Dragon Age: Origins
Levyn
Chapter Three – Gwaren, Darkspawn Attack
"WHAT?" Wolf's face turned chalk white. "Darkspawn? We never had any darkspawn attack, not even during the Blight. I was under the impression this forest was protected!"
"But they can be sighted at the bridge, Wolf!" The young Templar sounded as if he was about to cry. "What do we do?"
"….How many?" The older Templar's frown deepened.
"About twenty. Two ogres were among them, and there were rumors one of them actually talked."
"Raise the alarm!" Wolf grabbed the door. "And alert the others! Get Zac to dispatch his weapon from the shop! Get someone to inform the Chantry and the Revered Mother! "
The young Templar ran off. Wolf was half out of the door before he jerked his head back toward Gwen.
"I'm sorry, Gwen…."
"Don't worry, chap!" Gwen waved her hand, indicated him to hurry. "I will be fine. I will stay here until it's safe. Do what you must do!"
Wolf regarded her for another second before his huge figure disappeared into the darkness.
"We better go, as well!" Jethro fetched his sword and bow. "Tabi, stay here. Make sure Boo doesn't leave the house!"
"Go, my love." The Chasind woman gave her husband a quick kiss. "Don't worry about us!"
They left the hut and headed straight to the gate. By the time they arrived at the battlements, the alarm was heard throughout the city and everyone was running around in panic. The whole fortification was as bright as day. Several people were already up the wall, anxiously eyeing the forest. Levyn followed Jethro up the stairs and found the guard they talked to earlier near the watchtower: He was pacing back and forth nervously, ready to explode from panic.
"Kayden!" The Chasind quickly approached the guard. "What's happening?"
"Several men are down there, and a handful more are at the bridge to hold them off if they go near!" Kayden rubbed his face. "We've put some barricades up around the bend, as well. But that's barely enough. According to those who spot them, there are two ogres in the group, and a darkspawn that talked! Two ogres! Talking darkspawn! Maker, help us!"
"Talking darkspawn?" Levyn frowned. "Sounds like the same group I ran into earlier."
"Calm down, Kayden!" Jethro patted the guard's shoulders. "That's what we are here for. Where is Wolf?"
"He was here a moment ago," the other guard replied. "I think he's down at the gate, checking the oil barrels. He had sent the messenger to the Teyrna's residence for the Knight's help."
"Let's hope they will response in time," Jethro nodded.
Levyn scanned around the battlement. There were a few Chasind archers and other fighters around. He spotted a couple of Templars he saw earlier, as well. But for some reason, there weren't any mages.
"Mages," he asked Kayden. "Aren't there any mages in town?"
"Only a handful," Jethro replied. "And mostly Chasind. I think they are all down there." He pointed at the wooden bridge standing before the gate.
"None up here?"
"Well, there is always you, mate!" the Chasind joked.
The blood mage's brows shot up. "Me against them all? You've got to be kidding!"
"Well, you did save that girl from them once, did you?" Jethro smirked.
"Yeah, right!" Levyn rolled his eyes. "I ran after I did that, remember? I didn't stay and fight!"
"Whoopsie, sorry!"
Ear-piercing shrieks cut through the air, turning their attention away from the banter. The darkspawn had reached the first line of defense. The tension around the gate instantly rose. The archers knocked their arrows and aimed toward the shadows. The fighters held their shields in front of them, hoping wholeheartedly it would stop the tainted beasts from stabbing their twisted weapons into them.
The ground began to shake. Explosions accompanied by thunderous roars could be heard in the distance. Levyn tightened his grip around his staff, feeling the hair on the back of his neck prickle and his heart flinch at every sound that echoed through the forest. This is it, his first ever battle with the infamous darkspawn. Having heard Neph and several other people mentioned it a few times, never had he thought he would live to have this moment. Part of him, the old Jowan in particular, was absolutely terrified and wanted to escape somewhere else to hide. Just like when he first faced Irving and Gregoir after ascending from the Tower's basement. But another part of him was determined to stay and fight. Having spent most of his time since the Tower running, it was no longer his desire and he wanted to help, in any way, the people of Fereldan.
