"Before us stands the might of the darkspawn horde. Gaze upon them now, but fear them not. Those standing with me are Grey Wardens. They have survived, despite the odds, and without them, none of us would be here!" Alistair gestured to Saitada. "The Warden Commander was not born to Ferelden, but she fights with honor and passion. Today, we save Denerim! Today, we avenge the death of my brother, King Cailan! But most of all, today we show the Grey Wardens that we remember and honor their sacrifice. For Ferelden! For the Grey Wardens!"
The army charged. The arrows of the Dalish hunters crashed into the darkspawn ahead of the charging humans and dwarves. As the armies clashed, the hunters focused their fire on the darkspawn emissaries and archers on the heights, preventing them from raining death on the soldiers.
And then the gate was theirs.
#
"You've managed to fight your way to the gates. We're doing better than I hoped."
"Bloody nug runners! We're outnumbered three to one!" Oghren shook his head.
"Bah, you say that like we haven't had worse odds," Brosca said.
Riordan shook his head. "The army will not last long, so we'll need to move quickly to reach the archdemon." He looked around. "We're going to need to reach a high point in the city... I'm thinking the top of Fort Drakon might work."
"Draw the dragon's attention," Saitada nodded.
"We have little choice, though I warn you that as soon as we engage the beast it will call all its generals to help it."
"Brehan?" Saitada said, turning to him.
He closed his eyes. "Two. One is in the market, near the Chantry. The other is in the alienage. The market doesn't have a lot of spawn, but those it does have are ogres. There are also ogres between us and Fort Drakon, as well as a fair number of emissaries."
"Seeking them out will be wise," Loghain said. "Not to mention killing them will help the civilians still in Denerim."
"Jerath, take Loghain, Morrigan, and Shale, and deal with the one in the Alienage. Sten, you've got Oghren and Wynne. Hold the gates. Brehan, I need your ears. Take Leliana and get Riordan past the spawn. We'll keep the pressure up on the generals, give you a clear line. The rest of you are with me."
#
Cathiel didn't want to think about it, but there was a very real chance this was goodbye. Wynne smiled at her. "All that we've been through has led up to this. Whatever happens now, to any of us, know that I am proud, infinitely proud, to have called you my friends. May the maker watch over you."
Oghren nodded. "So this is it."
"It's been an honor to fight with you, Oghren," Saitada told him.
He shook his head. "Honor? Nobody's looked at me and seen honor in a long time, Warden. You took in a drunken disgrace of an Orzammar warrior. You gave me a reason to fight and the will to keep going. Hell, those two birds even helped me find the one woman in the sodding world who might put up with me. I owe you a lot. I consider it a find honor to die for you and your cause." He put both hands on his axe. "Let the stone turn red from the blood of heroes. Today I will be the warrior you taught me to be."
"I would almost say that I feel concern for something other than myself, even maybe for certain soft, squishy companions... but that would be silly, wouldn't it?"
"It's scandalous to even consider the notion," Lenore said.
"I know! Please do not tell anyone. I doubt I could blush, but it would be so awkward." She shook her massive head. "And... do try not to get swallowed whole. If the beast were to fly about afterwards and poop it out, irony would dictate that it would land on me. I couldn't take it."
"You have carried us this far," Sten said, looking at Saitada. "Do not doubt that."
"Alright, people. We have a job to do." She drew her sword. "It won't be easy. But as a smart ass elf once said, if it was easy, someone else would do it. Let's move."
Alistair caught Cathiel's hand. "So this could be it. Soon this will be finished, one way or another."
"I love you, Alistair."
"And I love you. Always." He kissed her. She held him for a moment. On the other side of the field, she saw Brehan and Leliana doing the same thing. Beside them, Brosca, Lenore, and Zevran kept touching each other's hands. Jerath was already moving towards the alienage. She took a breath, and followed Saitada.
#
Brosca and Zevran moved almost as a single being. The dwarf would hamstring the ogre, while the elf would come in high, slashing at the throat as the ogre fell. Cathiel kept up a stream of arrows, retrieving as they moved. She saw Saitada take an ogre's hand off at the wrist before disemboweling it. And at the back of their group, Lenore rained lightening down, taking advantage of the storm that was starting to rage above them.
