Chapter 66) One for the Many
Aiden POV
"I don't get it, Valendrian." It was after Valendrian had told the story of a tragic hero, a hero who had wanted to accomplish peace so badly that he started a war that wiped out everything. "Why would he think that was a good idea?" I asked. I was helping him sort his books.
"Sometimes, Aiden, you want something so much that you declare 'the end justifies the means'," Valendrian answered. He busied himself with making us some tea on the half-broken stove. "You become so desperate for your goal that you slide into villainy. An accurate view of the problem, but fall into insanity as you find that goal increasingly out of reach."
"But what's the point? All that death…"
"Hold onto that mentality, Aiden. Never let it go." I glanced back at Valendrian and saw he was deadly serious. "That mentality will help you know when to walk away."
"…Okay?" Why would I…? Never mind. He wouldn't answer anyway. "Where does this go?"
"Top shelf, please."
"If Branka is anywhere, it has to be here." It was hard to tell if Oghren was happy or not about the possibility. Then again, he did just hear, from a cousin, what his wife did. "Best be prepared." Oh, really? Let me just go ahead and empty what little remained in my stomach. "She will be." Terrific.
Sighing, we continued on. As best as we could, we covered the two corpses in stone. With the broodmother, we had Morrigan and Wynne manipulate the stone to encase her. I could tell it took a lot out of both, they swayed as they walked, but it had been nice. Leliana had sung. It had been a welcome respite.
However, we had to keep going. Hopefully, the end was in sight, especially as we stepped out of the caverns and into a large open room. No signs of an ambush, but that just made me twitchy. Something was about to happen. I could feel it.
Two seconds later, I was proven right. A rumble and a shake of the ground later, and a freaking wall blocked our path back. A wall just showed up behind us out of nowhere. We were freaking trapped. What in flames is this?!
"Let me be blunt with you." I whirled at the voice, hand going for my greatsword. There, up above, was a dwarf. Brown hair in pigtails was what I first noticed, mostly because it looked so… off. Off compared to the quiet madness in brown eyes. Off compared to the dented and bloody armor. "After all this time, my tolerance for social graces is fairly limited," she continued. Voice even and calm. "That doesn't bother you, I hope." Was this…?
"Well, shave my back and call me an elf!" Thank you for the lovely mental image there, Oghren! "Branka!" he laughed, clearly delighted. I wondered if he had forgotten about his cousin, Hespith I think her name was, but decided it wasn't that. This was just his reaction to having his hope answered after two long years. "By the Stone, I barely recognized you!"
"Oghren." Branka, however, didn't seem to think anything of it. Nonchalant. Apathetic. "It figures that you'd eventually find your way here. You have always been two things. Stubborn and strong." She shrugged. "Hopefully you can find your way back more easily." The glee in Oghren's face faded. Maybe it would have been better that his hope had been answered with nothing… no. No, it wouldn't have. I knew that feeling. I knew that feeling from Ostagar. "And how shall I address you?" She focused on me. "You're the leader of this little group, that much is obvious." Obvious, huh? "Are you the hired sword of the latest lordling come looking for me?" She shrugged again. "Or are you just the only one who didn't mind Oghren's ill breath." I… kind of wanted to punch her. Already. Now, granted, part of that was probably because of Hespith but still."
"Have some respect, woman." Huh? "You're talking to a Grey Warden." And he… wanted her to have respect for me, just for that? Why? Was it because I listened to him?
"Ah, so, he's some important errand boy then." I was no one's errand boy. Not now, at least. "I suppose something serious has happened then." She began to pace on the hill. I noticed a tent behind her. Hers? "Is Endrin dead? That seems likely. He was on the old and wheezy side."
"Well, yes, he is dead," I answered, deciding to just take control of this… conversation for now. It seemed best. "And the Assembly is in deadlock."
"Strange, I thought they would have been screaming for the little princess to take over." The who? "So, why is a Warden here? Getting involved in politics is against your rules." It was? Well, whoops? "And the number of surfacers who care about dwarven politics can be counted on a single hand, if that." She nodded to herself, clearly thinking. "You must have a patron. A highly placed patron, who wants something dear."
"No, I just want the deadlocked ended, and a casteless told me you were the one who could do it. No patron, no rules. This is my decision."
