Chapter 3 – A warden of her kind
The days came and went with an uneasy calm around Ostergar fortress, as more and more soldiers gathered, occasionally travelling to nearby Lothering for supplies. The cold atmosphere prevailed, despite the obvious bubbling fear inside every man and woman present. Duncan spent his days planning strategies with the king, while Vagar hopelessly attempted to drill the Wardens into an organised force. It accrued to Kass during her first days in Ostergar, that the wardens must have been desperate for members in the past months, as most of the Grey wardens in the camp were new recruits Duncan had picked up wherever he could find them, and not the heroic veteran soldiers of legend. Even counting the recruits, there were only a few "Grey wardens" there at all, most of the men were the soldiers of local lords and the kings, men who probably had never faced darkspawn before. The whole operation seemed rushed and under-prepared, yet the army stood strong with more men and more weapons pouring in every day, with all this might all this steel in one place… what creature could possibly defeat them?
Kass wondered how harsh the recruiting situation must be, that Duncan would bring her into the fold so easily, just because she could do magic and not even that well. Magic was a rare gift, but surely there were others they could find, who are better at it than her? But of all the questions still filling her mind, one remained the most active, What would her life be like as a warden? Early one morning a messenger called her to Vagar's tent.
"Ah yes, recruit" he seemed distracted, like his thoughts were scattered, as though considering what to say. *cough cough* As second in command of the Grey Wardens of Ferelden I… Ah, fuck it, I don't do this ceremonial shit." Look, you aren't one of us, until we do a few things. First you have to kill a darkspawn by yourself and retrieve its blood." He held a small vial in his hands. "I'll walk you into the woods where we find a darkspawn and you kill it. You won't be in any real danger, so don't worry. If it goes wrong I'll save you and we try again…. Got it?"
Kass steadied herself, she knew that being one of the Grey would entail fighting darkspawn, but the concept still scared her. She nodded, unable to find the right words to answer. Vagar escorted her outside the Ostergar gates and into the thick wilds surrounding it. The walk was slow and quiet, Kass abstained from asking any questions. Instead she followed on close to him, slightly afraid of the concept of a darkspawn.
As they were walking, Vagar suddenly stopped her with his arm. "Stop... there's one ahead behind that tree." He pointed toward a thick tree a few meters in front. Kass stared on towards the tree for what seemed like an age. The tension of the moment weighted heavily on her head.
The sound of crackling twigs came first followed by a foot, clad in a black iron boots. The creature's sword became visible, as it slowly revealed itself. The sword was long and rusty, clearly it had been badly maintained. The creature's armour was a mesh of black metal sheets and fragments. Straps and pouches clad its large leather belt. Kass slowly forced herself to look up toward the creature's face, shivering as she did so. Its face was a pale, half-rotted horror. Its eyes were bloodshot and pure black in colour. The skin was rough and uninviting and the teeth were abnormally large and sharp, like a dog's. A few of them were missing, while others were rotten and loose. The darkspawn stood tall and imposing. Its sword arm extended towards the young mage.
Vagar moved his mouth to Kass's ear, he stood behind her with one arm on her back. "Don't worry.", he said, "It's always hard the first time. If you're too scared, I can take this one." The girl remained silent, unable to speak through fear. She shook uncontrollably, while staring at the horrific beast in front of her. The darkspawn let out a blood curdling roar from its lungs and ran toward the wardens, closing the gap between them in an instant. Kass felt her breath quicken as it did so. She placed her hand in front of her and her mind flicked back to the few accounts of magic she had found in books. They told her that mages cast spells through willpower, by wishing the effect into existence. She focused her mind on the beast ahead of her and began to feel the magic flowing toward her extended fingers. A sharp pain rung out in her fingers as sparks of lightning exited into the creature now only a footstep away. It fell with a thud on the mage's feet, dead.
"Well done!", Vagar said with a smirk on his face… "First time and you nailed it.. even I let Duncan take the first couple down, when he did this with me." Kass sat down on the hard ground and collected herself, slowing her breathing and bringing her shaking under control. Vagar stood by her side… "I know its shocking, but there is no easy way to fight a darkspawn. You just have to do it. It never gets easy." He paused for a moment pondering the recruit before him. "Tell you what, I'll get the blood for you.. no need to make it any harder for you.. I'm sorry, okay? We just have to get the recruits used to it. It's tough, but…" Kass interrupted him by placing her hand on his arm: "It's okay. I'm just surprised. They are such awful creatures." "Yeah.", the warden replied. That's why we have to kill them. He tilted his head toward the direction they came from. "Let's get back. It'll be lunch time soon, but look away now." As soon as Kass complied, he dug his rapier into the darkspawn's body, holding the vial in position to gather the blood.
The sun began to fall on the horizon, as the two headed back toward the camp. The gates remained widely open for them as they strolled in. Kass followed Vagar to the edge of the camp, where Duncan stood next to a wooden table. He greeted them as they approached: "How did she do?"
"Great, she nailed it! I think she's strong enough for the ritual."
"Ritual?" She asked nervously.
"Ever wondered, what makes the wardens so special? Well this is it." Vagar turned his gaze toward a chalice that lay upon the table.
"We cannot tell you what you will have to do.", Duncan said softly. "But once you do, you may never tell anyone what it is… This is your last chance to back out. Once you agree, you will have to go through with it. What do you say?"
Kass pretended to think the decision through, but she had already decided to go through with it, for curiosity's sake at least.
"I'll do it." She stared into Duncan's eyes as she said it. "Then let us begin." Duncan picked the chalice up from the table, holding it with both hands. "The grey wardens were founded during the first blight when humanity stood at the edge of annihilation, and so it was, that in desperation the first wardens drank darkspawn blood.. and mastered their taint. Those, who are not strong, are killed by the blood's taint. Those who are, gain the ability to sense darkspawn. I ask you to join us in the shadows to where we stand vigilant. Join us, as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice shall not be forgotten and one day we shall join you. In war victory, in peace vigilance, in death sacrifice. Step forth and take your destiny."
Kass slowly walked toward Duncan and took the chalice into her hands. The blood was as black as the night, unlike any blood she had ever seen. She acted as quickly as possible not giving herself enough time for doubt, she pressed the chalice against her lips, closed her eyes and tilted the cup inwards. The metallic blood flooded into her mouth, almost causing her to choke. The taste was like nothing she has experienced before. The world went silent, her legs became weak. Her eyes still closed she fell back, unable to stand any longer and as her head reached the ground… blackness.
Visions of destruction filled the young girl's mind, images of darkspawn slaughters, of armies of the beasts marching through the alienage. Of everyone she ever cared about laying dead at the hands of the blight. But most of all, she saw a dragon. It screamed in an ancient tongue she could not understand. Its huge feet crushing the ground below. She looked into its eyes and she saw death staring her down. But she wasn't afraid, she stood strong, she was a Grey warden after all. And though until now she felt helpless in the larger events happening around her. Now she knew.. she knew the blight was coming and she knew that she had to stand against it. In war victory, in peace vigilance, in death… sacrifice. The blight had to be stopped. And she would be the one to do it.