So is Varel a Warden? I would hope so, since he conducts the joining, but the game seems to imply otherwise. Well, in my world let's say he is. Since non wardens at the joining is just wrong. Thanks so much for the reviews so far, they made my day!
I watched each recruit carefully as they took the chalice, trying to keep my face calm. Oghren went first. I suspected he was already nearly tainted enough to qualify as a Warden just from the sheer amount of yelling he did in battle. There's no way he managed to swing an ax while screaming without accidentally swallowing some darkspawn blood. His eyes rolled back, turning pure white, and he belched without falling down. Varel and I exchanged glances and shrugged. It was, apparently, a success. After a moment he dropped to the ground, snoring.
Anders was next. He made a joke before drinking, but didn't hesitate. After his eyes changed he fell backwards as though pushed. I could see the rise and fall of his chest as he continued breathing, and nodded: another success.
The chalice then went to Mhairi. I sucked in my breath, waiting to see her reaction. I was sure Oghren would be fine and nearly sure about Anders. For some reason I wanted to yank the chalice from Mhairi's hands, though. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, for all her focusing on legends and glory, and assuming chivalrous standards for us that never existed, I didn't think she really understood what being a Warden meant. There was no way to know for sure, but I suspected going in with the wrong idea could prove fatal. She drank and put a hand to her throat, gasping briefly before falling. I knelt down at her side and checked for a pulse, even as I knew it was too late.
"I'm sorry, Mhairi," I murmured, closing her eyes. Two guards rushed over, removing her body. Remaining on the ground I watched Oghren, who was snoring on his feet, and Anders.
"They will awaken in time," Varel said behind me.
"I know," I replied. "And I'll be here when they do."
"As you wish, Commander," he said, and passed me two Warden's Oath pendants.
Digging through my pack I removed a bundle of elfroot and began making health poultices while I waited. The head of the guards spoke to me about several issues while I knelt on the floor. A prisoner in the dungeon had survived the attack, apparently. "I want to talk to him before anything is done," I said. "I'll do that first thing tomorrow." I remembered the dungeon in Howe's Denerim estate. "Make sure the prisoner is fed. I don't want him mistreated." After he left a woman named Mistress Woolsey, who was sent by the Wardens, talked about trade routes. She had been sent to handle our finances, arriving today with the king. I laughed.
"Commander, is something funny?"
"I was just thinking, during the Blight there were many evenings when I only got to eat if we went hunting since we had less than ten silvers between us all. Now I have someone to handle money for me since I'll apparently have so much of it."
She chuckled. "Well, I won't say what you managed to do during the Blight was at all usual."
Oghren had begun to stir. He blinked several times.
"Welcome, brother," I said with a grin.
"It worked?"
"Like there was ever any doubt!" I answered.
He looked over to where Mhairi had been standing and I shook my head. "Poor kid," he muttered. I could only nod in agreement when Anders groaned. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head.
"Welcome, brother," I greeted him and smiled.
"Bad dreams," he muttered.
"That's normal."
He looked around. "Where's…"
"She didn't make it," I told him. I handed each of them a pendant. "These contain a few drops of blood from the Joining. We wear them in memory of those who have already made the ultimate sacrifice." I pulled mine out from under my robes to show them. "At mine I was the only survivor of three."
I turned to Varel, giving them both a chance to collect themselves. "I'd like them assigned quarters in the same wing as me, as of now these two are both the senior Wardens in Ferelden." He nodded. "Is there a housekeeping staff here?"
"Yes, Commander. Most survived, so we should be fine. The Darkspawn left the residential areas untouched."
"Thank the Maker," I muttered with a yawn. "Have their quarters prepared, and have a bath drawn in all of our rooms."
"Anything else?"
"One thing before you take the rest of the night off to get some sleep. Which is, by the way, an order. Can you tell me, where is my room? This place is almost as big as the palace!"
He gave me directions and I turned to leave. Mistress Woolsey caught me before I could go, though. "Commander, you really must-" I cut her off.
"Mistress, I got up at dawn yesterday. I rode straight through until I arrived here at dusk, stopping only once to eat. I fought darkspawn from dusk until midafternoon. After that I met with the king, argued with a templar, and watched one of my recruits die. Even during the blight I took time for occasional meals and rest, visiting the city can wait another day." She made a face at me so I went on, making my face look as tired as I could. "If I don't get food and sleep very soon I'm going to collapse on the floor right here, and none of us want that. My skirt may fly up. I could drool on the carpet. If I have a nightmare my screaming would scare the new Wardens. It would be very undignified. Plus, I'm starting to get that thing where your hands shake and you see little sparkles in the corner of your eyes that move away when you try to look at them."