"Well, I don't care if the Assembly puts a drunken monkey like Oghren on the throne." The urge to punch her was normal, right? I wasn't being too sensitive or anything, right? "Because our great protector, our greatest innovation, the thing that once made our armies the envy of the world…!" She sounded so melodramatic. "It is lost to the very darkspawn it should be fighting!" Uh… "The Anvil of the Void, the means by which the ancestors forged the golems and held off the first archdemon ever to rise! It's here!" I could hear the madness. Should we knock her out and go get her help? "So close, I can taste it!" Why would you want to taste a darkspawn infested anvil?
"But of course, there's a catch." There had to be. She'd be at the thing if otherwise.
"Yes…" Her voice dropped to a hiss, and her eyes narrowed in a glare. "It lies at the end of a gauntlet of traps, designed by Caridin himself." Oh? Then maybe that was a sign to leave the Anvil alone. "My people and I have given body and soul to unlocking its secrets." While she might have sold her soul for it, she certainly hadn't given her body yet. She still breathed, and she had all her limbs. "This is what is important; this is what matters!" I was about to ask Leliana to snipe her. "If I succeed, the dwarven people benefit!" The scariest thing was how certain she was that she was in the right. "Kings, politics…" She scoffed. "All that is transitory."
Maybe so, but the blood she sacrificed for this thing would stain the roads forever. "So, what do we do? I need you to return."
"And if you want me to get involved in that imbecilic election, I must have the Anvil." I glanced back at Leliana, ready to sign for her to notch an arrow and let it fly. "Which is why I blocked you path with my own trap." Okay, screw shooting her, Sten and I were going to cut her in half. Or I was going to ask Shale if she minded throwing a rock at a squishy. "There is now only one way out. Forward." Through the traps. We were the bait.
"What has this place done to you, Branka?!" Oghren snapped. I couldn't tell if he was more angry or devastated. Perhaps it was an equal mix of both. "I remember marrying a girl you could talk to for one minute and see her brilliance!" Yeah, all I saw was madness. Weird how that worked.
"I am your paragon." You were nothing of mine, except possibly a new stain on my sword!
She dropped down then, out of sight and, likely, out of easy reach. I took a deep, steadying breath to control my temper. Now was not the time.
It probably also wasn't the time for laughter, but Zevran's deadpanned comment made that impossible to stop. "Oghren, my friend, we need to talk about your taste in wives. A nice long talk."
And Oghren's retort made it even harder to not laugh. "We should also talk about why you elves frolic all over the place. And preen."
"It's fun! You should try it. If, you know, you can stand losing the stench and maybe some of that beard."
I didn't hear the rest. I was too busy laughing. Probably too loud and raucous, but Maker, did I ever need that laugh.
It was decided that Zevran and Leliana would handle figuring out how to get through. They would then direct everyone for how to go about it. Morrigan and Wynne when magic was better. Oghren, Shale, and Sten for when brute strength was better.
Cleon and I got to stand around and look pretty or something. It was nice to not have to do anything for a bit.
'This has to be the longest day,' Cleon signed, sighing heavily as he leaned against the wall. I almost thought the wall was the only thing holding him up. It was definitely the only thing holding me up. 'Wait, is it still one day?'
"I have no bloody clue," I replied, signing tiredly. It felt like I hadn't slept in days. I really hoped we didn't have a grand fight on the horizon. I doubted I would be coordinated enough. "Ugh… I know Lord Nuada warned me things would be chaotic, but I think this exceeds expectations."
'Don't we always?' Cleon had the nerve to grin. It morphed into a soft, sweet smile, though, and I glanced around to try and figure out what caused it. I found my answer easily. Morrigan had glanced by and winked at him before doing whatever task Leliana asked.
"So, it looks like things are going well between you two." Cleon glanced at me, frowning slightly, so I made sure to sign the words again. And his eyes narrowed. 'Yes?'
'I have told you before, it is just a physical relationship.'
