The Elven Knight:
The Kingdom of the Dales was the Elven Kingdom which had stood for many years since the beginning of the Chantry. The Dales had been a gift from Andraste since one of her top generals was Thane Sharton, an elven slave who escaped and dreamt that the Elves would one day have a home again. The Dales had been lands of Divina who gave them to the Elves as a gift. When the Dales had been settled by the elves, they named their first city Halamshiral which meant 'End of the Journey' as this was there the Long walk where the elven slaves who had been freed had travelled to their new home. Over time the Dales wanted to rebuild their home and culture which had been lost when Tevinter destroyed their homeland. This had resulted in the Dales closing themselves off from the rest of the world and not getting involved during the 2nd Blight until they were convinced by Divina to help but they refused to aid Orlais who they saw as no better than Tevinter. When the Chantry had declared the Exalted March on the Dales during the Glory Age, Divina assisted the Elves since they saw it as breaking Andraste's promise and this began the long friendship between Divina and the Dales. The Dales were seen as a Client Kingdom of Divina which meant that while the elves ruled the Dales, if they came under attack then Divina would see it as an attack on their land.
Much of the Dales was forest land such as the Emerald Graves where the dead that fell in battle were buried and a tree planted on top of their remains. The Emerald Graves were a sacred place but also dangerous as there were dangerous beasts such as Giants and Great Bears in the forests. This was also the home of the Emerald Knights who were the best army unit in the Dales. The Emerald Knights were originally created to patrol the border of the Dales and guard the Dales. During the Exalted march they became famous when an Emerald Knight Vaharel led the successful invasion of Montisimmard. After Divina and the Dales began an Alliance, the Emerald Knights grew to become the greatest Military unit in the Dales.
The Dales also kept their old ways of worshipping the Elven Gods though some had also begun to worship the Divine Akatosh though they named his Auriel. There was Elgar'nan, the Elven God of Vengeance and the Sun and known as the All father. Mythal was the All mother and the Goddess of love and Justice. There was Sylaise, the goddess of Domestic arts and June, God of craft. Dirthamen was the God of secrets and knowledge and a god highly worshipped by Elven Mages and scholars and Andruil was the Goddess of the Hunt and one worshipped mainly by hunters. One that was similar to Andruil was Ghilan'nain, the mother of the Halla. Legends say that she was once a huntress wo was betrayed and left for dead and then Andruil took pity on her and turned her into the First Halla, the sacred deer like creatures that are used as mounts by the Elves. Falon'Din was the brother of Dirthamen and the god of the dead who was said to guide the dead to the afterlife. The final god was Fen'Harel, known as the Dread wolf. It was said that he tricked the other creators and sealed them away which is why the Creators didn't answer the Elves' plead for help when Tevinter invaded. The Elven Gods all had a shrine in the Temple of the Creators Halamshiral while there were other smaller temples across the Dales and it was said that there was a large Temple to Mythal that dates back to the Ancient Age deep in the Southern Dales though this Temple was a sacred place and humans are not allowed to enter.
…
Fort Revasan was one of the larger forts in the Dales. Revas was elven for freedom and this fort was one of the most important in the Dales. The fort was located in a region of the Dales known as Dirthavaren or 'the promise' and was a grassland region. This was also the site of one of the biggest battles during the Exalted March on the Dales. There were two battles fought here, the first one was during the start of the invasion where the Chantry offered them peace if the Elves submitted to the Maker but they refused and there was a long battle which took its toll on the Chantry's forces but reinforcements arrived and pushed the Elves back but they were unable to take the Elven strongholds located in the area since they had no siege equipment. A large army attacked Fort Revasan and they nearly took the fort as the fort ran out of supplies until Divina's army arrived and pushed the Chantry forces back and retook the land they had lost. This gave these lands the nickname as the Exalted Plains.
Inside the Fort was Theorn Maheriel, he was one of the Emerald Knights and he came from a background of Emerald Knights since his ancestor known as Maheriel had been one of the original Emerald Knights and his family were respected among the army. Theorn was a charming elf with long brown hair and a pointy chin like elves normally have. He had tattoos on his face which honoured Dirthamen and like many of his family, he loved learning about swordsmen. The Maheriels were a respected Knightly house, which meant they had a small keep and most of their family took a duty in the army. Theorn had taken over his family's position as main knight after his father retired from the army after serving for many years. Theorn's father had fought in Orlesian Wars and had been a commander who led a successful attack that retook the city of Lydes. Most of the soldiers in the fort wore suits of armour made from Veridium. These armours were made in the design of a set of Ancient Elven Armour recovered from an Elven ruin and all soldiers in the Elven army wore armour like this. Theorn's armour was different since he was an Emerald Knight, his armour was much bigger and was made from minerals known as Malachite and Moonstone, these minerals were mined all over the Dales and were used to make Elven armour. Only skilled Blacksmiths could make armour from this material.
