So, there I was, in the middle of an army camp, hundreds of miles away from home, and the only person I sort of knew abandoned me to my own devises to search for one man amongst thousands. It felt like an impossible mission; trying to find a needle in, not a haystack, but a field. But I set out anyways. I mean, there wasn't much else I could do in the mean time. I couldn't just leave. They'd call me a deserter and I'd probably get beheaded. Oh well.

I walked through the camp watching people train, praying to the Maker, some receiving healing. Could one of these be Alistair? No, Duncan said I would know. Apparently he stood out.

Suddenly, not looking where I was going, I walked right into someone, who dropped a bunch of scrolls. I knelt down to pick them up. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh, it is no trouble at all," an elderly woman's voice responded. I looked up to see a kind face smiling at me. The woman had shoulder-length hair that was tightly tied back into a pony tail and wore a robe and had a... staff? A mage!

This was the first time I had ever encountered a mage. She didn't look much different than any other person, other than her clothes. I was always told by the Chantry, and my fellow elves, that mages were cursed and dangerous, and that they were always on the prowl to do some sort of evil. This woman looked nothing like the tales that I had learned when I was a child.

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "I'm sorry, ma'am. It's just, I've never met a mage before." I handed back her scrolls and gave her a smile. "And how about you?"

She chuckled. "I'm fine. My name is Wynne. I've been called away from the Circle to helps the King, along with my fellow mages."

"I'm Darrian, of Denerim," I replied. "I thought mages weren't allowed outside the Circle?"

"Well," she said. "There are those special occasions. It is very nice to meet you Darrian, but I'm sure you have something to do. I won't keep you."

She started to walk away when I reached out and touched her shoulder. "Wynne? Before you go, could you tell me something?" She turned to look at me and nodded her approval. "I'm looking for a Grey Warden named Alistair. Would you happen to know him?"

"I've met him, briefly. I saw him a moment ago." She pointed to some of the older ruins. "He went that way."

I gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Wynne. Maybe you and I could chat later?"

"Yes, I would like that." We turned and went our separate ways.

I really had to watch where I was walking; the ruins were so torn apart that many of the cobble stones had become loose or were crumbling. Vines of ivy and moss climbed the walls, or what was left of them. A table was set up at one end of the ruin, a few men, I assumed were generals, were leaning over maps and discussing strategies.

"What do you want?" an angry voice to my right said.

I followed the voice up some stairs onto a platform where two men stood. One, the angry voice, wore a robe and had a staff in hand. Another mage. The other, in leather and metal armor, was tall, muscular, and looked a little hurt by the words of the mage.

"I cam to deliver a message," he replied. "The Reverend Mother has requested your presence." I could tell this man was nervous about this mage, he weight was shifting from one foot to the next, and his hands were fidgeting at his side. This big, awkward man had to be this Alistair I was looking for.

"Tsk! What the Reverend Mother wants is of no concern of mine. I'm too busy helping you Grey Wardens, by the King's orders." The way this mage spoke it was as if he wanted to spit out the words, as if they were poison.

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" the supposed-Alistair joked.

The mage, obviously not in a joking mood, stood back in disgust, taking hold of his staff and pointing it towards him. "Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner."

Alistair stood back, putting his hands up in defense. "I didn't realize delivering a message was considered harassment." That made me chuckle quietly. I wasn't sure what this mage;s problem was with this man, but I had to admit, it was funny to watch this towering man be afraid of this skinny little mage.

"Fine! I'l go see her, if I must." The mage put his staff back in its holster on his back and turned my way and stormed past me. "Get out of my way!"

I watched the grumpy mage leave, staying silent for fear of a spell being cast upon me.

"You know," the blond haired man said, as I turned his way. "One good thing about a blight is how it brings people together." I could tell by the small smirk on his face that he was jesting with me. "It's like a party! We could all stand in a circle holding hands!"

I chuckled. "And if we start singing Kumbaya, that would really give the Darkspawn something to think about."

Now it was his turn to burst out laughing. For a moment I thought he would fall over because of his size. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and looked at me for a moment, through his small bouts of laughter, and asked, "Wait, have we met? You don't happen to be another mage?"

"Nope, you don't have to worry about me turning you into a toad. I'm Duncan's newest recruit."

"That's right. Duncan mentioned you before he left for Denerim. Um, what was the name?" he asked as he snapped his fingers, as if it was helping him remember. But how would he know my name if even Duncan didn't know of me until we met? "Adaia? I always thought that was a woman's name?"

That explained it. I shook my head, responding. "No, that's my mother's name. She died when I was young, so Duncan took me instead."

"Oh," he replied. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. You didn't know, and neither did Duncan." I cleared my throat and bowed my head slightly. "My name's Darrian. Pleased to meet you..." I didn't want to just assume his name, for fear of making the mistake of identity.

"Alistair," he responded, reaching for my hand and shaking it. I still don't know why humans have to touch when they meet, but I let him. "Or, Al, as my friends call me."