"Which is why she goes out of her way to press against you, spend time with you, hold your hand when you're freaking out." Cleon rolled his eyes, but I nudged his leg to keep him looking at me. "Cleon, if it really is just a physical relationship, that's fine. This is all your business." I looked him right in the eye and made my signs as sharp and clear as I could. "But I don't want you to just run away from it if-"
Cleon slashed the air with his hand, a clear indication of interrupting me. 'But are you not running away yourself?' he signed quickly. I felt my thoughts clunk to a stop. 'I thought it funny at first, how oblivious you have been, but it is getting ridiculous. You can't be that oblivious.' I… 'You ignore it. You run away from it. I don't know why. But if you are going to lecture about running, Aiden, you should make sure you aren't doing it yourself!' The sharpness of the signs gave the impression of yelling. Cleon was yelling at me. 'By the Dread Wolf, what has you so scared?' I…
"Dears?" Both of us whirled at Wynne's voice, Cleon a split-second later than me. "We're ready to move on," she murmured, her signs gentle. I doubted she knew what we had been talking about, but our body language made it clear we had been arguing. "Do you two need a minute?" Cleon and I glanced at each other. I knew by the look in his eyes that he wasn't done with me. But I also knew he would wait. Because he had seen it. He had shaken me, and I… I couldn't be shaken. Not now. Not here. Later, when we were safer. Later, when things were calmer. But not here.
So, instead, Cleon signed, 'no, let's go.' And I had never been more grateful for Cleon's ability to just understand. 'How many more traps?'
"At least one, probably as many as four." Oh. Great. "I'm here to listen if you need anything."
'We know.' Cleon smiled. 'But right now… not a good place.' Not a good place at all. Not with us exhausted, and our nerves frayed because of the broodmother and Branka.
"Then let's join the others." Yes. And I could ignore this conversation for a time.
We were expected. We were clearly expected. There was no reason for the path to suddenly be lined by golems as we made it past the last trap and exited to a too large, too hot room. Except to be dramatic. And to lead us right to the being at the end. A golem that looked so incredibly different from the others that I almost wondered if it was a golem.
"Welcome, travelers," it greeted as we crowded close to it, me in the front. Another golem who could talk. Its voice even echoed, not unlike Shale's. "My name is Caridin." What. Wait, no, what?
"Aren't you dead?" I instantly felt my cheeks burn at my blurted words. "I'm sorry. That was rude."
"But reasonable." I almost got the impression it was laughing at me. "But yes, I am him, alive long past my time." Its… his…? His gaze turned towards Shale, though, and I was almost certain he was smiling. "And there is a face I recognize still." I glanced over at Shale, and thought it looked startled. "Shayle of House Cadash." What. "Come a bit closer. You are smaller than I remember."
"You… know who I am?" Shale asked, incredulous and startled. I could see its eyes narrow as it stepped forward. "Is it you who forged me then? You who gave me my name?" Oh, were we meeting Shale's parent?
"Have you forgotten, then?" Caridin sounded sad, but not surprised. "Ah, but it has been so long." He nodded, though it was almost a bow. "Yes, I made you into a golem, but before that, you were a dwarf." Wait, what?! "Just as I was." Hold on a moment here! "The finest warrior who served King Valtor." Who was that?! How long ago are we talking here?! "And the only woman to volunteer to become a golem." We have officially hit the 'this shit is way too weird for me' level!
"Woman? Dwarf?" Shale sounded just as surprised. "How?"
"I laid you on the Anvil of the Void, here in this very room. You reassured me as I prepared. I remember it clearly even now." Can someone explain what is going on?! "Travelers, who seek the Anvil, please, hear my tale. I could not bear to doom you to repeat it." Um… uh… "I notice sign language among your number." Oh, good, someone was signing for Cleon. "Should I speak more slowly, or is this good?"
"No, you're fine," Morrigan spoke up. She was leaning into Cleon, and he watched her hands more than anything. "Just don't speak much faster."
"Very well." How kind of him to think about that.
"So, you made the Anvil, yes?" I asked, taking command again for the conversation. "That is what I have heard."
"Yes," he confirmed. I tried not to watch the sparks in his joints. "Though I made many things, I rose to fame and earned my status based on a single item, forged from an idea I thought the Ancestors had given me." The Anvil of the Void. "It allowed me to forge a man of steel and stone, as flexible and clever as any soldier. An invincible army, completely immune to the Taint of the Blight. That is what we needed to face the horrors the humans unleashed." The hum… wait, Caridin believed the Chantry version? Did all dwarves? Or did they have their own story of how the darkspawn came and Caridin was the exception? "But I did not tell anyone the cost."
