Author's note: Edward is tall. He's not much shorter than Sten, something of a rarity amongst humans. I found an old ruler that had imperial measurements, and it looks like 5 to 6 inches in the old style or 13-15cm is about how much taller I want him over Alistair.

Nereid will feature more as the story progresses but the main focus is still Edward.

When I was doing the battle parts, I subconsciously made Eddie a southpaw (as I am).

Part 2

Duncan, Nereid and Edward rode through Ostagar into the main army's camp for Edward to drop his supplies with the camp supply officer. As they were getting their equipment from the back of the cart, Duncan said to Edward "when you have finished with the supply officer, come and find me over at the Grey Warden camp. Any of the guards should be able to direct you there."

Edward nodded, saying "I shouldn't be too long, perhaps an hour" gesturing at his load of goods.

Nereid gave him a grin and said "see you later", then walked alongside Duncan as he picked his way back out to the King's camp. As the pair approached the Grey Warden camp, they were approached by a group led by a man in impressive burnished gold armour. Nereid discovered that the leader was none other than the King of Ferelden, Cailan. Nereid was a bit taken aback by his politeness, and stammered out her name when asked, and informed his highness that yes, she was Dalish.

Duncan addressed the king "Your majesty, I have a second recruit who is over with the supply officer. He's a former soldier of your father's, a captain from Alamar."

"One of the siege survivors?"

"Yes, your majesty. His name is Edward Lennox."

"I can't recall the name, but that siege finished just before I took the throne. But they are a hearty group, he should do well as a warden."

Duncan bowed and the King took his leave to make some more preparations for the upcoming battle. Looking towards Nereid, he said "while we wait for Edward, you can wander around the camp as you like. There are two other recruits and some Grey Wardens about."

Nereid nodded and said "I'll be over by the kennels, Duncan." So saying the elf wandered off to see the Mabari in their kennels. She soon fell into conversation with the kennel master about the mabari, darkspawn and treating sick animals.

Edward, meanwhile, had negotiated a very favourable rate for his supplies. Duncan was right, the army was in need of material supplies as well as manpower. He was even able to get a rider to take his cart back to Lothering, however he was not due to leave until the next morning. Edward went to the front rail of his cart, a solid wooden beam that ran under the seats. At the right hand side, he felt underneath and released a cleverly disguised button, which ejected a small box. He filled the box with a coin pouch, then packed the sides with straw to stop it from rattling. Then he placed the box back in its' hiding spot and clicked the button shut. Making sure the cache was well hidden from prying eyes, he collected his personal supplies from the cart and gave each of his horses a couple of apples as well as a good solid pat down their necks. He double checked their stabling was up to scratch, then picked up his packs and headed towards the gate into the kings' camp.

The gate guard told him the general layout of the camp. Straight ahead was the infirmary, kept well out of the way of the main camp (bad for morale, you see). A small chapel there appeared to have a few devotees, and hanging alongside was a crow cage with some poor bastard inside awaiting his fate. Further in there was a quartermaster, the mages camp and the kennels. Rounding out the camp were the tents for the Wardens, flanked by Loghain's and the King's tents. A group of Ash warriors were preparing for a scouting run in the wilds close to the camp exit. *

*Author's note: Edward is coming in from the Army camp, not across the bridge as per usual. That might make the directions seem a little different.

Edward wandered into the main camp, skirting past the infirmary and down a ramp to see the quartermaster. The quartermaster was a gruff fellow, but happily fell into conversation with Edward when he began asking about the various bits and pieces he had. Edward made a few purchases and then sketched a salute to the quartermaster, turning on his heel and heading towards the Grey Warden campsite. He spotted Nereid talking to the kennel master, and went over to the pair. Nereid saw him approach, and said "Edward, they use these Mabari here like soldiers! This one here is injured, but the kennel master here has told me how to help him."

Edward raised his eyebrows to hear so much coming from the normally quiet elf. "What do you need?" he asked the kennel master.

"There's a particular flower that grows in the wilds. Your friend here has promised to have a look for them if you go there."

"That's fine, however I don't know exactly what we're to do yet" said Edward. "I'm going to head back to Duncan, you coming?" he asked Nereid.

