Well, this is a day (and some) later then I had planned.
I blame Fire Emblem Fates - I just got it recently, and have been playing it pretty much non-stop since. So hopefully this doesn't feel too rushed. I'm hoping to come back and edit this (and probably the next chapter) once I'm done with the Fire Emblem craze.
Mora was a casteless thug, and a former enforcer for the Carta, forced to fight and bleed for herself and her family. Daren was a former prince, raised in a palace and both a skilled mercenary commander and a charismatic noble.
In their first steps above ground, their reactions made them equals.
"Gah!" Mora sank to her knees, eyes screwed shut. "How can you sodding see anything with all this damned light?"
Not far from her, Daren's eyes were open, but he was clutching at the ground, staring upward with fear. "What is this ceiling?" He muttered in horror. "Where are the walls? What holds it up?"
Duncan sighed, while the other Grey Wardens with him tried and failed to hide their amusement. "Mora, that light is the sun. It provides light during the day, and other sources such as torches are only used indoors and at night, when the sun falls beneath the horizon." The woman still looked confused, but kept silent, to Duncan's relief.
"As for your questions, Daren, there is no ceiling, and therefore no need for walls. It is the sky – the open space above the ground. It is not dangerous, and there is no need to fear it." Once he overcame his initial panic, the former prince visibly attempted to regain his dignified demeanor, and gave a slow nod at the explanation.
In order to allay their curiosity, Duncan told the two dwarves, "There will be time to answer all of your questions later, but we must begin our journey soon. Let us get moving, and I, along with the rest of the Wardens, will be happy to explain the many differences on the surface to the both of you."
Mora gave a sharp nod, falling in with the rest of the Grey Wardens due to what Duncan assumed was a habit of immediately following orders. Daren, on the other hand, frowned and stepped forward as if to keep questioning the Warden Commander. Before he spoke, however, the ex-prince seemed to remember his new role, and instead followed Mora's lead.
Duncan sighed. He was no fool – the dwarven warrior was accustomed to being a leader, and it would take time and effort before Daren started to accept that Duncan was his superior, not an equal as he had been before.
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After a long day's march, the party of Grey Wardens stopped for the night. Daren, used to marching through the Deep Roads, had little trouble keeping up. When the group began setting up a sparse campsite, he joined them and helped where he could.
Mora, on the other hand, had no experience with intensive traveling. She collapsed to the ground the moment Duncan called for a halt, and was breathing heavily even after everyone else had set up camp.
"If you were having trouble keeping up, there was no need to force yourself. Our current mission may be important, but it is not so urgent that we cannot spare the time to go at a more comfortable pace." She looked over to see her new commander standing nearby. "None of us would think any less of you – many Wardens had endurance similar to yours when they were first recruited, if not worse."
She grunted. "I won't slow us down. I'll get used to it and I'll keep up, Commander."
Duncan sighed, but didn't push the issue. "If you ever get to a point where you are truly having trouble keeping up, I insist that you bring it to my attention so that we can travel at a more comfortable pace." Seeing Mora narrow her eyes at what she saw to be coddling, Duncan reluctantly added, "Since it seems I must, that is an order."
She scoffed, but nodded in acknowledgement. Satisfied, Duncan moved away to where the other Wardens were discussing a schedule for the night watch. Mora sighed, leaning back to fully lay down on the ground. It felt odd, with this 'dirt' and 'grass' underneath her instead of solid stone, but Mora was determined to get used to it. She refused to be less than the others, and learning to deal with the oddities of the surface was just one more challenge.
"Will you be having any more trouble with marching?"
'Now this will be interesting.' Mora turned her head to face the other dwarf.
Daren was standing stiffly a small distance away from where Mora lay on the ground. To Mora, who had spent the majority of her life as a member of the Carta, his discomfort was more than obvious.
The one thing Mora couldn't get was why, exactly, the ex-prince was talking to her at all.
"I'll keep up," she told him. "No need for the prince to worry himself over me. Oh, wait, former prince. My bad."
Daren clenched his jaw in anger. "I will make sure not to do so in the future, then. Good night, brand." Spitting out the insult, he spun on his heel and stalked off to the other side of camp.
One of the Grey Wardens approached Mora. "Was there really a need to antagonize him? Like it or not, you're probably going to be dealing with him a lot in the future."
"How much do you know about Orzammar?" She asked, knowing the answer already.
"Not much," he confirmed.
Mora gave him a blank stare. "In Orzammar, I'm not a dwarf. I'm a casteless. And he was a noble – one of the sodding princes. So making sure he remembers that we're equals now? Worth getting him angry."
The Warden scratched his head. "Can't say I understand it, but just make sure you two can work together, okay? New recruits tend to get grouped together for a fair bit after the Joining."
"Joining?" Her eyes narrowed. This was the first Mora had heard of anything like that.
"The Joining is your initiation into the Wardens, and the exact details are kept secret for a variety of reasons."
Paling, the man that was talking with Mora turned around to find Duncan looming behind him.
"Marcus, I believe you were needed?" The Warden Commander's tone didn't change, but Marcus nodded and scrambled off as if Duncan was Beraht in a foul mood. "I understand your curiosity, but I promise that things will be revealed in due time, Mora. I must ask that you remain patient until we can fully initiate you and Daren into the Wardens."
The dwarven woman nodded, but once Duncan walked away, frowned. 'What was so secret about this Joining that even Warden recruits can't be told about it?'
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After his failed attempt at checking on Mora, Daren was stewing on the other side of camp from the casteless woman.
His inquiry had been meant as a way of trying to at least become acquainted with the woman. Even if they came from very different backgrounds, Daren knew that they would be forced to work together as Grey Wardens. From what little he had learned about the Wardens before, there were usually not a terribly large number of them, and Duncan had indicated that the numbers in Ferelden were low.
Not to mention that dwarves were not often Wardens, and the others might assume that the two of them would work well together due to a shared 'heritage'.
Ridiculous, but Daren had heard of ideas with worse logic behind them being thought clever.
"Daren." Duncan's voice greeted him, and Daren turned to face the man.
"Commander Duncan." Daren nodded at the man, who gave a small smile.
"I hope that you are not having too much trouble adjusting to the idea of life as a Grey Warden," Duncan began carefully. "My beginning as a Warden was a similar change in status, albeit more along the lines of our other recruit."
Daren smiled despite himself. "Were you not the one telling me, I might not believe that." His response managed to get a brief chuckle out of Duncan.
"I assure you, it is true." Becoming serious, Duncan reached out a hand to grasp the dwarf's shoulder. "If you find yourself having difficulty adjusting to the idea of being a Grey Warden, I will be happy to listen to your troubles when I am able."
Perhaps it was how accepting Duncan was, but Daren surprised himself with his response. "As kind an offer as that is, no. I think that being a Warden suits me more than my position as a prince did. I look forward to serving under you, Commander Duncan." Daren clenched his fist and pressed it to his chest in a salute.
Duncan seemed as surprised as Daren, but grinned. "And I look forward to having your support, Daren. I foresee your skills helping us greatly in the future."