"…I'm not going to like this, am I?"
"I would be gladdened if you loathed it." He didn't… "No mere smith, however skilled, has the power to create life." I was going to be sick. I was going to be so, so sick. "To make my golems live, I had to take their lives from elsewhere." I swallowed fast, desperate to keep from throwing up. "I only used volunteers. I only wanted volunteers, those who were willing to give up everything, body and soul, for the purpose."
"A… dire shortcut."
"A horrific one." Well, I was trying to be tactful. "Nothing so great many be achieved without sacrifice. One for the many. That was how I made it through." I… "I asked for volunteers. Men of the Warrior Caste were who answered. They wanted to defend Orzammar. They wanted to live forever in a body stronger than the finest armor. They knew it would kill them. I knew they knew because they did not ask to speak with those who had gone before." But if someone gave you their life, did you really have the right to take it? "They stripped down before the Anvil, and laid inside a skin of armor, so large it made even the largest look like a child. A babe, with the anvil as their first and last cradle."
"Is that why it's all the way out here?"
"Miles of earth on all sides. No one can hear anything, much less the screams." My stomach rebelled. I clenched my jaw. "I poured molten lyrium through the eyes, the mouth, into every joint and chink in the armor." My eyes darted over to Shale automatically. It seemed impassive. The rest of us… well, Sten was stoic, but I swore the rest were green in the face. "They silenced quickly, of course, but I could still smell the blood under the metal."
"Did they not wake on the Anvil?" WHY WAS I ASKING?! I DIDN'T NEED TO HEAR THIS1
"Yes, writhing and twisting with every blow as I shapped the armor with hammer and tongs." I glanced at the other golems, still lining the path. They didn't seem to even be alive. "Moaning and groaning in pain, but I tuned it out. I had to make it perfect. One for the many, and I would not make a mistake. No melted slag binding the eyes, no granite crippling the leg. One for the many, and I would make it worth it."
"You… said you only intended on using volunteers?" My mouth was dry. I was going to scream.
"Yes, but my king, King Valtor, was not satisfied." Oh… I knew where this was going. "Soon, a river of blood flowed out of this place, and into the lava below. The casteless, the criminals, the political enemies… all were forced into becoming golems." Few rulers let rivals run free. "Finally, after six years, I cracked. It grew too much. I refused to make any more golems, volunteers or otherwise. It was not worth it. Too many ones were being sacrificed for a swindling many. I could not make it worth it." That was the danger in the thinking. When did you stop? "And, so, Valtor had me put onto the Anvil." Which was why he was a golem. And why he looked different from the others. He had been forged by a different hand. "My apprentices knew enough to make me, but they could not bind me." Bind? "They could not make a control rod. I made sure to never teach that." Right, then… thing that Shale said controlled it before. …Wait, they died and gave up their free will for… the First Blight must have been desperate. "Regardless, though, I retained my mind." Caridin's attention turned from me, back to Shale. "You were among the most loyal, Shale. Throughout the years, throughout all the attacks and battles, you never strayed far from my side."
"Then how come I was not here?" Shale demanded. I thought it sounded angry. "Why was I found in the dark, away from everything?"
"I sent you away out of mercy. I had hoped you could find rest and peace." I got the impression he was smiling again.
"With a control rod?"
"No, I destroyed those. Though, it is possible they fashioned poor imitations, ones that the golems could, eventually, throw off." Was that how Shale…? "No, I used simpler methods. I am almost grateful you do not remember. I screamed hateful lies, anything I could think to make you turn away." Cruel to be kind. "And it seems, eventually, you were able to break free of the control rod, as you swore." That… was almost amusing.
"I… do not remember." And Shale sounded sad. "Not at all."
"That is, perhaps, for the best." Caridin returned his attention to me. "I have remained entombed here ever since, seeking a way to destroy the Anvil." To make sure it could never be used again. "Alas, I cannot do it myself." What. "No golem can touch it. I made it too well." Oh. Well, damn. "Please, can you do what I cannot?" Well…
"No!" I yelped and whirled, eyes wide as I realized Branka had followed us through. I wasn't sure why that was surprising. She had all but stated she would do so. But still…! "The Anvil is mine!" she snapped, sliding to a stop. I soon came to the uncomfortable realizing that our group was right in the middle of Caridin and Branka. I knew exactly what was going on. "No one will take it from me!" A choice had to be made. And I knew it was going to fall to Cleon and me.
