showed any inclination to teach me about them. All he always told me that elfroot was better dry and adding spindlewood would make the potion better." I explained.
"There are many mages that dedicate their lives to mixing potions. I can see if one of them can teach you." Talen nodded before lighting the fire with his magic. I saw another campfire that was separated from ours. Morrigan had already pitched her tent.
"Can all mages light fire like that?" Oren asked as Eren was mixing something in a small bowl. Everyone else was already going into their rations.
"Most of us can but everyone tries to choose a specialization." Talen sat down next to Oren. I even saw Eren being slightly curious about it. Oren had a face of awe.
"Can you shoot lightning? Or ice!?" Oren asked with excitement. For once I saw Talen smile and not smirk.
"Yeah I can do both. I tend to stay with fire though, that seems to agree more with my temperament than with ice or lightning." Talen chuckled.
"Magic can go with temperament? I thought all mages knew a bit of everything." Alistair sat down and chewed on some dried fruit.
"They teach us the theories of what they know. Once you become a mage, you can choose which magic you'd like to know about. Most in the circle usually choose spells of destruction since those are easier to learn. Fire, lightning, ice are the main ones. I heard stories from Dalish that were forced into the circle that they're leaders could command the earth. That's awesome. Anyway you could also learn how to use force magic. It's a type of telekinesis. You control gravity with your mind."
"All that from magic?" Derek whistled. "Remind me not to get on your bad side priss."
"Eh, dwarves have a natural resistance against magic and lyrium. Besides, all the magic that could harm others, the one that's really rare is creation magic." Talen described.
"What's that?" Oren looked up to Talen. It was really cute.
"The talent to heal no?" Leliana piped in. Talen looked impressed.
"Yeah, it's the ability to heal wounds or the ability to give someone stamina or even courage. The thing is mages only think of themselves. You would have to be a compassionate person at the very least if you ever want to even start healing others." Talen explained.
"Can you do that?" Oren asked. Talen's face grew red.
"I can…" He mumbled.
"Aww, he really does care for us!" Derek laughed and slapped Talen's back.
"As long as we don't die, I'm all for it." Alistair laughed. Talen looked away bashfully.
"Now that we have all had a run of how magic works, it's best to decide who will keep watch." Eren said.
"I'll do first watch. Priss, you can take the next. All we need is the early morning." Derek suggested.
"I'll take it. It seems our illustrious leader needs a few hours of sleep." Alistair nodded at Eren.
"Shouldn't you be the leader? After all, you are our senior." Eren snapped back.
"Uh…" Alistair let it hang.
"Since we've all eaten, I think we need to get some rest and head toward the mage tower at first light." I stopped it there. They all agreed and I rolled out my cot. Eren went to rest next to me with Oren in the middle and Alfred at our feet. I stayed up to write as the others snored on.
9:30 Wintermarch 19th
I woke up in the fade. It was something I was so accustomed to that I got up from where I was laying and immediately started to look at my surroundings. It looked like the camp that I was in but no one was around me. I didn't see Halo so I got on my knees and did a prayer of forgiveness. I prayed for the lives I took and the lives I would mostly take because I was on this journey.
I wasn't prepared the first time I killed a man. It scarred me, leaving me to question to who I am. I realized though with what Halo told me long ago. As long as I repented for my sins, then I would be forgiven. I killed and it's one of the greatest sins you could ever do. I hate myself for it. I was guilty for it. It hurt but I pray that when I go see my own God, that He would see that I wanted to atone for what I've done. Until then, I prayed and hoped.
As I was done with my prayer, I got up and rubbed my eyes. The mage tower. I tried to remember everything that happened in there. Uldred rose up and the mages started to dabble in blood magic, bringing a slew of demons through. There were two choices to this, either we save Irving and gather the mages into the fold or let them kill all of the mages and gain the Templars. It reminded me of the future. I chuckled at that.
"Why can't mages and Templars just play nice? But the world isn't that easy. So many people, so many different opinions, same conflict." I rubbed my eyes. I probably wasn't even going to be here long enough to witness it. Halo floated near me and settled itself in my hair. "Hey Halo. What's new?"
'Journey.' He said.
"A journey? Mine or yours?" I wondered.
'Ours.' Halo replied. I smiled warmly.
"Yeah, no matter what you'll always be with me Halo. I can always count on you, for the most part. At least you listen to me and talk to me. Comfort me, I'm glad that you're my friend Halo." I patted him. I wasn't sure if it was my influence or Halo's but a few wisps came closer to us. They were smaller than Halo and didn't give off his bright light. They were green while he was white and, while he can control his size, they were the size of your average baseball.
They came around and bounced around. I heard a few thoughts coming from them and they were all curious. I laughed when I reached for one and it got excited. They were like small children.
'You are pure and a beacon. They come but always away.' Halo explained as I got up and the wisps took notice of my clothes. I giggled when one went underneath my shirt.
"They're cute but they come about when there's a small idea right? They like helping from what I remember." I recounted.
'You hurt. You are sad. They want you to be happy. They want to help.' Halo described. One landed in my palm.
"Well, I'm sad but this made me happier. I'm glad you guys exist." I said. Halo floated down and snuggled my face. "If I don't make any real friends, at least I have you guys."