Nereid nodded, and with a brief wave to the kennel master, she fell into step with Edward. Duncan was writing up some reports when they arrived, and he looked up from the paperwork to them. "Ahh, Edward, how did your arrangements go with the supplies?"

"They went very well Duncan. I arranged for the cart to be taken back to Lothering tomorrow morning."

"Good. With that settled, here is what I need you to do. Find a Grey Warden by the name of Alistair, and if you see the two recruits about, send them back here. The recruits names are Daveth and Jory."

"What does Alistair look like?" asked Nereid.

"He is about my height, blonde short hair, he will have a shield with a sun on his back" said Duncan.

"We'll find him" said Edward, moving back in the direction they had come from. Nereid walked alongside, but soon stopped as she saw a group of mages performing some bizarre ritual off to the right. A gaggle of templars were glaring at the mages and presumably stopping anyone too curious from interrupting. A lone mage was resting against a tree outside the camp. Nereid approached her and said "hello."

The mage looked at the pair, returning the greeting. She introduced herself as Wynne, a senior mage. After exchanging pleasantries she quizzed the pair about the darkspawn and the link to the fade. Not entirely sure what she was driving at, Edward simply said that he'd just gut any darkspawn he saw, and that was good enough for him. Nereid nodded agreement, and Wynne appeared satisfied by this answer. They took their leave from Wynne and made their way up a couple of ramps to the lookout.

They saw a pair of men in a heated argument. One was obviously a mage, his robes indicating his profession. He was rather chubby and was growing redder as the pair approached. The other man matched Duncan's description of Alistair, so they waited while the argument wound down to its' conclusion. The mage, fed up with the Warden, spun around and walked towards the recruits. "Out of the way, fools" he snarled. Angry as he was, the mage recognised that Edward was probably not going to move, so he sidestepped around him, muttering curses under his breath.

Edward looked at the blonde man, saying "Alistair?"

"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" asked Alistair.

"I am Edward, and this is Nereid. Duncan sent us to find you" said Edward.

"Duncan mentioned a Dalish recruit, but he didn't say anything about another one" said Alistair, looking up at the taller man. "Sweet Andraste, this man is a giant! He's got to be at least five inches taller than me" he thought.

"Edward was only recruited yesterday, so Duncan wouldn't have had time to get a message to you" said Nereid.

"That makes sense. You made good time, we weren't expecting you until tomorrow afternoon" said Alistair. "Have you met the other two recruits?" he asked.

Both Edward and Nereid shook their heads.

"Let's go find them, then head back to Duncan" said Alistair.

Daveth was close by, trying and failing to chat up a pretty blonde soldier near the quartermaster's camp. As the soldier stalked off, Daveth turned around to see the trio. "Well, Alistair. Who are these two?" he asked.

"Daveth, meet Nereid and Edward" said Alistair, indicating each in turn.

"Nice to meet you" he said, eyeing Nereid up and down with a smirk. "So you're here to join the famous Grey Wardens as well? Things are looking up" he grinned.

"Yes, they have started to choose based on talent, not the closest shem on hand" sniped Nereid.

"Well you have to give him points for bravery" muttered Edward. "Where do we find the other recruit - what was his name again? Jamie? Jordan?" he asked.

"Jory is his name, and he's up with the priestess near the infirmary" said Daveth. "I'll go wait over with Duncan. See you later" he said, taking a last look at Nereid before sauntering off towards the Grey Warden camp. The recruits, led by Alistair, walked up to the chapel where a small group of soldiers and knights were taking blessings from a Chantry Priestess. Alistair moved ahead and tapped one of the knights on the shoulder. He turned and gave a nod to Alistair.

"Ser Jory, these are the other new recruits, Nereid and Edward" he said, indicating the pair as he had for Daveth.

Jory looked at the pair, saying "Edward, you have the bearing of a man who knows how to fight. If I may ask, were you a soldier before you came here?"

"Sixteen years under the belt. I have been recalled, so to speak."

"And you are from the Dalish clans, my lady?" he asked Nereid.

Nereid smirked at Jory and nodded in agreement.

"You both obviously impressed Duncan, and that's enough for me" said Jory, bowing slightly towards Nereid.