"Shale!" Caridin turned to Shale, hand out entreatingly. "You fought to destroy the Anvil once," he pleaded. "Please, do not let it fall into unthinking hands again!" Shale hesitated. It didn't remember, but… I thought things resonated with it. Something you recognized yet didn't. A thing you knew should be there, but wasn't. And that… was enough, I think. Enough to make Shale want to help Caridin.
"Don't listen!" Branka looked right at me. "He's been trapped here for a thousand years! Stewing in his own madness!" …Uh… hi, pot, meet kettle. "Help me get the Anvil, and I will give you the army you need for the Blight." A-ah… "With or without the Assembly!" Help… someone, help…
"Branka!" Oghren shouted, jumping into the argument. Desperately, seizing the extra time, I looked at Cleon, and he slid to my side. "You mad, bleeding nugtail! Are you so desperate that you can't see what you've lost to get the Anvil?"
"Look around, Oghren!" She gestured to the walls. "Is this what our empire should look like? A crumbling ruin filled with darkspawn sputum?!" She looked so desperate, so mad. "The Anvil will let us take back our glory!"
There was more arguing, but I focused on Cleon. 'I am in way over my head,' I signed to him, not even bothering to speak it. He nodded, wry smile telling me he agreed. 'What do you think?'
'Me? I can see both sides,' he signed easily. I sighed. 'But… I cannot say I like the idea.' I waited for him to continue, even as the argument turned to screaming. 'They might get volunteers at first, but then there is going to be the casteless, the criminals. All I can think of is people like Zerlinda being dragged kicking and screaming.' Yeah… 'And what is to stop them from stealing people from the surface? What about humans, elves, quanri?' Exactly. Where did it stop? Where did it end? 'But I can't say I dislike having an army. That is what we are trying to get.'
'But is it worth it? I…" I shook my head. 'I don't think so.'
'Neither do I.' Cleon smiled wryly. 'Besides, can you imagine Layla's screaming?' …Mistress Layla would literally kill us. 'And while Nuada is pragmatic, I think he would knock some sense in our heads.' Yes, I thought so too. No, I knew it. So…
"We will destroy the Anvil." Those words I spoke aloud, and it instantly silenced the arguing. "That is our decision," I continued, voice far stronger, clearer, surer than I felt. I needed a very, very long nap. "End of discussion." Still, I couldn't help but glance at the others.
Oghren looked upset, but he bit his tongue. He understood, I think, but he also wanted to keep on holding onto that hope that Branka could be saved. And if I destroyed the Anvil, that hope withered.
I saw Morrigan open her mouth, likely to argue for the Anvil. But Cleon gave her a pleading look, and she remained silent, glancing away. Yeah, no, there was no way that relationship was just physical. Morrigan didn't shut up for anyone.
I noticed Zevran also looked ready to argue, but I looked him in the eye and shook my head. He stared at me for a long moment before nodding, even smiling slightly. I guess I managed to persuade him. I hoped so, at least.
Leliana and Wynne gave us warm looks, and it was nice to see someone approved. I wondered about Sten, but he simply nodded. Accepting.
Shale gave us an almost smile. That, alone, was probably worth it.
"No!" Branka shrieked, pulling at her hair. "No, you can't do this!" I still wanted to cut her in two. But Oghren had helped us out so much. It was only right that I try…
"Easy, let's calm down a moment," I murmured, heading for her. My weapon was on my back. My hands were up to show I wasn't armed. She didn't know about the mother's dagger in my boot. I was safe, but I seemed… less threatening, I hoped. "Paragon Branka, if we can just talk…"
"There is nothing to talk about!" I could think of a lot, and you were already fraying my nerves, so by all that is holy…! "Look at it!" She pointed towards what I assumed was the Anvil, stationed on a hanging cliff. "Look at all of it! See how worth it everything was?" Uh… no. No, I thought of Hespith, I thought of the dwarf who became that broodmother, and I could not see how anything was worth that! "The Anvil is everything I thought it would be, and-" I'M NOT HEARING ONE MORE WORD!