Several shouts barked into the wind: Soon they could see a couple of people stagger back to the battlement. Not very far from them followed the small, dwarf-sized front trooper Hurlocks. Archers started to fire at top speed, and some fighters at the front began to wave their swords toward the sinister creature.
"This is it," Levyn mumbled. He carefully selected the spells in his mind and recited them out loud. Clouds soon gathered above the clearing in front of the gate and the temperature started to drop. Razor-sharp wind blew through the woods, gradually getting stronger. Within seconds, Blizzard whirled through the ground and covered everybody in snow. A few Hurlocks were immediately turned into ice boulders and smashed by the fighters on the ground. It continued to blow for the next five minutes and allowed the Gwarenian's to take advantage of the situation to cut down the darkspawn numbers.
"NICELY DONE!" Jethro shouted toward the mage over the loud explosion down in the clearing.
The earth quaked more vigorously. Two huge ogres soon turned the corner and sprung into view. One of them even wore a full suit of armor. Several fighters and a Templar followed behind them, trying their best to scythe their blade into the monsters' thick skin while fending off the other darkspawn around them. Jethro knocked two arrows and fired them across the clearing below. One of them missed slightly and thunked into the ground not very far from a grimacing Hurlock, the other one pierced through a Genlock's chest. The Chasind whistled victoriously, knocked anther two arrows and shot again. This time, they both hit their targets dead on.
Levyn inhaled deeply. He gathered the mana within him, feeling them whirled around his gut, before lashing them out and turned them into an Arcane Bolt. The blood mage shot the Bolt at as many darkspawn as he could, and watched in tremendous satisfaction as the magic hit them right on the chest.
More explosions lit around them, this time closer to the gate. Leaning over the battlement's stone edge, Levyn and Jethro saw Wolf the Templar wave his heavy longsword, lashing out at two Genlocks. Silver aurora burst from his body, knocking out the darkspawn around him. The armored ogre roared and swung its arms, tossing two soldiers into the air and punching them before they landed back to the ground. The sound of their backbones breaking could be heard across the clearing. Some commotion stirred near the bridge. The mage lifted his head up slightly, just in time to glimpse blurry blue armor in the midst of the fights. His eyes narrowed instantly.
He recognized that armor.
It was that talking darkapawn.
"Get the gate open!" the creature barked. "You two get get the bloody gate open!"
"They gonna go to the gate!" Wolf yelled out. "Stop the Ogres!"
Archers immediately aimed most of their arrows at the giant beasts. The Chasind mages fired whatever spells they could think of at the monsters. Jethro swung the bow toward his back and unsheathed his shortswords.
"Extreme circumstances require extreme measures," said the Chasind coolly. "Cover me. I'm off."
"Wait, wait, wait, where—!" Levyn's eyes widened as Jethro leaped over the stone edge and off the battlement: "WHAT? Are you crazy? Jethro!"
But the Chasind logger was already in mid air. Next thing they saw, he was on one of the ogres' back, with his blades scythed deep into its flesh. The ogre bawled and began to try its best to shake him off. Jethro steadied himself and withdrew another dagger from his belt. He sought the soft area on the base of the monster's skull and stabbed it vigorously with his switchblade. The giant growled. Its eyes rolled up and it toppled over, dead on its back.
The crowd cheered, the talking darkspawn sneered, and the Chasind logger spent a few brief moments bowing to the surrounded spectators before dodging the remaining armored ogre's fist. He waved his swords elegantly, springing on his heels and avoiding being hit by an Alpha Genlock's spell while slashing away several Hurlocks in a roll. Nearby, Wolf resumed his fight with the darkspawn. A couple of Chasind mages cast Flame Blast and Winter's Grasp at the tainted monsters. The pace for them to attack the gate slowed down.