The group walked back to Duncan's campfire where Daveth was waiting with Duncan. Seeing the recruits assembled, Duncan addressed them. "Now that you are all here, I can tell you about the task I have for you to do. In order to become Wardens, you will need to undergo a ritual called the Joining. Part of that ritual requires the blood of darkspawn. Alistair has some small vials, and I want you to each collect one full vial of darkspawn blood. And that means one darkspawn each, not draining the first one you see" he added. Duncan looked at his charges and continued "there is a second task I want you to perform while we are here. Of old there was a Grey Warden fortress out in the wilds. Inside the fortress there was a magically sealed chest, and within the chest some scrolls. These scrolls are treaties signed with the Grey Wardens, promising aid in the event of a blight. They should be useful in the days to come. You are to find these scrolls and return them to me, along with your vials of blood."

Duncan looked at the recruits again, seeing the differing reactions on each face. "Any questions?" he asked.

There was no answer, so he nodded towards Alistair "then you should be off as soon as you can, in order to make the most of the day" he said.

Daveth and Jory wandered off to get their packs, while Alistair hoisted his shield off and began adjusting his equipment for travelling. Edward flicked his packs over his shoulder and rummaged around in the topmost one, bringing out some items. He stood up and handed Nereid a quiver with arrows in it, and a deep green cloak. She looked up at him in surprise, saying "oh ma serannas, Edward, thank you so much!"

The elf unslung her bow and carefully pinned the cloak in place, before re-slinging her bow and hanging the quiver over her other shoulder. Edward gave a brief grin, and put on a mottled grey cloak he had bought for himself. He pulled his packs back together and hoisted them up, then hung his shield on the pack. Jory and Daveth moved up and the group of five left Duncan's fire and walked to the South gate.

Kocari Wilds.

Edward led the group deeper into the Kocari Wilds. The twisting path had already taken them into a couple of brief skirmishes with the wildlife. Daveth was nearly bitten by a snake close to where the group had found an injured soldier. They had patched up the soldier and he had informed them that darkspawn had jumped his patrol, killing all but him. Perhaps they were saving him for later or they didn't notice him, he couldn't say which. This confirmed to Edward that they were on the right track. They surprised a small group of darkspawn not long after that, and when the dust had settled there were six darkspawn corpses and not even a scratch on the wardens. Alistair handed out the vials for the darkspawn blood. Daveth knelt down to drain the closest darkspawn of some blood. He grunted in surprise and beckoned Alistair over. "Look at this! I never seen anything like this before. The wound is dry - how can that be, it's not been dead two minutes?"

Alistair knelt down and examined the corpse. Sure enough, the neck wound which had killed it was now coated with a greasy layer of semi-dried blood. Nereid and Edward had rolled over one of Nereid's fallen darkspawn, shot through the heart with so much force that the arrow head had left a bulge in the rear of the darkspawn's armour. Edward drew a dagger and slit the darkspawn's jugular artery while Nereid pressed the vial in towards the wound. The thick vile liquid flowed sluggishly into the vial. It was full eventually, but Edward had to sit on the darkspawns' chest to pump the blood out.

"So their blood clots extra fast" said Edward. "What a pain in the arse. So even though we have killed more than enough, we can't bleed them unless we're practically using our vials in combat."

"It would appear that way. This one I beheaded here, the neck stump has sealed already" added Jory.

"Well there's going to be more to kill. If we run out of luck we can string them up from a tree and bleed them like a butcher does. It's pretty disgusting but it might be the only way" said Edward.

Calling a short break an hour later, Edward sat down on a decaying log near a brackish puddle. He had had some time to observe his travelling companions. He certainly couldn't fault Duncan in his selection criteria. Each member was solid in combat, even the timid Jory was powerful and accurate in battle. Daveth was still eyeing off the attractive blonde elf Nereid, but he concentrated during combat and was a demon with his dual blades. Nereid's archery was accurate and efficient. The wolves had given her no trouble whatsoever. Edward thought that living closer to the land than any of the humans, she would have had to deal with wolves from time to time. Finally there was Alistair. He was a competent warrior, and having a second shield user present meant that if Alistair was on his right, Edward didn't have to worry too much about that flank. As a left hander, Edward and Alistair's shields would form a formidable barrier side by side. All in all things were looking good.