"No it wasn't worth it!" I HAD ENOUGH! "The end doesn't always justify the means!"
"Fine talk from a warden!" So what?!
"I'm a city elf!" The words cracked through the air. My temper was lost, but I burned with the anger. It wasn't like at the estate, when Shianni, Nesiara, and the others had been kidnapped. I… wasn't afraid of this. Not this time. "My people have always been on the wrong end of the 'end justifies the means'!" Elves were always 'acceptable losses'. Elves were always the 'sacrifice' when one was called. "You want to sacrifice the one to save the many? Sacrifice yourself, not those who gave you their lives!"
"But can you not hear it?!" She sounded so desperate. "The Anvil! It speaks with a thousand voices, begging to be used again!"
"That's the thousand of voices screaming as their sacrifice led to nothing!"
"The dead? You think that…?" She shook her head almost violently. "No! It's the Anvil, wanting to be used!" …Did she snap because she was crushed by the weight of her decision? Snap because she became desperate to make the deaths 'worth it'?
"Think clearly." Take a deep breath. Keep calm. I could do this. I could make her see it. Now that I understood, I could… "Ask yourself where the power comes from. You just heard it."
"Some… some imitation!" She snarled at Caridin. "That thing is not Caridin! Caridin was a genius, the best of us all! He would never turn on his invention! He never made mistakes!" Hero-worship and guilt. It cracked her. "Orzammar can be saved only with the Anvil!"
"No, it can be saved in other ways." I gestured to Caridin. "He is willing to die to see the Anvil destroyed. That must tell you the truth, if nothing else."
"But… but…!" She shook her head. "The voices, they call…" Cracked her. Shattered her. "Hespith… she tried to say, but I… she told me lies, betrayed me, so I…" Betrayed her too. "No, I just didn't listen. I didn't want to listen." She gave me a smile as broken as Hespith's, right before she jumped. "The Anvil… has to be destroyed. It's an abomination. My hope… is answered with nothing." I… "Tell them I died. Tell them I died in the Deep Roads." Huh?! "After all, the Branka who made the journey, the Branka who loved Hespith, the Branka who married and loved Oghren… she died a long time ago." Her smile turned almost sweet as she turned to Oghren. "Try and find some happiness in the mess, okay? You're stubborn and strong. You'll be all right." Hold on a moment. "Goodbye."
And she stepped back, leaning off the edge. Automatically, I lunged forward, trying to catch her. I saw Cleon do the same next to me, reaching for her too. He actually brushed her hand. But she pulled it back and smiled, bright and cheerful.
And then she fell. I could only stare in shock as I heard the 'splash' below.
"And so the Anvil claims one last life…" I turned to look at Caridin. It was clear, by his tone, that he thought Branka's death was his fault, solely. But a brief glance at Cleon, staring at his hand, staring at the hand that almost had her… that told me Cleon blamed himself. And a look at Oghren told me he blamed himself, face crumbled as if to cry, but too battered and broken to remember how. "I wish no mention of it had made it into history," he continued quietly, staring at the spot where Branka had been. "Shale, I thank you and your companions. I am pleased to see your strength of will remains."
"I don't know what to say," Shale murmured. Still, it nodded. "Thank you."
"Please, do not thank me. I made an observation, nothing more." My addled mind was seriously wondering if, when they were dwarves, Caridin and Shayle had something going on. Of course, there was no way in flames I could ask. "It is I who should thank you. Finally, this will all end." Right. "Stranger, will you?"
"Yes, I'll do it," I volunteered. I had the overwhelming urge to punch something. "I'll destroy it."
"Thank you…" I think, if he could, he'd be crying from relief. "Is there any boon I can offer you?" Uh…
"Oghren, you decide." Oghren looked at me like I was insane. "Yes, I'm bonkers. You pick anyway."
"Weirdo," Oghren immediately deadpanned. It actually got a laugh out of the group. "Don't suppose you could bring back everyone, Caridin?" …Ah… "Branka, Hespith… everyone?" Caridin shook his head. "Yeah, I figured. Thought I'd ask anyway." Oghren sighed. "I don't want anything. Best to just let this all end." Oghren… "But there still is the election." Oh. Right. That.