Theorn stood on the Walls of Fort Revasan as he looked over the Horizon of the Exalted Plains. This land may have just been grasslands with a few forts such as Revasan. There was also an ancient Elven Burial Ground in the South known as Var Bellanaris which was a sacred place for Elven dead who died in the Battle of the Exalted Plains during the Exalted March. There was also a mysteries statue located in an Ancient Grove. The Statue was of a large hand which may have been from something bigger but the origins of the Statue were unknown. Though there was a cave near the Statue which held an Ancient Elven Shrine so the area was sacred to the Elves.
"Commander Talas said that you were up here" a voice called which broke Theorn out of his trance and he turned to see his childhood friend Tamlen walk onto the Walls. Tamlen had been a childhood friend of Theorn's and he wanted to be a hero one day just like Theorn's father had been.
"I was just thinking Tamlen" Theorn spoke
"Thinking about what?" Tamlen asked
"About our people" Theorn replied "We lost so much and when we were given a chance, the Chantry tried to take it from us. But the humans of Divina saved us from that fate and even today, we still have the Chantry trying to force their way onto our lands."
"I remember my first commission when I was stationed at the Great Wall" Tamlen said, when Elves joined the army they first had to be at the Great Wall which guarded the border between the Dales and Orlais, the reason for this was because the Wall was the only place in the Dales where Divina had an army which was one of their Legions. This was to help show the Elves that Divina did not rule and this army was to help protect the Wall from Orlais. "The Legion soldiers were well trained and I would not want them as an enemy. One time a Templar Patrol demanded to cross the border to capture a Mage who had fled. The commander refused saying that Templers did not belong in these lands. I thought the Templar leader would lose his head and it took a small catapult firing a rock at them to make them leave. When he returned with a larger force and threatened to enter by force, we took his force out easily and had the commander executed as a warning."
Border clashes like that were common in the Dales since when Mages fled to Divina, the Chantry demanded that Divina hand them over but since Divina hated the Chantry, they just refused and the Chantry couldn't do anything since if they tried it would result in Chantry near the border getting looted. The Chantry had already lost most of its influence in Antiva and Rivaini and only Kirkwall had strong Chantry presence in the Free Marches and the Chantry had no influence in Neverra. People said that the Chantry may not last this age since it was only a matter of time before it collapsed. That had the higher members of the Chantry worried as they did not want to be responsible for the collapse of what they saw as the salvation.
Theorn and Tamlen went over to the Commander's office so they could speak with Commander Marethari Talas. Marethari was a skilled Mage and she was an old friend on Theorn's father, the two had fought together against the Orlesians though Marethari's husband Sarel died during the war. If fact many members of Commander Talas' squad were family members of her squad members during the war when she led the elite Sabrae force. Soon Theorn and Tamlen made it to Commander Talas' office where they saw the commander sitting at her desk as she sighed some paperwork. Commander Talas was an old woman now and was not good at fighting though she still knew how to use her magic. She was clearly getting old as her face was all wrinkled, she was old even for elves who were known to live longer than humans.
"Ah, Ser Theorn, Tamlen, I see that you have arrived" Marethari said
"Yes commander" Tamlen said "You wished to see us"
"I did" Marethari said "There is news in Divina, it is said that Darkspawn had been sighted South of Ostagar. Emperor Calian has called the armies of Divina and he is calling on his armies. Queen Ayreen is gathering her forces and intends to send a small force ahead of the rest of the army. This may just be a small force of Darkspawn and not a true Blight. And not only that but the Queen is having issues at home with those Veiled Inheritance fanatics trying to dethrone her."
Queen Ayreen was the Queen of the Dales, her father had been the King Hidellith and was a well respected King as he had helped fight the Orlesians. In her youth, Ayreen had vanished and was not seen for years and when Hidellith died, her brother Naemon was set to become King but Ayreen returned and was crowned Queen but she was someone who looked towards the future and she had strengthen the links between the Dales and Divina along with Neverra. Some saw this as dangerous and they were known as the Veiled Inheritance, they were fanatics and sought to remove all human influence from the Dales, they had existed for years before but they had grown stronger since Ayreen had become queen.
"So I have decided that you two will be going to Ostagar since you are some of our better fighters. Pol, Junar and Fenarel will be joining you" Marethari added
"We will do our best" Tamlen said "We will do our duty to the Dales."
Marethari looked at them "Maren is tending to the Halla and they will take you to the rest of the Elven army going to Ostagar." She then looked at Theorn "And I need to speak with Theorn alone for a second"
"All right then" Tamlen said and he looked at Theorn "I'll meet you at the Halla pens with the others." He then left leaving Theorn and Marethari alone.
Marethari looked at Theorn "I am getting old now Theorn and it will soon be time for someone else to take command here. I want that someone to be you"
"Me?" Theorn questioned "Why me, what about Merrill, she's got a higher position than me."
"Merrill is a nice girl but I fear her obsession with finding our ancient magic with that old mirror will cause the death of her and our army here." Marethari spoke, Merrill was Marethari's mage apprentice, Marethari had taken her in to train her to use magic. Merrill was a nice girl and was very friendly but she was also someone who was willing to give her own life to help the elves and she would sacrifice anyone in the name of the elves and so Marethari said that she was unfit to be a leader.