Nereid plopped herself down beside Edward, munching on an apple. Edward grabbed a water skin and washed off the dried blood on his hands, then took a drink. He rummaged in his pack and found a chunk of cheese and a few apples. Slicing off a wedge, he passed it to Nereid. Nereid thanked him, taking a bite of the cheese. Alistair knelt down opposite the pair, eyeing the cheesey package. Slicing off a decent piece for himself, he passed the cheese to Alistair and said "here, Alistair. Make sure you leave some for the other two."

"Cheese and apples. Yum. All we're missing now is some crusty bread and mulled wine, and this could be rather pleasant" he grinned.

"Ignoring the fact that we're all covered in darkspawn guts, I'd agree" said Edward.

"I'd settle for a hot bath" said Nereid. "But the wine is a good idea" she added with a grin.

"I would happily share a bath with you. Maybe I could scrub your back?" said Daveth.

Nereid tossed her apple core at Daveth, giggling as it hit him on the forehead with a wet splat.

After the group had eaten their food, they gathered their packs and walked further into the wilds. The path was getting harder to follow the further in they travelled. As they approached a small hill, Nereid noticed something out of the corner of her eye. The kennel master at the camp had told her of a kind of flower that grew out here. She was sure this was it. Peeling from the group, she reached out and plucked three or four of the blooms, then wrapped them in a rag and stashed them in her pack.

Edward tensed as he saw Alistair unsheathe his sword and equip his shield. He motioned up ahead, just on the far side of an old log bridge. Edward could make out some rough barriers that had been thrown up by the darkspawn. They had filled three blood vials, they only needed one more, then collect the treaties and they could get out of this place. He drew his axe and readied his shield, indicating for Daveth to scout ahead with Nereid. Jory unslung his broadsword and waited between Edward and Alistair. Daveth snuck forwards to the left, sidestepping the bridge as he saw that Nereid had moved to the right between the bridge and a large fallen column. Daveth saw some figures up ahead, and signalled Nereid to wait there. She nodded and dropped down behind the column, her cloak making her almost invisible. Daveth quickly made his way back to the trio of warriors and told them of the forces ahead.

"There was nothing near the bridge but archers?" asked Edward.

"That's right. One of those magic guys further back and a couple of the bigger warrior ones with him, plus two or three archers looking over the bridge" said Daveth.

"With archers there they will have traps set on the bridge" said Edward. He thought for a minute and then said "alright we skip the bridge and go along side it. Jory and Alistair go on the right and keep your heads down. The bridge should give you good protection. Daveth you're with me. Get your bow ready" he added.

"Wait, what do we do?" asked Alistair.

"When you see us killing the archers, the other darkspawn will come running. Stop them" said Edward, simply.

Alistair nodded and went to the edge of the bridge with Jory. Edward and Daveth quietly made their way to Nereid. Quickly explaining his idea to her, she nocked an arrow and shuffled over to make room for Daveth. Daveth followed suit, and Edward quietly rolled over the pillar and waded into the stream. He approached on a line with the barriers, crouching as low as his large frame would allow.

The darkspawn archers were not aware of him until he was almost on top of them. Burying his axe in the head of the closest darkspawn, the other two brought their bows to bear to shoot. Edward swivelled the dead darkspawn, still stuck to his axe, around between himself and the archers. Letting the axe go, he drew his sword as the archers fired, hitting their fallen comrade who dropped to the ground like a stone.

Daveth and Nereid took a shot at the archers, but the cover they were behind made the shots very difficult, and succeeded only in grazing a darkspawn's cheek. As the archers reached for new arrows, Edward lunged forwards with his shield edge on, feeling the solid contact as the closest archer caught the full weight in his shoulder. The impact span the darkspawn around and Edward was able to lash out with his sword and split the darkspawn open across the middle, spraying gore onto the ground.

The remaining archer backed off and ran towards the creek, trying to nock an arrow while stumbling on the rocky ground. Daveth and Nereid spotted the easy target in the open and shot true. The darkspawn collapsed with two arrows in its' chest.