I was abruptly awoken when I felt Eren tossing and turning. He accidentally hit my face and I groaned in pain, rubbing my nose. Oren had shifted to where Alfred was while Eren's face was contorted in what looked like to be pain. I sat up and shook him, trying to wake him.
"Ah it seems like the nightmares are starting to happen." Alistair said, sitting in front of the campfire.
"Nightmares?" I wondered.
"They come with becoming a Grey Warden. We have dreams about darkspawn, whispers, and this odd song every now and then. They come when we first join and…later on." Alistair cleared his throat. Eren groaned at sat up. "Bad dreams?" Alistair smirked. Eren pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes before squinting and then rubbing them.
"It felt…real." Eren grumbled
"Well they are real, sort of. It's what happens when you gain control over the taint. We hear them and they hear us." Alistair explained.
"You hear darkspawn?" I wondered even though I already knew the answer. Alistair's lips shut. Eren shook his head.
"The joining is the ritual we had to go through when we became Grey Wardens. We drink darkspawn blood and master the taint." Eren described.
"It's actually all very hush-hush and a secret mind you." Alistair slightly glared at Eren. "Considering that we're all in this together, I don't doubt you would have learned about it. But yes, we do drink darkspawn blood and, if we're lucky, survive."
"So that means Daveth is dead." I stated.
"Yes. He was the first to take the taint but…" Eren shrugged. "It looks like he wasn't strong enough." Then the campfire flew up about ten feet as Talen gasped awake. Alistair leaped away from the growing fire before Talen realized what he did unconsciously and controlled it.
"Sorry!...Sorry." Talen coughed out, controlling the fire to a manageable size.
"What was that!?" Alistair panicked.
"Nightmare." Talen shuddered.
"They did mention that mages get them worse than the others." Alistair mumbled. Talen glared at him.
"Glad to see you remembered giving that tidbit of information, ex-templar." Talen rolled his eyes.
"First off we were running for our lives from an ogre and, what happened in Ostagar, Duncan never really explained the Grey Warden handbook. Second, I was never a Templar. I just have the teachings." Alistair explained with a smile on his face. "Anyway now that some of us awake, let's set up camp." The sun started to shine by the time everyone woke up and got everything gathered.
Leliana rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as we traveled. Even this far into the new year and I wondered why it hasn't snowed. I shivered slightly and I wished I had saved the scarf from Highever. Sten looked uncomfortable and I walked near him.
"Cold?" I wondered.
"It is uncomfortable. Par Vollen has never had weather like this." Sten described.
"That's your home isn't it? I heard it's all jungle." I said.
"It is humid and warm with flowers blossoming. Your Ferelden is brown and sickly looking." Sten grumbled.
"Do not forget its pungent odor." Morrigan chuckled.
"I nearly had." Sten huffed.
"Not all of Ferelden is brown. When you get near the sea, it gets green." I mentioned. Sten huffed.
"As if there isn't enough water from the sky raining down and making mud." Sten mentioned.
"You're so negative Sten." I chuckled.
"One of my good traits." Sten said flatly. It surprised you.
"Well, he knows how to make a joke." Morrigan chuckled. We continued on our path with relative silence. I found it boring really. As we kept walking we came upon a clearing with sign posts all over the place. Alarm bells rang in my head as I saw one off to the side.
'Danger: Traps are meant for wolves.' I read.
"Hey guys! Don't take another step!" I said, going to the front of the group.
"Where's the fire missy?" Derek wondered. I stood in front before I found a small spike jutting out. Using my dagger, I was able to activate it. It snapped shut.
"There are traps all over this area. The signs said it." I mentioned. "Not only that, they also said-" We heard howls. I heard something behind me and brought up my arm just in time for a wolf to snap its jaws on it. I grunted as I hit the ground hard. The wolf wrangled my arm, trying to tear it off. I heard and saw more wolves come out and leap from the boulders near us. I reared my other good arm back and decked it on the snout.
It yelped but it had my arm in a death grip. My forearm guard started to dent in until I saw a greatsword swing at the wolf. It sliced right through the wolf's side and it finally let go. I got up to see Talen and Morrigan use their respective fire and lightning spells to kill the last two wolves. I groaned in pain as my arm was feeling like putty. Talen came over with his hands glowing green and held my arm in between them. The energy transferred from his hands to my arm and it felt better.
"It should be alright, try not to wave it around wildly though." Talen suggested.
"Thanks." I nodded.
"You're fine?" Eren came up and grabbed my arm. "Your armor is dented in."
"Nothing like a quick fix with a hammer!" Derek said. "Give it here, I'll give it a few whacks to make it work again."
"Oh ok but first let's set off all the traps. It would only be our luck if-" I heard a trap clamp down and Alistair yelped in pain.
"Andraste's knickers!" He shouted.
"…Someone triggered one." I ended my statement with a face palm.
Beta'd by my lovely FearaNightmare!
So I just wanted to see how much I've written so far and, excluding this chapter, I have written 222 pages 0_0 wow. Anyway I reworked the traveling part. I mean, it's not everyday you gather up a bunch of strangers to go save the world right? There's bound to be silences and people not talking.
Shout out to Sandmiller and Bloody . Kirai for favoriting/following!
Thank you Chimera Spyke for reviewing! Please review! :D