She blinked several times. "Go to bed, Commander." I nodded. Try and keep me up three days straight, will you? I thought to myself.
"Please have someone wake me if the darkspawn return, the Keep is on fire, or somebody dies." I shuffled away, gesturing for Anders and Oghren to follow me to the larder. While I dug through shelves a cook came in and tried to shoo me away. After I turned she paled, realizing who I was, and skittered out the door. "That's right," I muttered around a chunk of chocolate I had shoved in my mouth. "My food."
"How can you eat?" Anders asked.
"Well," I mused, "I didn't just drink a chalice of darkspawn blood. And Wardens eat a lot. Prepare to spend every meal surrounded by people who worry you may steal their plate next, and their pets soon after. That may take a couple days to kick in." He eyed the loaf of bread, brick of cheese, and three apples I had placed in a small basked.
"So, that's…"
"All mine. You'll see soon enough." I ate as we walked, pretending not to notice Anders open-mouthed stare as I devoured the food.
"I always thought you and the little pike-twirler were just pigs," Oghren mused.
I elbowed him. "Hey, Alistair and I both told you Wardens eat a lot."
"Doesn't mean I believed you."
We climbed the stairs slowly. "You're probably going to have nightmares tonight," I said. "I'm sorry."
"Like from earlier?" Anders asked.
"I couldn't say. I joined during a blight, so mine will always be worse than what most Wardens get. Eventually you'll learn to block them out." Until the Calling, I thought to myself. "We can talk more tomorrow, I'll give you all the gory details. You two get some rest."
I walked into my suite, leaving the two of them to decide which rooms they would take. The front room was set as a sitting area, with small couches on tiny wooden legs and delicate tables. Boxes crowded every surface, looking overwhelming. I shook my head. Orleasan furniture?, I thought. Perfect, if I'm a princess hosting a tea party. Hopefully Varel could get me a desk and some bookshelves. The second room contained an enormous bed, several armoires, and a screened off bath area. Fortunately both rooms were free of paintings, I had feared there would be a giant portrait of Arl Howe above my bed. Tossing the now empty basket to the floor, I shrugged out of my robes, washed the blood off myself, and climbed into bed.
The next morning I was up before Oghren and Anders. After pulling on a plain tevinter robe I popped down to the throne room and found Varel reading a book.
"Good morning, Commander," he said as I entered.
"'morning, Varel. Please, call me Maggie." He nodded. "So, in my rooms I have a bunch of very pretty little Orleasan tables that wouldn't support a bottle of wine, and couches prancing on tiptoe." He laughed. "Can you get someone to hunt me down some bookshelves, a desk, and maybe a handful of real chairs instead? Ones that won't collapse under Oghren? I have a couple hours to kill before our new brothers join us, I'd like to unpack." He nodded and I caught Mistress Woolsey entering the room. "I have to speak to both of them once they're awake. After that I'll deal with the prisoner, and then we'll head into the city to see about the attacks on caravans." She looked relieved when I said this. "How long of a walk is that? Or do we have horses? I think mine bolted in the attack."
Varel thought for a moment. "Well, we did find your horse, it's stabled. No others though, should I get some? The city is two days on foot to at an easy pace, I'd say."
"Horses would be very nice," I said, and caught Woolsey shaking her head. "But I don't think we have room in the budget just yet. It's OK, I've walked the length of Ferelden a dozen times over, I can handle walking a single arling."
With that I headed to the larder again, this time introducing myself to the cook. She packed me enough food for three Wardens, which I hauled up to my room. "Assume one Warden will eat as much as two or three normal people," I told her, but she looked at me dubiously. Once I returned to my room I found my dirty robes had disappeared and the bed made. While it was kind of nice, since I assumed I would be leaving those luxuries behind with the palace, it did seem a bit silly to have someone making beds for what should be an order of hardened battle-ready warriors. I pried open boxes until I found my writing supplies. Balancing on one of the absurd tables, which did indeed shake under the pressure of the quill, I wrote two identical notes.
I'm in the study off my bedroom.
Come find me when you get up.
-Maggie
After slipping a note under the doors on either side of my own I set to unpacking.