Alistair and Jory saw the fight and remained in cover until the other darkspawn began running down the hill to help their soon-to-be dead buddies. Alistair recognised the rearmost of the approaching darkspawn from its elaborate headgear. An emissary. He charged the emissary from the side, hoping to take it out of the equation before it was able to cast any spells. Jory roared and charged at the closest darkspawn, sword drawn and held high. The darkspawn stopped and turned, but it did not have time to raise its shield, as Jory hacked off its' arm and then kicked out at the darkspawn's knee, smashing it like a twig.

Alistair shield bashed the emissary a second time, dazing the monster. He took careful aim and swung at the creature's neck. The emissary was able to partially block Alistair's blow, but there was a lot of force which ended up shattering the emissary's staff. Alistair followed up with a swing at the emissary's legs, knocking it to the ground. With a vicious swipe from the pointed end of his shield, Alistair carved a large canyon in the emissary's head, ending its' spellcasting days.

Edward looked up to see the last darkspawn bearing down on him. It hurdled the barrier, and Edward sidestepped as it landed. He used the flat of his sword to jar the darkspawn's weapon hand, causing it to howl and drop its ugly serrated blade. Swinging wildly with its shield, the darkspawn stretched too far, and Edward brought his full weight in behind a punch with the pommel of his sword. The blow connected and knocked the creature out cold. Judging from the crunches the had heard, Edward guessed that the darkspawn's lower jaw was now something like a leather bag full of gravel.

"Who's got the last vial?" he shouted.

Alistair and Jory came over, Jory bringing the vial out from a pouch. He handed it to Edward, who had flipped the knocked out darkspawn over onto it's chest. Nereid and Daveth came over as Edward slit the unconscious darkspawns' throat, directing the spray into the small vial. He stoppered the full vial and calmly handed it to a slightly greenish looking Alistair. Edward raised one eyebrow, saying "what's the matter Alistair?"

"It just seems a little cold blooded, that's all" he replied.

Edward shrugged "says the man who used his shield to split open a darkspawn's head?" he replied, then used his sword to spear the darkspawn through the heart, making sure it was dead. He retrieved his axe and then led the others to the creek to try to wash off the darkspawn filth from their weapons and armour.

"They stink so much" said Daveth. "It's like they're rotting or something. Smells like rotting meat."

"Yes and it gets in your armour. Yuck, this stuff will be hell to clean off" mumbled Jory.

Edward grunted in agreement, using a wet rag to clean off the worst of the offending stains. Nereid splashed in the water, cleaning the blood from her skin and leather armour. Alistair also sponged off his armour, keeping an eye out for darkspawn.

The treaties were supposed to be in a chest, which was in turn within a ruined tower. The group found a chest, but it had been smashed open. It looked like a piece of the tower wall had fallen on it. While pondering what to do, a scantily dressed woman appeared from behind the group. She claimed to know where the treaties were, and led them further in to the wilds. The woman's name was Morrigan, and her mother had the treaties. She appeared to Edward to be a crazy old bag, but she seemed to know something about the blight. When pressed she merely gave another cryptic answer. After receiving the treaties, Morrigan led the group back into the wilds. In a couple of hours or so, they were within sight of the rear gate to Ostagar.

"There's the gates. We've made good time with your help, Morrigan" said Edward.

Morrigan merely blinked, saying "You can find your own way from here. Farewell to you, Grey Wardens." With that she vanished back into the wilds.

Alistair led the recruits back to the camp. Once there, Nereid went to the kennel master to deliver her antidote flowers. Edward and Daveth went to the quartermaster to sell off some darkspawn weapons they collected as scrap metal. Alistair and Jory waited over at Duncan's camp for the others to finish their errands. When all had returned, Duncan began "now that you are all here, were you successful in the wilds?"

"We were, Duncan. Alistair has the vials and I have the treaties" began Edward. He handed the treaties back to Duncan.

"With the blood you have acquired, we can move on to the last part of the Joining. I have had the circle mages over there preparing while you were away."

"Can you tell us a bit more about this ritual, Duncan?" asked Nereid.

"I can. We Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are. Some may pay that price before others. Your cure," here he addressed Nereid directly "is a part of the joining" he concluded.

"So you're saying this could kill us?" asked Edward.

"So could any darkspawn you're likely to meet" countered Duncan.

"We've come this far. Might as well see it through" said Daveth. Edward nodded in agreement.

"I agree" said Jory "let's have it done."

End of part 2