Levyn's staff crackled and humming in red light. He closed his eyes and murmured the incantations under his breath. When his eyes snapped open again, a stone fist flew across the clearing and smash onto the Ogre's chest. The beast staggered and roared. It picked up a large boulder next to its feet and tossed it toward the blood mage. The mage jumped aside and the stone hit the watchtower instead, smashing the tower into pieces. The giant creature threw another one; this time, it missed him but hit Kayden head on. The Gwarenian guard was hammered under the heavy rock, trembling for a moment before stopped moving completely.
"Good boy!" The talking darkspawn laughed wickedly, bloodshot eyes glittering with pride. "Now get the gate!"
Levyn cursed. His mana was getting low and, by the looks of it, the men at the gate had started to show signs of exhaustion. It was impossible they could hold on much longer. His hand slipped into his sleeve and grasped the small dagger inside tightly. There were at least three Templars on site, not to mention half a dozen potential eyewitnesses down there. But like last time in the Tower, there wasn't really much option left.
"Andraste as my witness, this is for the greater good! I've asked none, nor gained anything from what I'm about to do!" he mumbled to himself before he withdrew the dagger from his sleeve and stabbed his hand. Blood began to gush out from the gash and dribbled onto the stone floor. Levyn quickly drew a rune circle on the floor and started to recite the ancient Tevinter chants.
The blood trail on the stone surface began to bubble and boil. The area within the circle started to shake People around it slowly backed away, showing certain degrees of uncertainty and fear upon their faces. Light as red as blood beamed out from the ring, followed by an ear-piercing shriek. A dragon conjured of blood that was the same as those on the cobblestone floor, came to life and leaped out. It flapped its wings, gave Levyn a sharp look and scanned the battlefield before letting out another shriek and dived toward the darkspawn below.
It was the Blood Dragon, the ultimate summoning that could only be called by a skilled blood mage.
The dragon tilted its head and opened its jaws wide. Black ill winds hushed out from the mouth, and the next thing every darkspawn in the battle were collapsing on the ground and writhing in pain. Blisters appeared on their skin and broke rapidly. Blood bursting out of those sores was boiling hot and inflicted pain way beyond any weapon could cause. Small size Hurlocks soon began to cough out more heated blood and died, without any of the men even laying a finger on them.
The summoned creature circled around the clearing, sending more foul winds and inflicting more pain on the remaining darkspawn. Now the Genlocks began to crumple at an alarming rate. The armored ogre covered his head from more wind and roared. Seizing this chance, Wolf and Jethro ran forward and waved their swords toward the giant. It barely had enough energy to defend itself, and the giant was down within minutes.
The talking darkspawn staggered back. He cast a horrified look at the blood dragon in the air before moving onto Levyn on the wall.
"YOU!" he snarled: "You ruined everything! The Scholar will remember this! He never forgets what's his! Mark my word!"
The gem at the tip of his magic staff grew brighter and covered the darkspawn's entire body. When the blinding light vanished, the creature was gone. The dragon continued to fly around them for a while before returning to the wall. It leaned its head toward Levyn's outstretched hand for a second before it also vanished in the air completely, as if it had never been there. For a moment, the crowd's eyes remained fixed on the spot where the dragon had just disappeared. They were silent, and seemed unable to believe it was finished.
Then an earth-shattering cheer erupted.
They had defeated their first ever darkspawn attack! The joyous Gwarenian threw their helmets in the air, hugged each other and were in tears. It was their first victory, first since the Blight was ended and with such odds against them, they did not expect to win in the first place!
The gate opened and the men paraded in, all smiles, and some even started to sing. Someone shouted the local tavern would have ales on tap all night and everything in there would be free. Levyn came down the stairs, only to be clasped by no other than Jethro, who nearly squeezed every single bit of air out his lungs.
"Well done, mate!" the Chasind roared. "We've done it! I can't believe it! We fended off those sodding darkspawn!"
"Next time you want to jump off the wall, please give me a little warning, thank you very much!" The blood mage shook his head. "My heart nearly stopped beating altogether!"