"Well, Al," I smiled at him. "Duncan sent me to find you, and now that I have, I should probably bring you to him."

Alistair nodded in agreement. "Probably a good idea."

I lead him back to the Warden's camp where Duncan had just returned rom the King's tent and the two of them disappeared into a large tent. Now that I was left alone, I decided to explore a little.

There were three other groups of tents surrounding the Warden's, one which was filled with Chantry sister. Ser Jory was there, kneeling before a statue of Andraste, the Prophetess and Bride of the Maker. It'd be good idea to offer up my own prayers before the battle against the Darkspawn.

The second set of tents had female warriors, I assumed they were from neighboring villages. Daveth was there too, waisting no time on flirting every one of them, getting nothing in return except rude hand gestures.

The third section only had two or three men and pens filled with Mabari hounds. These large muscular dogs were the pride and joy of Ferelden. Centuries ago, the Tevinter Magisters bred them to be so smart you could give them complex instructions and they could carry them out without problem. I've even herd of people having conversations with them. But apparently the Magisters made them so smart that the dogs decided that Ferelden barbarians were more tolerable than them, which is why the Mabari now is a symbol of Ferelden.

I noticed there was one hound that was separated from the rest of them. I walked over to the pen and knelt by the gate, peeking inside. The dog was panting heavily, his body was shaking, and his eyes shifted in every direction.

"I'd stand back if I were you." I looked up and moved out of the way for one of the mabari handlers. "He's not doing so well and is very vicious right now."

I watched the man walk into the pen and knelt before the animal with a muzzle in his hand. As he moved closer, the hound growled, warningly. Unnerved by that, the handler moved closer with the muzzle until the dog lunged for him, forcing him to jump back and scramble out of the pen.

"What's wrong with the poor beast?" I asked.

The man replied, in between pants, "Poor dog swallowed Darkspawn blood during the last attack. His master was killed and so he won't listen to anyone. I need to get the muzzle on him so that I can get some medicine in him, without him chomping my hand off." He sighed. "Otherwise, we'll have to put him down."

I looked back at the shaking dog, and our eyes met for a moment. I could tell that the dog was scared, and knew exactly the seriousness of his condition. He didn't want to die, but it didn't want this man's help. His deep brown eyes almost looked like it was pleading with me to help.

"Let me try to get the muzzle on."

The man looked at me like I was crazy; I probably was. "Are you sure?" I nodded. "Alright." he said handing me the muzzle. "If he tries to bite you, come back out."

He opened the gate for me and I slowly walked in, keeping my eyes on the dog. Seeing these beasts up close was intimidating. He was probably heavier than I was and could easily take me down and kill me. But I knew if I kept my movements slow and my voice quiet, I probably could get the muzzle on. "What's his name?" I asked the handler.

"Pendragon."

"Pendragon," I repeated, quietly to myself. I got down on my knees and started to stretch out my hand towards him. "Hey, Pendragon. Not feeling well today, are we?" I calmly said. As my hand got closer to him, his lips curled into a growl. "It's alright, Pendragon. I'm not going to hurt you." I kept my eyes focused on him. looking for any sign of him attacking me. There was none, but he was still growling. Eventually, my hand reached the top of his head and I started gently scratching hi behind the ears.

Behind me, I could hear a couple gasps of the other keepers, who apparently had to come and watch to see if the dog would eat me. Not sure when they got there. Pendragon continued to growl, but there was no anger in his eyes and leaned into my touch. With my other hand, I slowly brought up the muzzle closer to him. That was when I saw the fury in his eyes and I brought both my hands back in defense before he attacked.

"Shh, it's alright, Pendragon," I whispered. "I'm trying to help you." The dog whined quietly, and lay his head on his ginormous paws. I pulled myself closer to him and placed a hand on his head again. When he seemed to relax, I brought the muzzle back to his face and showed it to him, proving that I wasn't going to hurt him. I picked up his head and started to pull it around his snout and buckled the straps together.

After it was securely on, I felt a nudge at my shoulder and saw one of the keepers had come in the pen as well and held a bowl filled with a rosy colored liquid. "This is an antidote for him. Maybe he'll drink it if you give it to him?"

I took the bowl from him and gave it a sniff. It smelled sweet, like flowers and spring time, even though it was late Summer. I placed the bowl in front of Pendragon and said quietly to him, "This is going to make you feel better, boy. Drink up."

The dog lifted his head and sniffed the antidote and looked up at me, possibly looking for assurance. I nodded to him and he stuck his muzzled nose into the bowl and started lapping it up. I smiled and patted his head once more. "Good dog." After he finished it, I took the bowl and stood, turning to the keeper.

He let me out before following me and locking the pen back up. He then took the bowl from me. "Thank you, Ser Elf. If not for you, he would have had to be put down, most like." He looked at me, thoughtfully for a moment. "You're one of the Warden recruits, are you not?" I nodded. "Ever thought of having a dog?"