Now and then they found guards, still fighting the good fight, but most were fleeing alongside the panicked civilians.
Lenore only barely managed to counter the spell the general threw at them. She gritted her teeth. "Move, I can't hold it long."
Alistair charged. He slammed his shield into the darkspawn's face. It tried to hit him with it's staff, and he broke the staff with a blow from his sword. It threw fire at him, and he blocked it with his shield before bringing his sword down. The head fell to the ground, and rolled. Cathiel saw the ogre baring down on him, and put an arrow in it's eye. It fell, and Alistair turned, and brought his sword down to finish the thing off.
Around them, cheers started to go up. She even heard a few cheering the name of King Alistair, and saw a look of wonder cross her beloved's face.
Zevran and Brosca were supporting Lenore. She dug a lyrium potion out of her belt pouch, and drank it. Then she took a second. Saitada gave her a worried look. "Lenore?"
Lenore's face was calm, almost serene. "Let's finish this, Commander."
#
Jerath moved through the alienage. He could sense the darkspawn at the other end. As he entered the square, he saw Shianni marshaling defenders. He caught a look of stunned surprise on Loghain's face as the elves prepared to hold their homes, some armed with no more than shovels.
"Cousin...?" Shianni's face broke into a wide smile. "Oh, am I glad to see you! The alienage is under attack." She pointed. "There is a large group of darkspawn approaching and the gates won't hold! We need your help."
"That's why we are here," Jerath said.
"Then we will stand with you." She held up her bow, her eyes determined. "This is our home and we're not going to let it fall."
"We're with you!" Other voices called out.
"Tell us what to do," Shianni said as she fell into step beside him. "And we'll fight for as long as we can."
"Put your archers on the roofs. When the gate falls, draw them back there, to the choke point." He smiled. "Shale, hold that point. Keep them off the archers. You, you, and you, if you don't have bows, throw rocks. You four, hold the stairs to the towers. Morrigan, I want you up in the tower there. Focus on weakening their lines. Loghain, you're with me."
Shianni blinked and gave Loghain a disbelieving look. Then she laughed. "You heard what he said! Come on!"
He moved to the gate, Loghain a pace behind. Loghain shook his head. "Maker, I actually think they'll hold."
"Of course they'll hold," Jerath said. "They are my people. Focus on the big ones."
"Yes, ser," Loghain said. Jerath glanced at him, and the man smiled.
#
She told him to hold the gates. He would have preferred to have the beresaad behind him. The humans had uncertain looks on their faces. Next to him, the dwarf stood, his axe in hand. The mage... odd how he no longer thought of her as saarebas... stood to one side, out of the way but prepared to render aid. The girl had left her hound with the order to guard Wynne, and the hound stood firm, prepared to fill it's role. After Saitada and Jerath, he thought he liked the hound best.
Asala was in his hand. She told him to hold the gates. The first wave came.
#
Brehan tracked the movements. "We need to to up. Over the roofs."
Riordan nodded. He grabbed hold of the sign over the merchant's door, and used it to pull himself up. Brehan held his linked hands for Leliana, then hoisted her up before pulling himself up after. He nodded, and moved, knowing they would follow.
They leaped from roof to roof. Brehan left his hammer in the back sheath, returning to the long bow. They attacked only when needed, to prevent attention from being drawn to them.
He jumped to the next roof, then caught Riordan's hand as the man nearly fell. "There is an army between us and the gate of Drakon." He narrowed his eyes, then looked at Riordan. "How are you at mountain climbing?"
#
Saitada sent Brosca, Lenore, and Zevran down one alley, and gestured for Cathiel and Alistair to follow her down the other. They cleared the emissaries as they went, creating a path for civilians to flee and soldiers to enter. Seeing their king fighting for them seemed to give the people hope. Now and then she saw civilians pick up the weapons of the fallen and join the fight, holding the darkspawn back so that others could flee.
A boy, no more than ten, stood with a sword in his hand, while two little girls tried to pull a toddler to safety. A genlock charged, and then Alistair was there, his shield between the darkspawn and the children. A heartbeat later, there were a dozen guards there, fighting alongside their king, as other civilians got the children to safety.