"Sorry!" Jethro grimaced. "Well, it turned out alright at the end, I must say! And you…Maker's breath. You are indeed more dangerous than you look!"
Wolf the Templar, who happened to usher past by two other fighters on that precise moment, suddenly jerked his head around and gave Levyn a thoughtful side glance. Levyn's heart nearly missed a beat. What was going to happen now? Will they knock down the Chasind's door and arrest me? Or will they execute me on the spot?
"Better get back to check on Tabi and Boo, aye?" Unaware of the wordless interaction that had just passed between the Templar and the mage, the Chasind buried his knuckles in his eyes. "Gwen and the girl, too. Let's hope she got something for us to stuff our face. I am starving!"
The girl was still unconscious when they returned to the house. Her breathing seemed to be more at ease, so did her temperature. Looked like the exorcism Wolf did before the attack worked. Gwen had changed her bandages and the torn dress. So she looked a lot better under the flickering light.
Tabi flung her arms around Jethro tightly the moment he entered the room. She had already cooked up something by the fire and opened a few barrels of ales from their basement.
"Well done. I heard what happened at the gate." She briefly dabbed the corner of her eyes with her sleeve. " Please think about me and Boo the next time you are about to do something rash."
"Extreme measures, my love!" Jethro looked at his wife lovingly.
"Oh, yeah!" Tabi arched her eyebrow. "Try to explain that to Boo."
"Looks like all is in order." Gwen stood up from the stall near the fire. "Suppose I better head to the Chantry to see the Revered Mother. Must have a word with her about the girl."
She gingerly brushed the drapes of her dress and grabbed the walking stick by the wall. Jethro quickly opened the wooden door and waited for the old lady to exit. As she walked by Levyn, she paused and regarded the blood mage a few seconds.
"Quite a spectacular performance you gave out there, I was told." She grinned. "It's been a while since we last had a blood mage in our city."
"Arh…" Levyn's face whitened. He stared at the village elder helplessly; unsure what else he supposed to say.
"Don't worry, young man!" The wrinkles around Gwen's eyes deepened. "I think under the circumstances we had tonight, none of us would care much about what you are. You saved our city. That is something the Chantry cannot overlook. Besides, the new Teyrna had kind of given out orders to all Templars not to pursue any apostate."
"The what?" Levyn's eyebrows nearly shot through the ceiling.
"Oh, haven't you heard?" Jethro smiled at him: "Gwaren was appointed a new Teyrna a few months ago, armh…after the Blight was ended."
"Alright…" Levyn eyed the Chasind uncertainly: "And who's this lovely new Teyrna of yours?"
"She's any elf!" Boo's cute little voice piped up. "An elven lady!"
"A what?" The blood mage jerked his head toward the little boy and back to the Chasind and the elder.
"Yep, she's the first elven Teyrn in the history!" Tabi enthused: "Teyrna Neph Surana."
Somewhere in the Deep Roads
The talking darkspawn writhed on the ground and screamed in pain. A faint layer of lightening cloaked the creature, zapping the life out of its tainted soul.
"For…forgive me! Scholar…." cried the darkspawn.
"I do not tolerate mistakes," a voice, filled with anger and cruelty, croaked from the darkness nearby. "And you made two in the course of one day. Now you are begging for forgiveness?"
"I am…sorry, Scholar…." The darkspawn continued to twitch.
"A girl snatched from under your nose, when you were given the best contingent, you are begging for forgiveness?"
"No…I…."
"Unable to take a city and lost all your comrades, and yet you are asking for forgiveness?" The voice continued to hiss. "Oh, no, I don't think so."
"No…."
"I must say, I am most displeased." The coldness in the voice sent prickles down his spine: "I must say…I simply cannot forgive, nor forget your performance today. You, will be punished severely, you, will suffer for your mistake, and you, will feel my wrath!"
Something cracked and flew toward the darkspawn. The lightening around the creature grew stronger. The tainted beast shrieked, trembling in greater pain.