"For the aid you have given me, I will put my hammer to steel one last time. A crown to give to your chosen king." …Wait. Wait hold on, who said anything about us picking a king?! I mean… okay, yes, he couldn't come back with us, but…
Of course, there was no protesting. There couldn't be. Caridin went up to the Anvil and started hammering, working on the crown just as he promised. Feeling drained beyond belief, I sat down on the ground and debating sprawling, or even just passing out. I only didn't because someone sat behind me, pressing their back to mine, propping me up. A quick glance back proved the person had pale hair, and bronze skin, so I knew it was Zevran. And I simply relaxed against him, closing my eyes and letting him take some of the weight off me. I was dead tired. I really was.
Maybe we should have had everyone come to Orzammar. I could only hope the others were fine hunting down the Sacred Ashes. But, knowing us, they had probably fallen into far too much trouble.
Clanging footsteps made me open my eyes, and I saw Caridin had returned. To my infinite surprise, there was a golden crown in his hands, almost comically small in comparison. Did he forge it that fast? Or had I rested longer than I thought, or felt.
"Here, young warrior," Caridin murmured as he passed the crown to Oghren. I noticed it looked much more 'normal' in Oghren's hands. "If any ask, I signed it with House Ortan, as I am prouder of my mother than I am of myself." Uh… no idea. Going to just smile and nod. "Give it to whom you will. It is time for the dead to finally rest." I… "Stranger…"
"What do I need to do?" I asked, even as I pushed myself up and followed him up the path. I saw the blue veins in the metal anvil. Was that lyrium? Was that how he managed it all? Combining lyrium enchantment with steel working? "Just hit it?" What really startled me was how tiny it was. How normal. This was what thousands died for.
"Yes, as hard as you can." Well, I can do that. "Go on." Caridin stepped to the side, letting me step to it. "Don't hold back."
"Right." Taking a breath, I unsheathed my greatsword, brought it high above my head, and swung down. The clang was loud and echoed, and I closed my eyes at the bright light that erupted from the Anvil. I heard something shatter, and felt something bite into my hands, wrists, and arms.
When the light cleared, and the smoke settled, I realized what had shattered. My greatsword. It had broken from the backlash. Well, the trip back was going to be fun. Not.
"You have my eternal thanks." I turned to Caridin, and saw him by the edge. I reached out with my bleeding hand, but paused. I… "Atrast nal tunsha," he whispered, turning just enough to look at me. "May you always find your way in the dark."
And with those words, that hopeful and startingly reassuring prayer, Caridin fell.
I looked over the edge, watched until he disappeared, and then turned away. I felt way too drained for this. Three suicides. Three suicides, in what felt like both too long and too short of a time. All because of this damn Anvil.
I would never submit to that mentality. Any time I tried, I would remember this. I would remember all of this, and I would stay the course.
"You. Warden." I looked up and saw Shale waiting for me at the bottom. I had made it there without realizing it. "Over there," it said, pointing to some stone carving. "There are names." Names? "Those who were made into golems." Oh. "…Will you…?"
"We'll make a record," I whispered. I thought it smiled. "Just let me get some paper and pen." I glanced at the others, noting how drained they all looked. "Won't take but a moment."
Honor the lost. Honor the sacrificed. Honor the ones who were sacrificed for the many. That… was all we could do, now.
I just wanted to get out of the Deep Roads as fast as possible. I needed a very, very long sleep.
Author's Notes: So… I hate Branka. A lot. A lot, a lot. But you can talk her out of the anvil. You have to side with her first, though, so I shifted how/when it happens. Yes, if you do this, she will jump off. There is no way to destroy the Anvil and keep her alive.
I decided to throw in the convo with Cleon and Aiden for more character development, and relationship development. Because fun!
Caridin believing the Chantry's version of how the darkspawn came, and the process of golem making, comes from his journal, available as a codex.
Leliana and Wynne approve by siding with Caridin. Oghren disapproves (as can be expected), as well as Morrigan and Zevran, though the disapproval can be limited by a successful persuasion. It broke flow to insert the comments, but I wanted to keep the nods in (I will likely have Morrigan and Zevran discuss it with Aiden and/or Cleon later). Sten seems to have no opinion change no matter which side is picked, though he does mock you for siding with Branka.
Next Chapter – Kolgrim with Nuada. And dragons.