More darkspawn started to charge, and then a storm exploded in their midst. Saitada looked past them to see Lenore. Her hair stood out around her like a corona as she held her staff high, calling lightning down among the shrieks.
"Wow," Cathiel said.
Saitada grinned. "Come on, people. Let's not keep the archdemon waiting."
#
The gate fell. He fought back to back with Loghain. The human used his shield as a weapon as he laid about with his blade. Jerath spun, sword in one hand, axe in the other. Morrigan's spells fell among the darkspawn, holding them in place for the arrows of the elven archers.
Only a few hurlocks got past them. None of those got past the fists of Shale. "There," Jerath said. "The general."
"Let me guess," Loghain said. "He's the one behind the three ogres."
"It's far to late for you to die young, Loghain. Give me a boost?"
Loghain looked at him, then smiled. He dropped to one knee, holding his shield. Jerath leapt, landing on the shield, and Loghain lifted as the elf jumped again, going over the heads of the ogres. He rolled, came up on his feet, and drove the blade into the heart of the general. The firestorm the beast had been gathering dissipated.
He turned as the ogres did. Loghain drove his sword through the back of the first as Jerath came at the second. Shianni gave an order, and the third began to grow a garden of arrows as stones seemed to strike it from every angle.
Shale strode forward, lifted a fist, and smashed the last genlock to the ground in a splash of blood and gore.
Jerath cast his senses. "That's all of..." He blinked. "Shianni, get them under cover, go."
"You heard him," Shianni shouted.
Loghain shook his head. It was coming. "The other side of the bridge."
"Shale, move," Jerath yelled, and they turned to run.
The golem had barely made it to the other side when the fire hit the bridge, obliterating it. The archdemon roared a challenge as it climbed again.
A raven circled Jerath, then landed to become Morrigan. "We have drawn it's attention."
"To Fort Drakon," Jerath ordered. "Time to kill a god."
#
The dwarf may have been a drunk. He made have been crude. But she told him to hold the gates. And the dwarf did. The humans rallied to them, shield and blade. For a moment, he was back with his brothers, in the heart of Seheron.
An ogre fell. No more came. She told him to hold the gates, and the gates held. A cheer went up among the defenders. Slowly, a smile spread across his face. There were no humans among the dead. They'd held.
"Shall I send word that the gates are secured?" a human asked.
"For the moment, yes," Sten told him.
"Right away."
It was up to the wardens now.
#
Brehan gave Riordan a hand up. The other warden nodded. Leliana looked out over the city. "Maker, look at them all."
He cast out his senses, then smiled. "The generals are down. The others are on their way."
"There," Riordan said. The archdemon was coming their way. Riordan adjusted his grip on his blades, and started to run. As the archdemon passed, he leaped.
Brehan unlimbered the hammer from his back. "Ma'arlath?"
"Vhenan?" she said, turning to him.
"Do you know how to work a ballista?"
#
She saw the figure fall from the back of the archdemon. For a moment, she hated herself for hoping it was Riordan, and not Brehan. Whoever it had been, their sacrifice had not been in vain. The archdemon faltered, and landed atop the fort.
"It's down. Let's go," Saitada said.
#
The darkspawn pressed them back, away from the gate. Lenore staggered, and fumbled for her belt pouch as the emissary gathered another spell. Saitada glanced towards Cathiel, and realized the woman was armed with long knives, having run out of arrows. Fire began to gather, and then the emissary's head was rolling across the floor. She saw a familiar figure standing behind it.
"Shale, get that gate open," Jerath ordered. "Morrigan, the archers."
Loghain stood next to the elf, shield at the ready. The darkspawn turned towards them, moving in. An anvil.
The gate opened. Saitada smiled. Time to bring the hammer.
#
Zevran and Brosca made short work of the traps. Cathiel had retrieved additional arrows, and Saitada almost absently noted that Alistair was carrying a few extra quivers. Lenore and Morrigan were both downing lyrium potions.
"It's on the roof," Saitada said. "It's not alone. There are darkspawn with it now, and more on the way."
"I saw someone fall," Lenore said.
"Riordan," Jerath said.
"You sure?" Saitada asked.
