A/N: Now the Joining shall begin! Welcome to my telling of the Joining Its gonna be epic and a lot more fun then it was in the game. I don't own. I think I've said it a ton of times but I don't want the administrators or Mr. Gaider himself coming after me.
The Joining
Galen had seen and learned more of Skyla then he would ever want to. "All in the name of the joining my friends," Nikolai had told him. The Anderfel mage had become a somewhat tutor to Galen and Skyla the days after they arrived. "We must make sure you are healthy and are able to go through the Joining at full strength!" He said clapping them on the backs with a smile. He always had a smile; never did it fade from his face.
"Why is the joining so secretive? It seems like a big large play on something small," Skyla said. The old mage said a silent curse, not wanting to talk of the joining. "I didn't mean to offend Nikolai; it just seems a little much."
"No, no Skyla it is alright. The Joining is a dangerous ritual that many good people do not survive through," he said to his charges. He looked at them and his frown turned into a smile of reassurance. "Ich bete füreuch, uber leben sie," He finished in his native tongue. Galen didn't know the language but felt the words had a dooming feel to them.
"Nikolai! Get the two of them ready! Duncan has decided to do the Joining before the battle!" A young warden said. Galen recognized the voice to be Alistair, the second newest of the Grey Wardens. He poked his head in the tent, he regarded Galen with a simple look; yet he stared a little too long at Skyla. "Hello I look forward to going to battle with you." Galen knew instantly he wasn't talking to him.
After darkness fell; the wardens and recruits met in a hollow chamber beneath the old temple of Ostagar. Galen noticed ten recruits total from all aspects of Thedas: Peasants, knights, 2 mages, elves, lords, and even one of the stoic Qunari. "Good luck Skyla. Just know no matter what happens I'll be here to fight with you." He whispered to his friend. She smiled at him and looked to Cullen and smiled at him as well.
"At last the joining may begin. You have all been brought here because of your skills and willpower," Duncan said emerging from the shadows. Duncan's hand hovered over ten goblets, with a dark liquid held inside them. "We say only a few words before the Joining but these have been said since the first. Deacon if you would please.
Duncan stepped aside as Deacon stepped before the recruits and bowed his head. Galen noticed his brother in a set of plate armor with the Grey Warden crest upon it. "Join us brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that can not be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you." He let the final words set on the group before looking at each of them; his gaze stopped twice: once on the elf Katriel, and once on his younger brother.
Deacon went to the side of Duncan and beckoned forth a dwarf. "Valtor Aeducan. From this moment forth, you are a Grey Warden." Duncan said his face and voice neutral. The dwarf took the goblet from Duncan and drank the whole thing in a quick swig. He coughed violently and thrashed about before he collapsed on the floor. Deacon went to the dwarf and nodded at Duncan. "Congratulations Valtor. Ashaad, step forth." The Qunari stepped from his place and took his goblet from Duncan.
"Varten tash Qun," The Qunari said before drinking the contents of the goblet. Violently he roared and clawed and his face. Duncan and Deacon took a step away from the larger man as he ripped his skin from his face. The recruits stepped back only to be blocked by the senior wardens. The Qunari started to shake before he let out a final roar that shook the entire temple walls. The corpse had blood gushing from its face and Duncan's head lowered.
"I am sorry Ashaad. May you go with the Qun. Step forth Ser Jory." A human knight backed away from Duncan and ran into more Wardens. "There is no going back from this," The knight swung at Duncan but the old man was quick and drove his dagger into the knight's stomach. "I am sorry Jory. But the Joining must continue past your cowardice." Two Wardens picked up his corpse and threw it into the pyre they had behind Duncan. "Katriel step forth." Katriel looked terrified as she stepped to drink. Galen noticed his brother tense up as the liquid ran down her face. She seemed to be in terrible pain but she silently fell to the floor. Deacon ran to check her and nodded at Duncan. "Congratulations Katriel."
Cullen was next in line. He stepped forward to drink when Skyla stepped forth. "Wait! Please Duncan let me drink with the man I love. It would mean the world to me," She pleaded. Duncan was hesitant but let out a small sigh and nodded handing her goblet. Cullen smiled at Skyla and they drank at the same time. The two lovers on opposite sides of the Chantry collapsed in each others arms with happiness on their faces. Deacon checked them both before nodding.
"Congratulations you two we will never see such an act of love performed in a joining I feel." Duncan said a hint of a smile on his face. Things were going good for the Joining till the next person stepped forth. "Daveth from this point forth you are a Grey Warden." The skinny man took his goblet and drank with a pride unseen before him. That's when the screaming started; suddenly Duncan was on the defensive as were other Wardens. He reached for the Warden-Commander when his head exploded, slowly Duncan wiped off the remains of the man's head. "An Abomination how fitting." Duncan looked at Galen whose jaw had dropped almost to the floor. Deacon and Alistair both had wide eyed expressions on their faces. "An abomination cannot sustain the taint of the Darkspawn. They will be instantly destroyed in our world and the fade."
The two after Daveth, were not as dramatic as he was but still did not survive the joining; this left only one more person: Galen. "Are you ready Galen?" Duncan said with a neutral expression his face still a little covered with gore. Galen nodded and took his goblet. It felt like it was heavier than two of the History of the Chantry books that they kept in the circle. Galen didn't feel he could do it; the pressure seemed to becoming to much. "You can do it Galen, we all believe in you."
He looked at Duncan who nodded, then at Deacon who gave him a smile and a small thumbs up. He looked amongst the Wardens who all gave him confidence that he could do it. Finally his gaze fell on Nikolai. The old mage looked at Galen and nodded, he believed in him. Galen smiled and with newfound courage drank the goblet's contents swiftly. The burning sensation came first, then the roaring scream in his head. He looked around and the room was spinning; no, he was spinning. Suddenly he collapsed and the world fell dark around him. The final thing he heard was, "He lives Duncan."
A/N: I know only one POV but I'm making up for it later in the story! Please review and comment!