"I, I don't know what to say" Theorn spluttered
"Your father was a good friend of mine" Marethari added "Every day I still wonder why he is after he vanished." When Theorn was a small child, his father and mother had been sent on a secret mission by King Hidellith but they never returned. Marethari sent scouts to find them but they were never found and so Theorn had been raised by Ashalle, one of the elder elves in the camp and another veteran of the war. "He would be proud to see that his son has become a great fighter. Going to Ostagar is a great way to help leadership which you will need. I wish you luck now you should find Tamlen and the others, and maybe you should take your Guardian wolf as well, you know how much he loves you."
Theorn smiled and then he left the office and he went over to the courtyard of the Fort where he met up with his guardian Ashalle. Ashalle was quite old as she had grey hair and she was a former hunter who now trained the newer recruits. During the War she had been a scout who helped ambush the Orlesian patrols. Ashalle smiled when she saw the child he had raised approach him. She had been busy talking with the fort's smith Ilen.
"Theorn, it is good to see you" Ashalle said to him and the two embraced each other
"It is good to see you two" Theorn said
Ilen smiled at Theorn "And I've heard that you're going to fight in Divina against the Darkspawn. They will need a warrior like you, I see that old glass armour is still serving it's uses. And Chillrend is still good for battle, your family has held that sword for years, I'm glad to see it still in your hands."
"My father left it behind when he left on his mission didn't he?" Theorn asked
"He did" Ilen replied "Said that it would be better off here and he wanted it given to his son. Each day I still wonder what happened to your father and your mother, Scouts vanishing on missions can happen but this was a secret mission so very few knew about it."
"I still hope to see my parents again" Theorn said and he looked at Ashalle "So what were my parents like?"
"Your father was one of the most skilled Elven Mages in the Dales and a good friend of King Hidellith" Ashalle replied "He was skilled in nature magic and could use the forest against his enemies and even make the trees come alive which is some of the toughest magic to master. Your mother was one of the best archers and scouts in the fighting force and she could hit an enemy soldier right in the eye from a long distance. She used to play competition with the others and see how many enemies they could kill."
"I wish I knew them longer" Theorn said sadly "Well I've been sent over to Ostagar so I wanted to say goodbye before I left. But Marethari suggested that I collect Alas, he may come in useful"
As soon as Theorn had said that, there was a loud bark and a large wolf with greyish white fur charged at Theorn and leapt at him causing him to be on his hind legs and Theorn laughed as he stroked the wolf's head. This was Theorn's pet wolf which he had been gifted when he became a member of the Emerald Knights. It was tradition for the Emerald Knights to have pet wolves with them as guardians. Theorn's wolf had a habbit of digging in the dirt which led to Theorn calling him Alas which was dirt in Elvish. Ilen and Ashalle laughed as well "Well you should get going, the others are waiting for you."
"Goodbye Ashalle, and goodbye Ilen" Theorn said tearfully as he gave each of them one last hug before he left with Alas walking beside him.
He eventually came to the Keep entrance where the Halla pens were. The Halla were horse and deer like creatures. The Elves rode them like human horses but they were more like deer as they had soft coats and large silver antlers which the elves carved when they were young. The Halla were sacred to the Elves and they were always given proper care. Just like the wolves, the Emerald Knights also had their own personal Halla. Theorn's Halla was a Halla which he had found running wild while on patrol, this Halla had taken a liking to him and Theorn had brought the Halla back where he had trained it to be his mount, the Elves never used harness on the Halla since they were free creatures, Theorn had named his Halla Assan which meant arrow in Elvish since this Halla was fast. Theorn also met with Tamlen along with Pol, Fenaral and Junar. Pol was a newer soldier and he had joined the Elven army because he didn't want to be a miner at the town where he worked. Junar and Fenaral were older recruits and their fathers had fought in the war. Fenaral was also a good friend of Theorn's just like Tamlen was while Junar was an older hunter. They had been given their Halla's from the Halla Keeper Maren.
"So old friend" Fenaral said as he saw his friend "You ready for this trip to Ostagar"
"I'm ready as I can be" Theorn replied
"I've never been to Divina or seen how the humans fight" Pol added "I've heard stories about them and I wonder what will happen at Ostagar."
"Well we won't know until we get there" Tamlen added "We need to get to the city of Jader where the rest of the army is. There we will travel to Ostagar."
"I just hope that the battle doesn't finish until we get there" Junar added and they all smiled at each other before they mounted their Hallas and left Fort Revasen.
Chapter end:
Notes: Well here is the chapter introducing Theorn who is an Emerald Knight, we will be seeing Theorn play a major role in this story and I'm trying to add more Elder Scrolls lore into this story. The history at the start is not the full history and it won't just be the Darkspawn that our heroes will battle. I have brought the Aldemeri Dominion questline into the Dales storyline from Elder Scrolls online so some chapters will take a while because I have to replay that storyline so we won't be returning to the Dales to introduce more characters until I have got more ideas. I'm also working on a chapter of Rise of the Divines and working on the next chapter of 'The Wolf Awakens' as well as Dragon X. But I'm also working on my Fictionpress story Slaves of Sharia and I hope to have that finished by the end of the year. So the next chapter will be a while.