Jerath nodded. "We... saw him land."
"He brought it down," Alistair said. "We have a chance."
"We are almost to the roof," Saitada said. "The Blight ends here."
#
"So we head to the end together, as it should be." Morrigan looked at him. "Once this is done, no matter how it turns out I will be gone. You are aware of this, yes?"
"Then let me thank you now, for what you have done."
Unshed tears shown in her eyes. "There is far more I might have done for you, had this been another time and we... been different people." She drew a breath. "Allow me to say only one thing before we go. I was foolish. This could have been so much easier, yet I... cannot regret what was between us." She met his eyes. "I will always remember you... my love."
"You know where to find me."
She smiled. "Let us see this finally done. The archdemon awaits."
They started up the stairs. Loghain fell into step next to him, and met his eyes. In a quiet voice, he said, "it was an honor to fight at your side, however briefly."
"The fight is not over yet."
#
He no longer worried about finding specific targets for the hammer. His swings now were merely to keep them back. Leliana loaded another bolt into the ballista. The three previous shots had bounced off the archdemon's hide, but they had served to keep the beast from trying to retake the air.
The door opened. He saw the others pour onto the roof. The hammer knocked a hurlock over the edge. Those at the base of the stairs began to turn, heading towards the others.
"Vhenan?"
"Keep firing. If it takes off, he died for nothing."
She shifted the aim, and fired.
#
Cathiel saw the ballista bolt catch the archdemon's wing as it turned to face them. She spared only a glance for its source. Leliana and Brehan were still in the fight.
"Cathiel, Lenore, Morrigan, take the heights. Shale, hold those stairs. Zevran, Brosca, go left. Jerath, Loghain, go right. Alistair, with me." Saitada began moving forward.
The darkspawn tried to rally to protect their master. Many fell before they even reached the blades of the wardens, as the arrows and spells of the others rained down. Tendrils of dark energy snared darkspawn and flung them from the heights as Morrigan unleashed her spells. Fire swept through their ranks, as Lenore brought forth an inferno. And then, the way was clear. She saw another ballista bolt fire as the archdemon attempted to launch itself at them. The beast roared in frustration.
They hit it almost simultaneously, using wolfpack tactics. When it turned its attention to one group, the other two groups hit it with everything they had. Cathiel saw Loghain standing alone, and realized with a start that Jerath had once again jumped atop something big enough to swallow him whole.
It moved too much for him to climb the neck. He drove his blade instead into its shoulder, and it staggered, lamed. He tumbled lightly to the ground landing on his feet. It turned towards him, enraged, and Alistair took the opportunity to drive his blade into in beneath its other shoulder. He had to move backwards, quickly, only barely managing to get his shield up in time as it started to breath fire. Saitada moved in front of him, bringing her own shield to form a wall.
That's when Zevran and Brosca hit it from underneath, driving their blades into it. Their daggers weren't long enough to pierce vital organs, but the beast nearly swallowed the breath it was spewing at Alistair and Saitada. It roared and leapt backwards, spreading its wings as it reared. And a ballista bolt hit it in the stomach.
It fell.
#
Saitada looked at the archdemon, struggling to rise. She glanced back at her fellow wardens, panting with their exertions.
Loghain was the first to speak. "Let..."
Jerath didn't bother with words. He was moving before Saitada had a chance to react. "Jerath!" Loghain lunged forward, trying to grab the elf, but he did not move quickly enough.
Light exploded out of the archdemon as Jerath's blade penetrated its skull. Jerath held the sword as it shook, his own body seemingly vibrating with the energy flowing out. Saitada closed her eyes, unwilling to watch him die.
Silence.
She opened her eyes. The archdemon's remains were there on the rooftop, a ring of what appeared to be soot surrounding them. And there, standing in the rain, Jerath, sheathing his blade as though it were just another ordinary kill.
Below, she could see the darkspawn starting to flee, the people starting to cheer. And Jerath, rising and walking back to his companions.
"Jerath?"
"Yes?"
"What just happened?"
"The archdemon is dead."
"And you are alive."
He shrugged. "There are many mysteries in the world, Commander." He turned, and walked away. As he did, he looked up. She saw a raven winging its way to the south.